Impact of Building Materials on Ecology

Hafedh Abed Yahya and Muna Hanim Abdul Samad, School of Housing, Building and Planning, University of Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia How building material interaction with the environment occurs? The earth is the source of all material resource

BY Realty Plus
Published - Friday, 21 May, 2021

Hafedh Abed Yahya and Muna Hanim Abdul Samad, School of Housing, Building and Planning, University of Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia How building material interaction with the environment occurs? The earth is the source of all material resources and a sink for emissions, effluents, and solid wastes. In both ways, the use of materials affects the environment. Overuse at sources depletes both the quantity and quality of available resources. In addition, the extraction of resources degrades ecosystems at the source location. Overuse of sinks from over-generation, and careless disposal of emissions and waste, affect the balance of natural processes and ecosystems. The following are the ecological degradation resulting from the two ways of the interaction; the source materials resources and a sink for emissions. What are some of the examples of building materials greenhouse effects? Global warming occurs when the earth is reradiated as heat and is absorbed and trapped by greenhouse effect reduces heat loss to space, resulting in warmer temperatures on earth. Three-quarter of anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emission are generated from fossil-fuel combustion to power vehicle and power generating plants, and as raw material for production of synthetic polymers. Other serious (GHG) releases result from the conversion of limestone into lime for cement manufacture, from animal agriculture, and from deforestation. For instance, steel requires a relatively high amount of energy to produce energy derived primarily from coal combustion processes, so the (GHG) emissions are directly related. Aluminium and concrete are the two main materials? exceptions to this, for different reasons. Because the energy requirements for producing aluminium are so great, hydroelectric power is the primary power source (55%). While hydroelectric power poses other environmental concerns, CO2 release is relatively low compared to coal combustion or even natural gas; therefore, pound for pound steel has a lower embodied energy than aluminium, but higher (GHG) emissions. (GHG) emissions for concrete are about twice the embodied energy, as almost equal amounts of CO2 are released during the conversion of limestone to lime as in the fossil-fuel combustion to heat the limestone. What are the other environmental problems of building materials? Other environmental problems of building materials are the degree to which the material consumes energy. The industrial sector is the largest end user of energy, greater ever than the transportation sector or building operation. Fuel type is a major factor into the equation of environmental impacts from energy use. Non-renewable fossil fuels are the primary fuel source for industrial processes, including the manufacture of building materials. At the international level, the focus is more on reducing energy consumption. “Embodied energy (EE) is the total amount of energy used to create any product, including energy expended in extracting raw materials, processing, manufacturing, and transportation”. While “operating energy (OE) is the energy consumed in operating and maintaining the inside environment”. How to choose Green building materials? According to the (LBD) conducted to the literature of environmental impacts of building materials, in order to select green building materials, the designer needs to look at the entire life cycle of building material. How is the product mining or harvested, manufactured, and transported? Is it produced at the factory in another country? Does that factory release pollution into the environment? What is the product made of? Does it contain recycled content or renewable materials? How much water consumption does it take to create the product? And, overall, is the material biodegradable or recyclable when use it in the building? Conclusions created that in order to reduce the environmental impacts, the selected building materials should:

Provide resource savings (be obtained from renewable resources, have recyclable or waste ingredients, be easily recyclable or reusable, and be resistant).
Provide energy savings (consume little energy from nature, processing, transportation, construction and destruction, and have a good thermal performance during its use).
Not produce wastes (be reusable and easily recyclable).
Not be harmful for human health (not release emissions and particles detrimental to human health throughout its life cycle).
Provide comfortable and suitable conditions for human health within the covered areas.