The pollution consequences of

energy use in building materials

Dr.Saiful Huque
Institute of Renewable Energy
University of Dhaka
 Pollution consequence of material
production

Pollution arising from the production of

building materials arises at three levels. At the
local level (under 1 km), pollution is caused by
gases produced in the combustion of fuels,
causing health risks to workers and local
residents.
 Pollution Consequence
At the regional level (up to 100 km) pollution
can cause climatic modification through
thermal effects or persistence of particles in
the atmosphere. These local and regional
effects can normally be controlled by reducing
the emission of the substances responsible,
and many governments have pollution control
or environmental protection regulations
setting required standards.
 Pollution consequence

Some of the pollutants emitted in building

materials production processes also
contribute to pollution on a continental or
global scale. Sulphur dioxide resulting from
coal-burning, for example, can result in acid
rain causing acidification of lakes and
destruction of forests.
 Consequence of pollution

potentially the most important effect is the

phenomenon of global warming caused by
increasing concentration of the so-called
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
 Contributions to greenhouse warming by
various gases

• Gas Contribution to warming (percentage)

• Carbon dioxide 50
• Methane 19
• CFCs 17
• Tropospheric ozone 8
• Nitrous oxide 4
Energy intensity in building materials manufacture

• There are numerous studies estimating the energy

costs in the manufacture of various materials,
although many of them derive from the 1970s when
work on energy conservation began to betaken
seriously.
• Since in most cases these are a mixture of electrical
and thermal energy costs, the most suitable basis of
comparison is in terms of primary energy, which
includes energy used in the energy conversion and
supply system.
Energy usage in building material
The use of energy in quarrying operations and
the transporting of raw materials to the
factory also needs to be included. The range
of different estimates given in these studies is
the result in part of the different assumptions
made, but is also a reflection of the wide
range of different technologies in use for any
one material; this point will be discussed
further below.
Energy usage in building material

On the basis of the energy intensity, (the gross

energy requirement to manufacture unit
weight), building materials have been
classified into three categories: high, medium
and low-energy materials.
energy requirement of materials
High-energy materials are those with energy
intensities greater than 5 GJ/ton.
Medium-energy materials are those with
energy requirements between about 0.5 and 5
GJ/ton.
Low-energy materials are those with energy
requirements less than 0.5 GJ/ton.
Energy requirement of building material

Other ways of defining high, medium and low

are sometimes used, and it may be valuable
to define a class of very-high-energy materials
with energy intensities above 50 GJ/ton.
Thanks