Carbon footprint of bamboo particles, rice husk and wood shavings-cement composites

Abstract

The growing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) increases more and more the heat trapping in the atmosphere, leading to a rise in global temperatures, also known as global warming. For these reasons, in the last decade, in order to counteract this phenomenon, a special effort has been made also in the construction sector by developing new sustainable building materials and, moreover, one of the most promising solution is the possible employment of forest waste as a raw material for the production of cement based construction systems. In this context, the present study aims at evaluating the carbon footprint production of bio-based cementitious composites (BBCCs) produced with three types of bio-aggregates: bamboo particles, rice husk and wood shavings. The carbon footprint of the BBCCs was calculated using a life cycle perspective following the guidelines of ISO 14067:2014. The biogenic carbon was quantified based on the carbon content of the bio-based materials, considering the landfill process in the end-of-life stage. System boundaries were established according to a cradle-togate approach, based on data collection (in literature and laboratory) regarding the raw material production, transportation and processing. The results were presented in three ways: (1) the amount of CO2e emissions to produce 1m³ of composite (kgCO2e/m³), (2) the amount of CO2e emissions considering the 1MPa strength of the composite (kgCO2e/m³.MPa), (3) the amount of CO2e emissions to produce 1m³ with 1MPa strength considering the dry density of the composite (MPa.CO2e index./Dry density). The wood shavings composite was the most carbon efficient, while the rice husk showed to be the lowest efficient. Finally, the main criteria for a low carbon footprint bio-based material were described in order to help designers.