D1 - Evaluate the environmental performance of modern materials and techniques used in the construction of substructures for low-rise domestic and commercial buildings, for two different tutor-specified scenarios
Most people may not realise but concrete plays a vital part in our lives daily. It shapes and creates the built environment in which we are surrounded by, such as schools, bridges, roads, housing, hospitals, dams and so much mores. Concrete is the most used man made material in the world, averaging around 3 tonnes annually for each person. In comparison with other building materials such as wood, steel, plastic and aluminium, over twice as much concrete is used globally than any of these materials. It is the material choice of most purposes due to its strength, durability, thermal mass and its cost.
Cement is notably the most important ingredient in the
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Steel itself can be used over and over again without losing any of its qualities, including strength. Steel is also the most recycled material on the planet with a survey taken in 2012 showed around 88% of steel being recycled. Steel offers:
• Material efficiency – this results in less natural resources used, less transports, less emissions and less energy used
• High recyclability – this results in less natural resources used, less waste and emissions used
• Quality and durability
• Dry and lean construction – this results in less health hazards, less waste, less energy used, less emissions produced and a better working environment
Figure 15 – shows steels attributes
Regardless of how you view them, concrete and steel are vital to the production industry, no matter how they perform for sustainable purposes, until an alternative comes around with roughly the same costs, durability and availability of these materials, then they are going to be around for many more years to
for affecting change in how waste and recycling are handled because they produce more waste
addition, recycling is good for the economy. When aluminum cans are recycled it takes ninety five percent less energy than it does to make a new can from the original source of bauxite. If just one ton of aluminum is recycled more than 207 million pounds of Btu are saved. That is comparable to 1,665 gallons of gas or 36 barrels of crude oil. When new products are made, energy is used to gather the materials and to produce the product. Recycling saves the energy used to extract the material and generally requires les...
It should also be noted, that brass and steel have great recycling benefits. Understandably, this may not have been a deciding factor for choice of materials during the industrial revolution. None the less both alloys can be heated to the point they can be returned to a molten state and reformed into raw construction billets ready for future use.
The recycling of aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy required to make aluminum cans for sodas as well as other liquids (Ackerman 6). The most recent investment in the paper industry has been in machines and mills designed specifically to handle recycled paper (Ackerman 7). In the United States alone, 67 percent of all steel production is from recycled and recovered steel. For the aluminum industry, 42 percent of all aluminum is recovered or recycled. Each aluminum can, contains about 55 percent recycled content. This is a leading economic success for community recycling projects all over the United States. That accounts for more than $1 billion in recycled aluminum cans (Ackerman 7). The value of materials recycled from solid waste has become a substantial amount. In 1996 this project had a dollar value of $3.6 billion and was projected to be $5.2 billion by 2005. Paper and paperboard were accounted for almost one-third of all recycled materials, in both 1996 and 2005 (Ackerman 8). The other two-thirds were made up of grass clippings, aluminum cans, glass bottles, steel, and other recyclable materials. In recycling these materials, the planet is being saved for the future generations to
ement occupies approximately 50% of the mixed concrete volume and is responsible for physiomechanical properties of concrete. Cement production is essential to infrastructure and building construction, creating demands in very large quantities. Energy resources invested in the production process and resulting greenhouse gas emissions have become problematic. The cement production process has become among the world’s largest anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to approximately 5% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, (WBCSD, 2009). Increased pressure is being placed on the industry to reduce CO2 emissions, owning to awareness regarding sustainability....
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction material in the world. The reason for this is because concrete is strong, easy to make and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. Besides that, concrete is cheap, affordable and is readily mix.
Recycling would lead to saving energy and help preserve natural resources. In the article “Prognostication of energy use and environmental impacts for recycle system of municipal solid waste management” it says that recycled aluminum cans could possibly save 95% of the energy used to make it and that one ton of them could save 14,000 kilowatt hours. It goes on to explain that a ton of plastic that has been recycled saves up to 5,774 kilowatt hours. Recycling different materials all are able to not only save incredible amounts of energy but also large amounts of oil. Not to mention all the saved raw materials. Saving these things allows the use of them for longer periods of time. This is important because the earth running low on these will not be able to make them so it is best to be good stewards of the limited commodities there
...e, as not only is our energy being conserved, but also transportation and extraction of raw materials will significantly decrease. Finally, employment opportunities become available, as recycling is a much more complex process, and therefore more jobs will be available when comparing it against employment related to waste and landfill.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
Lots of recycled products are less expensive than brand new ones. Buying cans, bottles, paper, and some clothing items made from recycled goods are all potential ways to save you money. People can use their recycled items. People can use their recycled paper to make pencil which saves money. When people make paper it cost $25,000 dollars a month. If people use recycled paper, then it won't even cost about $100. The benefit in cost per can in terms of savings is so low that it's quite insignificant. On another level, the savings in terms of energy required in making a new can from scratch as compared to making it from an existing can is tremendous. The cost of aluminum would be high if people did not recycle it. Metals like copper, iron, and steel can also be recycled. Scrap bits of metal can be brought to a scrap dealer who will pay cash for the metal. Automobile manufacturers get good money for scrap metal too. Some people think that recycling is a great way to save
There are also several long term benefits of recycling. For example, “collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing recy...
The future of skyscrapers is in the hands of environmental and architectural engineers that can develop sustainable and cost-effective buildings for commercial and residential use. If skyscrapers can be perfected, as monuments of consumerism and capitalism, the future for them should be in the hands of the people who they once thrived off of. Skyscrapers are used for the majority of the time as corporate offices but, the ability to build space vertically, safely, is so innovative in helping to pacify the global population crisis, and reducing the homeless population.
are required and less energy is needed to make recycled plastic products than to make
Recycling may be defined as the reprocessing of materials into new products. (Dallas Sierra Club, 2008) Recycling is not a new trend; it has been a common practice throughout the ages as persons have been practicing recycling for many years in one form or the other. According to Leah Blunt in her article ‘The History of Recycling’ (2011), archaeologists have found evidence of recycling that took place around or perhaps earlier than 400 B.
Implementation of green concepts has been significant not only in design engineering but also in construction. Therefore the knowledge about green design has been a very important fact for the sustainable development in civil engineering. Concepts such as green buildings, carbon foot print, ecological foot print and LEED rating system have helped to achieve sustainable development for civil engineering