Abstract
Interest in intrinsically low-energy construction materials is becoming mainstream, and bio-based materials form a key part of that group of materials. The goal of this study was to analyse the environmental impact of applying a sol-gel coating on hemp shiv, in order to improve the durability of this innovative bio-based material, using a regionalised LCA model, taking into account regional specific peculiarities. This study analysed the environmental performance of using bio-based materials in the building envelope compared with traditional synthetic construction materials, and compared the impact of a regionalised approach with a global approach. The carbon footprint of treated hemp shiv in a wall with a U-value of 0.15W/m2.K was compared to untreated hempcrete and a reference cavity wall with the same U-value. Considering the environmental damage caused by the production of hemp shiv, nitrogen fertiliser was the hotspot. The LCA results showed that, using innovative bio-based materials in construction, treated hemp shiv with sol-gel can decrease the carbon footprint of a building envelope through carbon sequestration. Using the more accurate site-specific information in life cycle inventory and impact assessment methods will result in more consistent and site-appropriate environmental results for decision-making.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2987 |
| Journal | Materials |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Sept 2019 |
Funding
The authors are grateful to the Qu?bec ministry of economy, science and innovation for the financial support through its PSR-SIIRI programs (PD PSR2) as well as the industrial partners of the NSERC industrial chair on eco-responsible wood construction (CIRCERB). The work was also supported by Fonds de Recherche du Qu?bec-Nature et technologies (FRQnet). The sol-gel work presented here was carried out under the ISOBIO project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement No. 636835. We would also like to show our gratitude to the Atif Hussain and Yunhong Jiang for sharing their knowledge on calculation of thermal conductivity of walls. This research received no external funding.
Keywords
- Bio-based material
- Building envelope
- Carbon sequestration
- Hemp shiv
- Hempcrete wall
- Regionalized LCA
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science
