SpringerLink
Log in

A Life Cycle Analysis Based Framework to Promote Circular Economy in the Building Sector

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Recent Developments in Sustainable Infrastructure (ICRDSI-2020)—Structure and Construction Management

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 221))

  • 774 Accesses

Abstract

Buildings are resource intensive as they need large amounts of natural resources thereby resulting in resource depletion as well as corresponding environmental emissions. In addition, the material waste generated by the demolition of buildings has severe environmental impacts. Circular economy is a concept that is successfully implemented in various sectors to promote recycling of key materials, and life cycle analysis is a useful technique employed for calculating the environmental implications of various processes. However, there are very few approaches that analyze the life cycle impacts and circularity potential of materials used in the building industry. Therefore, in this study, different strategies promoting circularity in building construction are discussed, and the environmental impacts of natural materials and recycled materials as constituents of concrete are compared in the view of life cycle thinking. Open LCA software is used for impact assessment and eco-invent database is used in association with it for modelling circular economy parameters. The LCIA method selected is eco-indicator 99 which considers the major impact factors such as ecosystem quality, human health and resources. Overall, processes are defined for exploring various recycling strategies, and corresponding environmental performances are evaluated. The results highlight the advantages of implementing circular economy in the construction sector. This approach shall aid material selection for building construction aiming at sustainable development, and encourage bringing a paradigm shift towards circular economy, with builders, designers and consumers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 299.00
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 379.99
Price excludes VAT (Canada)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Aneesh NR, Shivaprasad KN, Das BB (2018) Life cycle energy analysis of a metro station building envelope through computer-based simulation. Sustain Cities Soc 39:135–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bauwens T, Hekkert M, Kirchherr J (2020) Circular futures: what will they look like? Ecol Econ 175:106703

    Google Scholar 

  3. Blengini GA (2009) Life cycle of buildings, demolition and recycling potential: a case study in Turin, Italy. Build Environ 44(2):319–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Carlisle S, Friedlander E (2016) The influence of durability and recycling on life cycle impacts of window frame assemblies. Int J Life Cycle Assess, 21(11):1645–1657

    Google Scholar 

  5. Crawford R (2011) Life cycle assessment in the built environment. Taylor & Francis

    Google Scholar 

  6. Devi P, Palaniappan S (2014) A case study on life cycle energy use of residential building in Southern India. Energy Build 80:247–259

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ding GKC (2008) Sustainable construction—the role of environmental assessment tools. J Environ Manage 86(3):451–464

    Google Scholar 

  8. Duan ZH, Poon CS (2014) Properties of recycled aggregate concrete made with recycled aggregates with different amounts of old adhered mortars. Mater Design 58:19–29

    Google Scholar 

  9. Eberhardt L, Birgisdottir H, Birkved M (2019) Comparing life cycle assessment modelling of linear vs. circular building components. In: IOP conference series: earth and environmental science, vol 225, no. 1. IOP Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  10. Giordano R et al. (2017) Embodied energy and operational energy evaluation in tall buildings according to different typologies of façade. Energy Procedia 134:224–233

    Google Scholar 

  11. Giorgi S, Lavagna M, Campioli A (2019) LCA and LCC as decision-making tools for a sustainable circular building process. In: IOP conference series: earth and environmental science, vol 296, no. 1. IOP Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  12. Jain S, Singhal S, Jain NK (2018) Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in India: generation rate and implications of C&DW recycling. Int J Construct Manage 1–10

    Google Scholar 

  13. Jain S, Singhal S, Pandey S (2020) Environmental life cycle assessment of construction and demolition waste recycling: a case of urban India. Resour Conserv Recycl 155:104642

    Google Scholar 

  14. Jayasinghe LB, Waldmann D (2020) Development of a BIM-based web tool as a material and component bank for a sustainable construction industry. Sustainability 12.5:1766

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kakkos E et al. (2019) Environmental assessment of the Urban Mining and Recycling (UMAR) unit by applying the LCA framework. In: SBE19 Brussels-BAMB-CIRCPATH ‘Buildings As Material Banks-A Pathway for A Circular Future’, 1, 012049. Paper Presented at SBE19 Brussels-BAMB-CIRCPATH ‘Buildings as Material Banks-A Pathway for A Circular Future’, 5–7 Feb 2019, Brussels, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kakwani NS, Kalbar PP (2020) Review of circular economy in urban water sector: challenges and opportunities in India. J Environ Manage 271:111010

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kanth GSK, Ashok Kumar S (2017) Durability studies on recycled coarse aggregate concrete of grade M40

    Google Scholar 

  18. Karakaš N et al. (2018) Potential use of recycled aggregate in structural concrete elements. In: 9th international congress of Croatian society of mechanics

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kirankumar G, Saboor S, Vali SS, Mahapatra D, Setty ABTP, Kim KH (2020) Thermal and cost analysis of various air filled double glazed reflective windows for energy efficient buildings. J Build Eng 28:101055

    Google Scholar 

  20. Kirankumar G, Saboor S, Vali SS, Mahapatra D, Setty ABTP, Kim KH (2020) Thermal and cost analysis of various air filled double glazed reflective windows for energy efficient buildings. J Build Eng 28:101055

    Google Scholar 

  21. Leising E, Quist J, Bocken N (2018) Circular economy in the building sector: three cases and a collaboration tool. J Cleaner Prod 176:976–989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Mathiyazhagan K, Gnanavelbabu A, Lokesh Prabhuraj B (2019) A sustainable assessment model for material selection in construction industries perspective using hybrid MCDM approaches. J Adv Manage Res

    Google Scholar 

  23. Metzger BL (2003) Design for recycling: influencing product design using the Recyclability Index. Diss. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Google Scholar 

  24. Muthu SS et al. (2012) Recyclability potential index (RPI): the concept and quantification of RPI for textile fibres. Ecol Indicators 18:58–62

    Google Scholar 

  25. Nautiyal H, et al. (2018) Life cycle assessment of an academic building: a case study. Environmental carbon footprints. Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 295–315

    Google Scholar 

  26. Pomponi F, Moncaster A (2017) Circular economy for the built environment: a research framework. J Clean Prod 143:710–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Pradhan S, et al. (2019) Comparative LCA of recycled and natural aggregate concrete using particle packing method and conventional method of design mix. J Clean Prod 228:679–691

    Google Scholar 

  28. Praseeda KI, Venkatarama Reddy BV, Mani M (2015) Embodied energy assessment of building materials in India using process and input–output analysis. Energy Build 86:677–686

    Google Scholar 

  29. Rames T, Prakash R, Shukla KK (2010) Life cycle energy analysis of buildings: an overview. Energy Build 42(10):1592–1600

    Google Scholar 

  30. Reddy BV, Jagadish KS (2003) Embodied energy of common and alternative building materials and technologies. Energy Build 35(2):129–137

    Google Scholar 

  31. Sakai S et al. (2014) An international comparative study of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling systems. J Mater Cycles Waste Manage 16.1:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  32. Shifad S, Pati P, Das BB (2021) A multi-dimensional study on impact of energy efficiency on life cycle cost of a single-family residential building. In: Das BB, Nanukuttan SV, Patnaik AK, Panandikar NS (eds) Recent trends in civil engineering. Lecture notes in civil engineering, vol 105. Springer, Singapore

    Google Scholar 

  33. Simion IM et al. (2013) Comparing environmental impacts of natural inert and recycled construction and demolition waste processing using LCA. J Environ Eng Landscape Manage 21(4):273–287

    Google Scholar 

  34. Surekha B, Hegde MN, Jagadish KS (2016) Energy and building materials. Int J Civil Eng 5:13–24

    Google Scholar 

  35. Thomas J, Thaickavil NN, Wilson PM (2018) Strength and durability of concrete containing recycled concrete aggregates. J Build Eng 19:349–365

    Google Scholar 

  36. Tošić N, Jelena D, Vedran C (2016) Use of recycled and waste materials in concrete—A Serbian perspective. Researchgate.net

    Google Scholar 

  37. Tsuji A et al. (2006) Recyclability index for automobiles. In: Proceedings of the 99th annual meeting and exhibition of the air and waste management association, New Orleans, LA

    Google Scholar 

  38. van der Harst E, Potting J, Kroeze C (2016) Comparison of different methods to include recycling in LCAs of aluminum cans and disposable polystyrene cups. Waste Manage 48:565–583

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India

    J. S. Smitha & Albert Thomas

Authors
  1. J. S. Smitha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Albert Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Albert Thomas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India

    B. B. Das

  2. Department of Construction Management, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

    Christy P. Gomez

  3. School of Civil Engineering, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar, India

    Benu. G. Mohapatra

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Smitha, J.S., Thomas, A. (2022). A Life Cycle Analysis Based Framework to Promote Circular Economy in the Building Sector. In: Das, B.B., Gomez, C.P., Mohapatra, B.G. (eds) Recent Developments in Sustainable Infrastructure (ICRDSI-2020)—Structure and Construction Management. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 221. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8433-3_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8433-3_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-8432-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-8433-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation