GREEN MATERIALS

DR RADEN MAIZATUL AIMI MOHD AZAM

 Sustainable Green Materials

 Green building materials are composed of renewable,

rather than nonrenewable resources.
 Green materials are environmentally responsible
because impacts are considered over the life of the
product.
 The concept of sustainable building incorporates and
integrates a variety of strategies during the design,
construction and operation of building projects.
 Using green building materials and products promotes
conservation of dwindling nonrenewable resources
internationally.
 Resource
efficiency

Indoor air
Affordability
quality
Green
Material
Selection

Water Energy
conservation efficiency
Resource Efficiency
 Recycled Content : Products with identifiable recycled content,
including post industrial content with a preference for post consumer
content.
 Natural, plentiful or renewable : Materials harvested from sustainably
managed sources and preferably have an independent certification
(e.g., certified wood) and are certified by an independent third party.
 Resource efficient manufacturing process: Products manufactured with
resource-efficient processes including reducing energy consumption,
minimizing waste (recycled, recyclable and or source reduced
product packaging), and reducing greenhouse gases.
 Locally available: Building materials, components, and systems found
locally or regionally saving energy and resources in transportation to
the project site.
 Reusable or recyclable: Select materials that can be easily dismantled
and reused or recycled at the end of their useful life.
Indoor Air Quality
 Low or non-toxic: Materials that emit few or no carcinogens,
reproductive toxicants, or irritants as demonstrated by the
manufacturer through appropriate testing.
 Minimal chemical emissions: Products that have minimal emissions of
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Products that also maximize
resource and energy efficiency while reducing chemical emissions.
 Low-VOC assembly: Materials installed with minimal VOC-producing
compounds, or no-VOC mechanical attachment methods and
minimal hazards.
 Moisture resistant: Products and systems that resist moisture or inhibit
the growth of biological contaminants in buildings.
 Healthfully maintained: Materials, components, and systems that
require only simple, non-toxic, or low-VOC methods of cleaning.
Energy Efficiency

Materials, components, and

systems that help reduce
energy consumption in
buildings and facilities.
Water Conservation

Products and systems that

help reduce water
consumption in buildings and
conserve water in landscaped
areas.
Affordability

Affordability can be considered

when building product life-cycle
costs are comparable to
conventional materials or as a
whole, are within a project-defined
percentage of the overall budget.
 Advantages of Using Green Materials
Green building materials offer specific benefits to the
building owner and building occupants which are :
 Reduced maintenance/replacement costs over the life of
the building.
 Energy conservation.
 Improved occupant health and productivity.
 Lower costs associated with changing space
configurations.
 Greater design flexibility.
 Conserving landfill void space
 Reducing global carbon dioxide emissions
Green Materials Products

 The attributes for green materials are as follows:

1. Absence of hazardous ingredients
2. Low-emitting CO2
3. Bio based and sustainably sourced
4. Durable or low-maintenance
5. Reduces material use
6. Reduces heating and cooling loads
7. Conserves water
8. Improve light and air quality
9. Improved acoustical performance
10.Reduces storm water pollution.
 Absence of hazardous ingredients
Materials are green if they provide alternative in an
application dominated by products for which there are
concerns about toxic constituents.
For example, natural wall covering and LED kighting that is
free of the mercury found in fluorescent lighting sources.

 Durable or Low Maintenance

Products that are durable and require low maintenance are
considered as green materials because they need to be
replaced less frequently therefore, can reduce costs as well
as reduce environmental impact.
For example, traffic-resistant polyurethane floor finish and
resilient flooring that does not require regular waxing.
Reduces Material Use
Products can be claimed green if it helps to use
or products or materials more efficiently.
For example, drywall clips allow the elimination
of corner studs, engineered stair stringers and
reduce lumber waste.
Concrete pigments and polishing systems can
turn concrete slabs into attractive finished floors.
Some other products like vaccum plumbing
system also green products because it uses less
material than their conventional counterparts.
 Reusable, recyclable or compostable
Resources and energy can be conserved if product can
be reused. Products that designed to be reusable,
recyclable or compostable facilitate efficient use of
materials.

 Improves air quality

Some products are green because they help us monitor
the indoor environment. These include carbon monoxide
detectors and lead-paint test kits.
Those that prevent moisture problems, ventilation, filters
and other devices that help to remove pollutions or
introduce fresh are also can be considered green
products.
Recycling Waste In Construction

 Recycling is a process to convert waste materials into

reusable material to prevent waste of potentially useful
materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials,
reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution
(from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by
reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal and
lower greenhouse gas emissions.
 Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction
and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle (3R)"
Category of Wastes

Industrial

Construction
Wastes Agriculture
waste

Domestic
Industrial Wastes
 The generation of industrial wastes is increasing at high rates
for the past decades and the disposal in landfill has been the
most used options.
 The introduction of industrial by-products in cementitious
materials has been applied for years.
 Major CO2 emissions associated with the Portland cement
manufacture process, and numerous research have been
undertaken to look alternative using environmentally-
sustainable raw materials.
 For example, coal fly ashes and bottom ash from power
stations and blast furnace slags from steel factories have
been successfully used in concrete and brick making either as
supplementary cementitious materials or aggregate.
Agricultural Wastes
 Agricultural waste such as rice husk ash, straw from
the stems left after harvesting of cereal grains, oil
palm shell (OPS), coconut shell ash and sugarcane
have been used in the production of concrete and
brick.
 Oil palm kernel shell (PKS) is a waste material
obtained during the extraction of palm oil by
crushing of the palm nut in the palm oil mills.
 Rice husk is one of the agricultural wastes. Most of
the husk produced from processing of rice is either
dumped as waste or burnt causing environmental
problems. Rice husk forms the outer covering of rice
and is removed during the milling process. Rice
husk if properly burnt, it contains more than 92% of
SiO2.
Agricultural Wastes (cont’d)
 Sugarcane is another agricultural waste that
has potential to be cement replacement
material.
 Sugarcane bagasse is a main by-product of
sugar industry, which used as an energy
source for sugar production. Sugarcane
containing 25-30% bagasse, whilst industry
recovered sugar is around 10%. Bagasse can
be used as a raw material for paper making.
 The ash produced by burning transforms the
silica content of the ash into amorphous phase
and provide pozzolanic reactivity that lead to
densification of cement matrix structure.
Construction Wastes
 Building activity is requiring amounts of materials (such as
gravel and sand) derived mainly from natural resources and is
generating high quantity of wastes.
 The recycling of these wastes are in this way considered
important steps towards sustainable construction
applications.
 Construction waste from demolition works have been used as
aggregate which is known as recycled aggregate. Recycled
concrete aggregate (RCA) used for construction can ease
aggregate shortage problem and reduce both
environmental pollution and ecological footprint
Construction Wastes (cont’d)

 The use of RCA such as from demolished waste or

building could not only contribute to the solution of
waste disposal but to the conservation of natural
resources which are scarce nowadays.
Wastewater Sludges
 Many regions in the world are experiencing problems
disposing of increasing amounts of municipal solid waste.
 Ashes from treament plants of sludges from municipal
wastewater have been introduced as cement or sand
replacement in concrete. Incinerated sewage sludge ash
(SSA) has been used partly in making concrete as fine
aggregate.
 Pre-treatment (calcination) plating sludges have been added
in cement. However, the studies showed that the sludge ashes
can be added to cement in small dosage (less than 5% dry
weight) without affecting the compressive strength and
setting time of the final product.
 Barriers in Adopting Sustainable Materials
Challenges Description
Affordability There is always a lack of financial resources. A high initial
expenses may caused the stakeholders do not have enough
resources to support even though a project can has a high
returns after the building constructed (Dahle and Neumayer,
2001). Moreover, cost of sustainable materials are still uncertain
as the specifying of sustainable materials will often take place
a year or more before the actual purchase and procurement
of the materials (Griffin, Knowles, Theodropoulos, and Allen,
2010).
Concept of Construction practitioners do not aware the importance in
Sustainable protecting our environment from continuing contaminated by
Material the waste created by the construction industry (Dahle and
Neumayer, 2001). Besides, sustainability is still a relatively new
concept for construction industry in the developing countries
of South-East Asia (Shafii et al., 2006).
 Barriers in Adopting Sustainable Materials
(cont’d)
Challenges Description
Code and Public policies and some regulatory frameworks nowadays do
Regulation not encourage the development of the construction sector
(Shafii et al., 2006). Thus, it is directly affect the adoption of
sustainable materials by developers for new construction
projects. By the provision of code and regulation compliance,
it will motivate more developers in the adoption of sustainable
materials in their construction project.
Limited The application of sustainable materials in construction industry
Availability of is still not very well known due to the very limited and variable
Sustainable availability of sustainable materials. Some examples for this
Materials case is the difficulties faced when developers need to find
adequate quantities of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or
other certified sustainably harvested wood for projects larger
then small house (Griffin et al., 2010).
 Barriers in Adopting Sustainable Materials
(cont’d)

Challenges Description
Lack of The lack of readily accessible and reliable
Readily information comparing alternative structural
Available materials and systems poses a significant barrier
Accessible during the design and selection process. The lack of
Information information caused stakeholder unable to make
proper decision to adopt sustainable materials
(Griffin et al., 2010).
Summary
 Materials are considered green if they are energy or water
efficient; they use healthy, non-toxic materials; they are made
from recycled or renewable sources; or they are more durable
as compared to conventional material.
 Sustainable materials are materials that can be produced in
required volumes without depleting non-renewable resources
and without disrupting the established steady-state equilibrium
of the environment.
 Integrating green building materials into building projects can
help reduce the environmental impacts associated with the
extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse,
recycling, and disposal.
 Summary (cont’d)
 Advantages of using green building include reduced
maintenance/replacement costs over the life of the building,
energy conservation, improved occupant health and
productivity, lower costs associated with changing space
configurations, greater design flexibility, conserving landfill void
space, and reducing global carbon dioxide emissions.
 Adoption of sustainable materials is essential for construction
industry as alternative of the conventional construction
materials.
 Recommendations for increased usage of sustainable materials
are by encouraging construction practitioners, especially
developers to place their investment in long-term view.
Summary (cont’d)

 Government intervention such as providing subsidies

can be an encouragement for the adoption of
sustainable materials. Cooperation from all parties has to
be obtained so as to have higher usage of sustainable
materials in future construction industry