| Title |
A digital workflow for assessing lifespan, carbonation, and embodied carbon of reusing concrete in buildings |
| ID_Doc |
22102 |
| Authors |
Dervishaj, A; Malmqvist, T; Silfwerbrand, J; Gudmundsson, K |
| Title |
A digital workflow for assessing lifespan, carbonation, and embodied carbon of reusing concrete in buildings |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.jobe.2024.110536 |
| Abstract |
Concrete is the most used construction material, accounting for 8% of global CO2 2 emissions. Various strategies aim to reduce concrete's embodied carbon, such as using supplementary cementitious materials, utilizing cleaner energy, and carbonation. However, a large potential lies in reusing concrete for new buildings in a Circular Economy, thereby closing material loops and avoiding CO2 2 emissions. This study focuses on the reuse of precast concrete elements. We present a digital workflow for assessing reuse by predicting the remaining service life, estimating CO2 2 uptake by natural carbonation, and calculating the embodied carbon savings of concrete reuse. Both carbonation rates from EN 16757 and our investigation were applied to a case study building. While EN 16757 rates suggest that most precast elements have reached the end of their service life, our assessment shows that these elements have a sufficient lifespan for reuse. Plaster and coverings significantly delay carbonation and extend service life. During the first service life following EN 16757, carbonation was 19,2 kg CO2/m3, 2 /m 3 , whereas our prediction was 5,4 kg CO2/m3. 2 /m 3 . Moreover, CO2 2 uptake during service life, including reuse, was less than 6 % of the embodied carbon. The climate benefits of reuse greatly exceeded those of carbonation. Furthermore, carbonation did not have a decisive influence when applying Cut-Off, Distributed, and End-of-Life allocations for assessing embodied carbon of re-used elements in subsequent life cycles. The digital workflow is useful in quickly assessing lifespan, carbonation, and embodied carbon of concrete. It can be leveraged as a decision-making tool when designing for reuse. |
| Author Keywords |
Concrete; Circular economy; Carbonation; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Reuse; Sustainable buildings; Embodied carbon |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:001304410400001 |
| WoS Category |
Construction & Building Technology; Engineering, Civil |
| Research Area |
Construction & Building Technology; Engineering |
| PDF |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2024.110536
|