Thesis Proposal

Environmental Performance Assessment: Life Cycle Energy and

Emissions of R.C.C Framed versus Rammed Earth Buildings

078MSEEB015 |Shrijan Basnet

17-May-2023 Submitted to: Dr.Sanjay Upreti
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INTRODUCTION

 B u i l d i n g c o n s t r u c ti o n a n d o p e r a ti o n c o n t r i b u t e t o
around 40% of the CO2 related emission in 2018
(Global status report,2018).
 Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for
e v a l u a ti n g the environmental impacts of a
product or system, from its e x t r a c ti o n of raw
materials to its disposal or recycling.
 Second NDC aims to Prepare Integrated Urban
Development Plans (IUDPs) emphasizing low
c a r b o n a n d c l i m a t e - r e s i l i e n t u r b a n s e tt l e m e n t s i n
a l l m u n i c i p a l i ti e s . Fig:Bi-fold glazing
Fig 1: Global Carbon Emission by various Sectors
(Global Status Report, 2018)

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 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
 Environmental Impact Assessment: LCA provides a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impact of buildings
throughout their entire life cycle.
 Resource Optimization: LCA helps in optimizing the use of resources by identifying materials and technologies with
lower environmental burdens.
 Energy Efficiency: LCA can identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy integration,
and carbon emissions reduction.
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction: Buildings contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. LCA helps
quantify the carbon footprint associated with different stages of a building's life cycle and identifies strategies to
reduce emissions.
 Decision-making Support: LCA provides data-driven insights to support decision-making in the design and construction
phases.
 Policy Development and Regulations: LCA plays a crucial role in the development of policies and regulations related to
sustainable construction practices.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT
 R a m m e d e a r t h c o n s t r u c ti o n h a s g a i n e d a tt e n ti o n a s a n e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y f r i e n d l y a n d
e n e r g y - e ffi c i e n t t e c h n i q u e , p o t e n ti a l l y o ff e r i n g s u b s t a n ti a l b e n e fi t s o v e r r e i n f o r c e d
concrete framed structures. The problem addressed in this thesis is the limited
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l p e r f o r m a n c e o f d i ff e r e n t t y p e s o f c o n s t r u c ti o n
m a t e r i a l s a n d t e c h n o l o g y.
W h i l e i n d i v i d u a l s t u d i e s h a v e e v a l u a t e d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t o f e a c h c o n s t r u c ti o n
m e t h o d s e p a r a t e l y , a h o l i s ti c c o m p a r i s o n i s e s s e n ti a l t o i n f o r m d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g
p r o c e s s e s i n t h e c o n s t r u c ti o n i n d u s t r y . B y c o n d u c ti n g a t h o r o u g h a n a l y s i s o f l i f e c y c l e
e n e r g y c o n s u m p ti o n a n d e m i s s i o n s , t h i s s t u d y a i m s t o b r i d g e t h e k n o w l e d g e g a p a n d
p r o v i d e v a l u a b l e i n s i g h t s f o r s u s t a i n a b l e c o n s t r u c ti o n p r a c ti c e s .

4
Objectives
 T h e m a i n o b j e c ti v e o f t h e s t u d y i s t o e v a l u a t e t h e l i f e c y c l e e n e r g y a n d e m i s s i o n
of R.C.C Framed and Rammed Earth Buildings .

 T h i s p r o j e c t a i m s t o i d e n ti f y a n d s t u d y d i ff e r e n t c o n s t r u c ti o n m a t e r i a l ; t h e i r l i f e
c y c l e e n e r g y a n d e m i s s i o n f o r e c a s ti n g t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s a n d t h e w a y s t o
minimize the impacts.

 T h i s s t u d y p r o m o t e s t h e u s e o f l o c a l m a t e r i a l f o r t h e c o n s t r u c ti o n .

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TOPIC VALIDITY
 B u i l d i n g w i t h l o c a l m a t e r i a l s i s a m o r e e n v i r o n m e n t a l l y f r i e n d l y o p ti o n t h a n b u i l d i n g
with other equivalent commercial materials. (Bhochhibhoya et. al.,2015). Studies that
i n v e s ti g a t e t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t o f c o n s t r u c ti o n m e t h o d s i n v a r i o u s g e o g r a p h i c a l
l o c a ti o n s , b u i l d i n g t y p e s , a n d c l i m a t e c o n d i ti o n s h e l p e s t a b l i s h t h e g e n e r a l i z a b i l i t y
o f t h e fi n d i n g s a n d t h e i r r e l e v a n c e b e y o n d a s p e c i fi c c o n t e x t .
 L i f e c y c l e a s s e s s m e n t i s a p r o c e s s b a s e d s t u d y . S t u d y i n g t h e e n ti r e p r o c e s s d u r i n g i t s
overall lifecycle can provide us related energy and emission from the structure.
B a s e d o n t h e e n e r g y a n d e m i s s i o n p a r a m e t e r s , t h e b u i l d i n g s c a n b e h o l i s ti c a l l y
compared in terms of environmental impacts .
 T h e r e s e a r c h w i l l i n v e s ti g a t e v a r i o u s s t a g e s o f t h e l i f e c y c l e , i n c l u d i n g r a w m a t e r i a l
e x t r a c ti o n , m a n u f a c t u r i n g , c o n s t r u c ti o n , m a i n t e n a n c e , a n d e n d - o f - l i f e c o n s i d e r a ti o n s
for both R.C.C framed structures and rammed earth structures. Factors such as energy
c o n s u m p ti o n , g r e e n h o u s e g a s e m i s s i o n s , e m b o d i e d e n e r g y , a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h e a c h c o n s t r u c ti o n t e c h n i q u e w i l l b e q u a n ti t a ti v e l y a s s e s s e d a n d
c o m p a r e d . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e s t u d y w i l l i d e n ti f y k e y d r i v e r s o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l
p e r f o r m a n c e d i ff e r e n c e s a n d e x p l o r e p o t e n ti a l m i ti g a ti o n s t r a t e g i e s f o r b o t h
c o n s t r u c ti o n m e t h o d s .

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 Literature Review
S.N Title of Article Year Authors Type of Methodology Findings
c structure
under
Study

1 Comparative life cycle 2015 Bhochhibhoya Traditional, Quantitative Building with local
assessment and life et. al. Semi- Research . The two materials is a more
cycle costing of Modern, impact assessment environmentally friendly
lodging in the Modern methods IPCC 2013 option than building
Himalaya Houses and ReCiPe were with other equivalent
chosen commercial materials.

2 Embodied - Carbon 2021 Mandip RCC Framed Quantitative Structures that combine
Emission from Bhandari, Structure Research. timber with other
Building in Overall Life Kamal Bd. material have less
Cycle - A case study of Thapa severe environmental
Kathmandu impacts than those
using metal, brick or
concrete
 Literature Review
S.N Title of Article Year Authors Type of Methodology Findings
structure
under
Study

3 Life Cycle Energy 2021 Roshani RCC Framed Mixed In a Commercial Building
Analysis of An Subedi Structure Methodology . energy use is centered in
Academic Building (3- (Institutional Questionnaire the operating phase of a
C-9 Type Design of Building) survey, Simulation building throughout its
CLPIU-Education) Research existence.

4 An attritional and 2014 Harn Wei RCC Framed Quantitative Replacing concrete with
consequential life Kua , Susmita Structure Research. Using bricks may result in GWP
cycle assessment of Kamath Standard Database reductions but these are
substituting concrete small.
with bricks
 Literature Review

Title of Article: Embodied - Life cycle assessment of buildings: A review

Authors: Aashish Sharma, Abishekh Saxena.
Published Year: January, 2011

Table 2: Different results of Life Cycle assessment in Various papers

Proposed method of study
 Background research: Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature on life cycle assessment
(LCA) of modern and vernacular buildings, including studies conducted in other countries, to gain a
deeper understanding of the current state of knowledge on this topic.
 Goal and Scope Definition: Selecting a models to perform a life cycle assessment and estimate the total
carbon footprint from the building.
 Inventory Analysis: Detail analysis of the construction materials used in the construction. Inventory
data includes the source of construction materials and the manufacturing process, transportation
distances to the site, overall construction techniques, the energy operation process and the method of
disposal. The data are derived from the secondary sources.
 Impact assessment: The energy and the emission values were evaluated based on different standard
data set and the questionnaire survey. The impacts to the environment were studied based on the
overall lifecycle energy and emission.
 Interpretation: The total energy and the total CO2 emission from different construction materials are
studied and the areas for the improvement were recommended. Comparisons were made on the
various materials used in the construction.

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 Conceptual Framework
Construction Literature Review
(Raw Material
Life Cycle
Literature Review Selection of Case Extraction,
Assessment
Transportation,
Questionnaire
Construction
survey
Quantity Phase)
Estimation

Questionnaire
Operation and survey
Maintenance

Results and Literature Review

Conclusion
Discussion

Demolition Literature Review

Expected Output
 The study aims to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of various construction material.
 The findings of this research will assist in promoting environmentally conscious choices and enable the adoption
of sustainable construction practices that contribute to reduced energy consumption and emissions in the
construction sector.

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 Project Schedule and Budget
. Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors

Environmental Performance Assessment: Life

Cycle Energy and Emissions of R.C.C Framed 43 days Wed 5/17/23 Fri 7/14/23
versus Rammed Earth Buildings

Literature Review and desk study 10 days Wed 5/17/23 Tue 5/30/23

Field Visit 4 days Wed 5/31/23 Thu 6/15/23 2

Questionnaire Survey 10 days Wed 5/31/23 Tue 6/13/23 2

Data analysis and interpretation 10 days Fri 6/16/23 Thu 6/29/23 3,4

Preparation of draft report 7 days Fri 6/30/23 Mon 7/10/23 5

Reporting and presentation 3 days Tue 7/11/23 Thu 7/13/23 6

Final report Submission 1 day Fri 7/14/23 Fri 7/14/23 7

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 Project Schedule and Budget
.

Task Name Expected Budget (Rs.)

Literature Review and desk study 4000

Field Visit 10000

Questionnaire Survey 20000

Data analysis and interpretation 6000

Preparation of draft report 4000

Reporting and presentation 2000

Total: Rs.46,000/

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 References

Project analysis
• BREEAM. (2018). slide 2
BREEAM New Construction 2018: Technical Manual. BRE Global Ltd.
• El-Diraby, T. E., & Riffat, S. B. (2011). Life cycle assessment of building materials: A review. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(1), 536-547.
• Guinée, J. B., Gorrée, M., Heijungs, R., Huppes, G., De Schryver, A., & Zheng, M. (2002). Handbook on Life
Cycle Assessment Operational Guide to the ISO Standards. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Jonsson, M., & Messner, J. I. (2017). Life cycle assessment of building materials: A review of the current
state-of-the-art. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 123, 68-78.
• Kumar, A., & Shukla, S. (2019). Life cycle assessment of green building materials in India. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 207, 823-835.
• Murakami, K. (2015). A life cycle assessment of sustainable buildings in Japan. Renewable and
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• Singh, S. (2017). Life cycle assessment of buildings in Nepal: A case study of a building in Kathmandu.
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Cleaner Production, 156, 679-686.
• Yang, Y., & Qian, X. (2015). Life cycle assessment of building materials in China. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 99, 122-131.
 References

Project analysis
• Bures, C. (2019). slide 2
Building green: Local materials are key to sustainable design. Architectural Digest.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/building-green-local-materials-sustainable-design
• Connelly, M. (2017). The benefits of using local materials in construction. BuildingGreen.
https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/benefits-using-local-materials-construction
• Havelka, A. (2018). Why you should use local materials for your next construction project. Green Building
Elements. https://greenbuildingelements.com/use-local-materials-construction-project/
• Kohler, N. (2019). The advantages of using local materials in construction. Elemental Green.
https://elemental.green/the-advantages-of-using-local-materials-in-construction/
• Rawal, R., Yadav, A. K., & Chandel, S. S. (2020). Carbon emission reduction from buildings: A review of
current practices and future directions. Sustainable Cities and Society, 54, 101964.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101964
• Eichholtz, P., Kok, N., & Quigley, J. (2010). Doing well by doing good? Green office buildings. American
Economic Review, 100(5), 2492-2509. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.5.2492
• Balaras, C. A. (2016). Building energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Journal of Building
Engineering, 7, 173-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2016.08.001
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Building Research & Information, 45(2), 146-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2016.1233273
Thank You !