Variability in concrete water footprint from cradle to gate F

Author(s): Yazmin L. Mack-Vergara, Ana Spiroska, Vanderley M. John, Guil-laume Habert
Paper category: Proceedings
Book title: International Conference on Sustainable Materials, Systems and Structures (SMSS 2019) Energy Efficient Building Design and Legislation
Editor(s): Marina Bagarić, Ivana Banjad Pečur, Hartwig M. Künzel
ISBN: 978-2-35158-217-6
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-218-3
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2019
Pages: 180-187
Total Pages: 08
Language: English

Abstract: Concrete is the most used material in the world after water. However, impacts related to water use in its production have been neglected or at best inconsistently reported. In general, results on environmental indicators are presented as single value which hides variability and uncertainties from different sources. In this research, a cradle to gate water footprint study was performed to estimate variability in concrete production water footprint including variability due to water use, location and choice of impact assessment method for different concrete formulations. The assessment is done based on a sample of 25 MPa concrete formulations. The main sources of variability for concrete water inventory and water footprint are identified. Direct water use is usually a fixed value 196-249 l/m3 which is less than 5% of the variability. Variability from indirect water use and energy production water use are in the range of 5 -10 % for specific regions. The choice of impact assessment method accounts for the biggest share, 80-99% of the variability. For the water use inventory, the energy production and aggregates production seem to be the most important contributors. The water footprint varies mainly depending on the location and method used for the assessment. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the choice of method.

Online publication: 2019
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00