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Title Evaluation of the Environmental Sustainability of Hemp as a Building Material, through Life Cycle Assessment
ID_Doc 25499
Authors Di Capua, SE; Paolotti, L; Moretti, E; Rocchi, L; Boggia, A
Title Evaluation of the Environmental Sustainability of Hemp as a Building Material, through Life Cycle Assessment
Year 2021
Published Environmental And Climate Technologies, 25, 1
DOI 10.2478/rtuect-2021-0092
Abstract Environmental issues, especially those related to the over-exploitation of natural resources, are leading towards considering alternative solutions and new approaches, such as the circular economy. Currently, some key elements of the circular economy approach are sustainable procurement of raw materials, improvement of production processes and ecological design, adoption of more sustainable distribution and consumption models, development of secondary raw material markets. This work aims to analyse the use of hemp as a building material, replacing traditional construction materials, but respecting at the same time the thermal, insulating and acoustic characteristics required in the construction of a building. The methodology used was Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which considered the hemp cultivation phase and the production phase of hemp-lime ("hemperete") walls. The hemperete product was compared with two different solutions: a hemp and lime block, and a traditional perforated brick block with external insulation in polystyrene. In particular, the differences among the products in terms of embodied energy and net CO2 emissions were analysed. Results showed that the hemperete wall had better environmental performances than the other two solutions.
Author Keywords Building sector; eco-sustainability; hemperete; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); natural materials
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
EID WOS:000732860000002
WoS Category Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Research Area Science & Technology - Other Topics
PDF https://www.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/rtuect-2021-0092
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