Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Polymeric and Conventional Concrete for Sustainable Construction: A Case Study of a New Clinic at Assiut University Hospital in Egypt.

Abstract

The building material industry has the largest share in global environmental emissions. In this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of polymeric concrete has been conducted and compared to conventional concrete to evaluate its environmental impact and identify areas for improvement for the construction of a new clinic at Assiut University Hospital in Egypt. The LCA was conducted (using SimaPro V9.5) from cradle to gate, including raw material extraction, transportation, and production.The LCA results showed that polymeric concrete had a lower environmental impact than conventional concrete regarding global warming, acidification, and eutrophication potential. In terms of the single score outcomes, climate change had a significant impact on both ordinary and polymer concrete, with the former scoring 0.90 mPt and the latter recording a much lower 0.14 mPt, indicating a 75% reduction. Furthermore, when considering the weighting results (midpoint result), it was found that specific environmental impacts, such as global warming, respiratory inorganic, and non-renewable energy impacts, had a more significant effect overall. Specifically, the global warming potential was found to be 8.95 Kg CO_2 eq. and 1.38 Kg CO_2 eq. for polymer and ordinary concrete, respectively. Lastly, the endpoint result showed that human health was impacted the most, with a total reduction of 84.24%. The DALY recorded for ordinary concrete was 3.69E-06, whereas, for polymer concrete, it was 5.8E-07.The findings of this study suggest that polymeric concrete can be a more sustainable alternative to conventional concrete for specific applications.

Keywords

• life cycle assessment
• green building materials
• conventional concrete
• environmental impact
• assiut university hospital clinic