CA-1

Q: SELECT AN INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL AND MAKE A REPORT ON ITS

EMBODIED ENERGY REQUIRED DURING EXTRACTION, MANUFACTURING
TRANSPORTATION AND INSTALLATION PROCESS SEPARATELY. REFERENCES OF
YOUR REPORT MUST BE INCLUDED IN LAST PAGE. WITHOUT REFERENCES, YOUR CA
WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. YOU CAN MAKE A DIGITAL REPORT INSTEAD OF PAPER
WORK.

Construction Material chosen: Plastics

The typical embodied energy of plastic is 80 MJ (22 kWh) per kg of plastic, around
four times the embodied energy per kg of steel or half that of aluminum with 33%
recycled content.

Embodied energy of individual categories of plastics:

Plastics (general)  90.0 MJ/kg (25 kWh/kg)

PVC (polyvinyl chloride)  80.0 MJ/kg (22 kWh/kg)
Polypropylene  69 MJ/kg (19 kWh/kg)
Plastics (from crude oil)  62 - 108MJ/kg (17.2 - 30.0 kWh/kg)
Primary polyethylene PE  77 MJ/kg (21.4 kWh/kg)
Primary polypropylene  80 MJ/kg (22 kWh/kg)
Primary PVC  80 MJ/kg (22 kWh/kg)

Energy required during Extraction and Refining (production of naphtha):

A certain amount of energy is required to extract and refine oil and gas to produce
naphtha ready for olefin production.

The carbon emissions of burning the products of a barrel of oil is roughly 317 kg
CO2, we can therefore estimate that the equivalent of 70,000 barrels of oil where
used to produce 22,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, or 7% of 1 million barrels.

The energy required during extraction and refining of naphtha is approximately 44

MJ/kg (12.2 kWh/kg) which is about 55% of the embodied energy figures given
above.
Energy required during Manufacturing and Production of Olefin:

Steam cracking for the production of light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, is
the single most energy-consuming process in the chemical industry. Energy cost
counts for approximately 70% of production costs in typical ethane- or naphtha-
based olefin plants.

Olefins from conventional and heavy feedstocks: Energy use in steam cracking and
alternative processes. Process energy consumption for olefin production of 17 MJ/kg
(4.7 kWh/kg) which is about 20% of the embodied energy figures given above.

Energy required during Transportation of Plastics components:

The energy used to transport the plastic components depends mainly on how far it is
shipped and what transportation method is used. Air cargo is the costliest energy
method, followed by truck, cargo ship and rail shipping, in that order.

Figures estimating the total energy consumed in transportation would include:

 fuel consumption in the delivery of materials.

 fuel consumption in the return journey of the delivery vehicle.
 attributable proportion of the energy consumed in the manufacture and
maintenance of the vehicles.
 attributable proportion of the energy consumed in the construction and
maintenance of the roads.

The approximate energy consumption in transportation of plastic building materials

comes out to be 1.5 MJ/kg (0.4 kW/kg) which is about 2% of the embodied energy
figures given above.

Energy required during Installation and Maintenance of Plastic building

materials:

During installation and maintenance also, a lot of energy is consumed by these

plastic materials which is approximately 17.5 MJ/Kg (4.9 kW/kg) which is about 22%
of the embodied energy figures given above.

References:

https://learn.openenergymonitor.org/sustainable-energy/energy/industry-plastic

https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8492.pdf