UNIT IV

UNIT-IV
• Building materials: Methods to reduce embodied
energy in building materials: (a) Local building
materials. (b) Natural and renewable materials like
bamboo, timber, rammed earth, stabilized mud
blocks. (c) Materials with recycled content such as
blended cements, pozzolana cements, fly ash
bricks, vitrified tiles, materials from agro and
industrial waste. (d) Reuse of waste and salvaged
materials.

• Waste Management: Handling of construction &

demolition waste materials, separation of
household waste, handling e-waste, on-site and
off-site organic waste management.
 Embodied Energy:
• It is a part of overall impact of building on
environment. Embodied energy is the total energy
required for the extraction, processing,
manufacture and delivery of building materials to
the building site. Energy consumption produces
CO2, which contributes to greenhouse gas
emissions, so embodied energy is considered an
indicator of the overall environmental impact of
building materials and systems.
• Embodied energy only considers the front-end
aspect of the impact of a building material. It does
not include the operation or disposal of materials.
 Why reduce embodied energy?
• The total amount of embodied energy may
account for 20% of the building’s energy use,
so reducing embodied energy can significantly
reduce the overall environmental impact of
the building.
 Reducing embodied energy
• Buildings should be designed and materials
selected to balance embodied energy with
factors such as climate, availability of
materials and transport costs.
• Lightweight building materials often have
lower embodied energy than heavyweight
materials, but in some situations, lightweight
construction may result in higher energy use.
 Continued…
• Eg. Where heating or cooling requirements are
high, this may raise the overall energy use of the
building.
• Conversely, for buildings with high heating or
cooling requirements but where there is a large
diurnal (day/night) temperature range,
heavyweight construction (typically with high
embodied energy) and the inclusion of high levels
of insulation can offset the energy use required
for the building.
When selecting building materials, the
embodied energy should be
considered with respect to:
• The durability of building materials
• How easily materials can be separated
• Use of locally sourced materials
• Use of recycled materials
• Specifying standard sizes of materials
• Avoiding waste
• Selecting materials that are manufactured
using renewable energy sources.
Methods to reduce embodied energy:
• Reuse buildings instead of constructing new ones:
Renovation and reuse projects typically save
between 50 and 75 percent of the embodied
carbon emissions compared to constructing a new
building.
• Specify low-carbon concrete mixes: Even though
emissions per ton are not relatively high, its
weight and prevalence usually make concrete the
biggest source of embodied carbon in virtually any
project. Design lower carbon concrete mixes by
using fly ash, slag, calcined clays, or even
lower-strength concrete where feasible.
 Continued…
• Limit carbon-intensive materials: For products
with high carbon footprints like aluminum,
plastics, and foam insulation, thoughtful use is
essential.
• Choose lower carbon alternatives: Think about
the possibilities. If you can utilize a wood
structure instead of steel and concrete, or
wood siding instead of vinyl, you can reduce
the embodied carbon in a project. Look for
low carbon alternatives.
 Continued…
• Choose carbon sequestering materials: Using
agricultural products that sequester carbon can
make a big impact on the embodied carbon in a
project. Wood may first come to mind, but you can
also consider options like straw or hemp insulation,
which—unlike wood—are annually renewable.
• Reuse materials: Whenever possible, look to
salvage materials like brick, metals, broken
concrete, or wood. Salvaged materials typically
have a much lower embodied carbon footprint
than newly manufactured materials, since the
carbon to manufacture them has already been
spent.
• Use high-recycled content materials: This is
especially important with steel. Freshly
manufactured steel, for example, can have an
embodied carbon footprint that is five times
greater than high-recycled content steel.
• Maximize structural efficiency: Using optimum
value engineering wood framing methods,
efficient structural sections, and slabs are all
effective methods to maximize efficiency and
minimize material use.
 Continued…
• Use fewer finish materials: Using polished
concrete slabs as finished flooring saves the
embodied carbon from carpet or vinyl
flooring. Unfinished ceilings are another
potential source of embodied carbon savings.

• Minimize waste: Particularly in wood-framed

residential projects, designing in modules can
minimize waste.
 I) (a) Local Building Materials
Top 7 Green Materials used for sustainable
construction in India
• Engineered wood
 Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS)
• Flake board or oriented strand boards with a
foam layer in between them and are available
in bigger sizes
 Earthen materials
• Earthen materials, such as slammed earth and
adobe blocks are used for decoration. Slammed
earth is a composition of synthetic shake and is
shaped using a blend of rock, soil, sand, sediment
and mud. It is mostly used to decorate your place,
whereas adobe blocks are chiefly composed of
soil, made of mud and straw.
Earthen Houses
 Straw bale
• It is made up of rice, wheat, oats, rye and grain
and it has amazing protecting properties. As air
cannot pass through them, they are well
resistant to fire
 Slate roofing
Slate is a natural rock and is used to create tiles.
These tiles, in turn, boast of high durability and
are used on the building roofs. Slate roofing is
mostly preferred when it is available locally or at
cheap prices.
Grass crete
 Steel
• Shingles and steel roof panels are extremely
durable. They can be recycled every now and
then. In green roof materials, we can consider
them. TMT bars lend strength and durability to
the buildings.
 I b)Natural and renewable materials
like bamboo, timber, rammed earth,
stabilized mud blocks
• Bamboo
Sustainability experts nearly universally agree bamboo is
one of the best eco-friendly building materials on the
planet. Its rate of self-generation is incredibly high, with
some species growing up to three feet in 24 hours.
Bamboo technically is a perennial grass, not a wood, and
it continues spreading and growing without having to be
replanted after harvest. It is prevalent around the world
and can be found on every continent except Europe and
Antarctica.
Bamboo has a high strength-to-weight ratio and
exceptional durability — even greater compressive
strength than brick or concrete
 Continued…
• Cork
• Cork is flexible and resilient, reverting to its original shape
after sustaining pressure. Its resilience and resistance to
wear make it a common element in floor tiles. Its noise
absorption abilities also make it perfect for insulation
sheets, and its shock absorption qualities make it
well-suited for sub-flooring. If left uncoated, cork is
naturally fire resistant and it doesn't release toxic gases
when it does burn. This also makes cork a good thermal
insulator.
• Cork is nearly impermeable so it does not absorb water or
rot. Over time however, cork does become more brittle.
Cork loses a few sustainability points because it is primarily
found in the Mediterranean, and shipping cost ends up
being a considerable factor. However, cork also is extremely
light so it requires less energy to ship, thus salvaging its
embodied energy score.
Reclaimed or recycled wood and metal
• Recycled metal is a long-lasting material that does not need
frequent replacement. It tends not to burn or warp, making it a
viable option for roofing, structural supports and building façades.
It's also water and pest resistant.
• Reclaimed metals, such as plumbing components, sometimes can
be used in their existing forms instead of having to be recycled and
manufactured into a new product.
• Like recycled metal, reclaiming and reusing wood reduces its
embodied energy, which already is lower because of its light weight.
Wood does have less strength though, so each piece's integrity
should be assessed and chosen for an appropriate project.
• Reclaimed wood can be used for a plethora of building purposes,
including structural framing, flooring, siding and cabinetry. Density
varies by the type of wood and some stand up better over time.
However, most wood is susceptible to insects and degradation,
reinforcing the need to thoroughly inspect each reclaimed piece.
 Continued…
• Rammed Earth
• The embodied energy of rammed earth is low to
moderate. Composed of selected aggregates
bound with cementitious material, rammed earth
can be thought of as a kind of ‘weak concrete’. It
may help to understand cement and earth
products as being at different points on an energy
continuum, with earth at the low end and high
strength concrete at the high end. Its cement and
aggregate content can be varied to suit
engineering and strength requirements.
 Continued…
• Mud brick
• The ideal building material would be ‘borrowed’ from
the environment and replaced after use. There would
be little or no processing of the raw material and all
the energy inputs would be directly, or indirectly, from
the sun. This ideal material would also be cheap and
would perform well thermally and acoustically. If used
carefully, mud bricks come close to this ideal.
• Basic mud bricks are made by mixing earth with water,
placing the mixture into moulds and drying the bricks
in the open air. Straw or other fibres that are strong in
tension are often added to the bricks to help reduce
cracking. Mud bricks are joined with a mud mortar and
can be used to build walls, vaults and domes.
Ic)Materials with recycled content such as blended cements,
pozzolana cements, fly ash bricks, vitrified tiles, materials
from agro and industrial waste
• Blended cement can be defined as uniform mix of
ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and blending materials
such as silica fumes, fly ash, limestone and slag to
enhance its properties for different uses. Blended
cement can improve workability, strength, durability
and chemical resistance of concrete.
• According to Flower and Sanjayan use of blended
cements results in reduction of CO2 emissions by
13–22%. These estimates vary according to the local
conditions at the source of raw materials, binder
quantity and amount of OPC replacement, type of
manufacturing facilities, climate, energy sources, and
transportation distances.
• Geopolymer cement concrete is made from
utilization of waste materials such as fly ash and
ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBS). Fly
ash is the waste product generated from thermal
power plant and ground granulate blast furnace
slag is generated as waste material in steel plant.

• Both fly ash and GGBS are processed by

appropriate technology and used for concrete
works in the form of geopolymer concrete. The
use of this concrete helps to reduce the stock of
wastes and also reduces carbon emission by
reducing Portland cement demand.
 9 building materials made entirely
from waste products
• https://www.citymetric.com/skylines/9-buildi
ng-materials-made-entirely-waste-products-9
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• NewspaperWood
• Nappy Roofing

• Recy blocks
• Blood Brick

• Smog Insulators
• Bottle bricks
• Mushroom walls

• Plasphalt
• Wine cork panels
• IIa)Handling of construction & demolition waste
materials
Prepare short notes on handling of construction and
demolition waste materials