Innovative Construction Materials: their contribution to sustainable development

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Innovative Construction Materials their
contribution to sustainable development

• Pete Walker
• BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials
• Dept. Architecture Civil Engineering
• University of Bath

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Climate change

• Impact of infrastructure development
• Waste and pollution created during construction,
  maintenance and decommissioning
• Energy (carbon) consumed in use
• Land use
• Embodied carbon from production of materials

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Improvements

• Building Regulations
• Higher specifications for new buildings
• Code for Sustainable Homes
• By 2016 90 reduction in in-use energy for all
  new homes
• Renewable energy
• Waste reduction (recycling)
• Societal recognition/demands

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Carbon footprint of construction materials

• Embodied carbon (ICE Inventory V1.5b) 1 tonne
  of
• Cement produces 0.8 tonnes CO2
• Fired clay brick produces 0.2 tonnes CO2
• Steel produces 2.8 (0.45) tonnes CO2
• Aluminium produces 8.5 (1.7) tonnes CO2
• Glass produces 0.77 tonnes CO2
• Timber produces 0.5 tonnes CO2

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Significance of embodied carbon

• Cement production contributes around 5 man-made
  CO2 emissions (around 1.3bn tonnes p.a.). By 2050
  cement based CO2 emissions projected to rise to
  2.5-5bn tonnes p.a..
• Ratio in-use/embodied carbon (60 yr life span)
• 2006 levels (8515)
• 90 in-use reduction (3366)

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Environmental Impact of Materials

• Climate change
• Stratospheric ozone depletion
• Eutrophication (ecosystems damage)
• Acidification (acid rain)
• Photochemical ozone creation (summer smog)
• Human toxicity
• Ecotoxicity to water and land
• Fossil fuel depletion
• Waste disposal
• Water extraction
• Mineral resource depletion
• Nuclear waste

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BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials

• Partnership with Building Research Establishment
  Ltd
• Research and development in range of materials to
  improve performance and environmental impact of
  infrastructure
• Advanced fibre composites
• Low carbon cements and concretes
• Concrete, Masonry, Steel and Timber structures
  and materials
• Low carbon materials

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Low carbon alternative materials

• Earth building
• Unfired clay bricks
• Rammed earth, cob
• Renewable crop based materials
• Timber and wood based products
• Straw
• Hemp, flax
• Sheeps wool
• Natural stone

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Benefits

• Low embodied carbon (minimal processing)
• Renewable
• reducing resource depletion
• carbon sequestration
• new agricultural markets
• Reduced waste and pollution
• Healthier
• low toxicity
• passive environmental regulation

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Rammed earth and chalk
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Unfired clay masonry
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Straw bale
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Hemp-lime construction
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Haverhill Houses
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Drivers for increased uptake

• Climate change
• Legislation (CSH)
• Energy costs
• New markets (agriculture)
• Corporate image
• Client/societal demand
• Improved material performance

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Hygroscopic materials
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Challenges to mainstream uptake

• Modern methods of construction (skills and
  training)
• Cost
• Understanding of materials
• Lack of technical data specifications design
  guidance and details precedence
• Reluctance of construction industry
• Supply chain
• Confidence to use demonstration of performance
• Awareness

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Modern moderns of construction

• Many low carbon materials and techniques rely on
  on-site skilled labour
• Innovations
• Prefabricated straw bale panels (ModCell)
• Sprayed hemp-lime
• Masonry blocks (clay, hemp-lime)

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ModCell
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Sprayed Hemcrete
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Hemcrete blocks
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Costs

• Through innovation costs are increasingly
  competitive.
• Unfired clay bricks are cheaper than fired!
• Sprayed hemp-lime costs (150-200 /m2)
• Improved performance

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Understanding materials
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York Eco-Depot
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To conclude

• Embodied carbon and other impacts of materials
  increasingly important to environmental footprint
  of infrastructure
• Step change in construction materials use
  required to tackle climate change
• Increasing range of innovative low carbon
  materials are well placed for mainstream uptake,
  but must deliver on
• Cost
• Performance
• Supply
• Many research development opportunities

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Acknowledgements

• Colleagues in BRE CICM
• BRE BRE Trust
• Industry partners
• Funders

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• Thank you!