Circular economy life cycle cost for kerbside waste material looping process.

Rapid expansion in urban areas has engendered a superfluity of municipal solid waste (MSW) stemming from contemporary civilization, encompassing commercial sectors and human undertakings. Kerbside waste, a type of MSW, has the potential for recycling and reuse at the end of its first life cycle, but is often limited to a linear cycle. This study aimed to assess the life cycle costs of different separation and recycling methods for handling kerbside waste. A new life cycle cost model, drawing from the circular economy's value retention process (VRP) model, has been created and applied to assess the continuous recycling of kerbside glass. The study investigates two key separation techniques, kerbside recycling mixed bin recycling (KRMB) kerbside glass recycling separate bin (KGRSB) and analyses their impact on the life cycle cost of the recycling process. Additionally, the research explores two approaches of recycling and downcycling: closed-loop recycling, which pertains to the recycling of glass containers, and open-looped recycling, which involves the use of recycled glass in asphalt. The results showed when use annually collected waste as the functional unit, the KRMB model incurred lower costs compared to the KGRSB model due to its lower production output. However, when evaluated over a 1-ton production of glass container and asphalt, the KGRSB method demonstrated superior cost performance with a 40-50% reduction compared to the KRMB method. The open-loop recycling method (asphalt) incurred a higher cost compared to the closed-loop recycling method due to its larger production volume over a 21-year period.

A life cycle assessment of cardboard waste in low stress grade concrete applications.

Utilising cardboard waste for the partial substitution of cement within concrete has the potential to yield significant sustainability benefits. Cardboard waste is abundantly available, and a significant proportion of this material is disposed of in landfill. However, conversion of waste cardboard into kraft fibres (KFs) for concrete implementation can be utilised in the building and construction industry. Therefore, identification of sustainability variables associated with cardboard waste in concrete is vital. In this study, two KF composites satisfied the criteria for low stress grade concrete and were subsequently evaluated. SFKF5 mix design contained 5% KFs and SFKF105 contained 10% KFs with 5% metakaolin (MK). Both composites had silica fume (SF) as a fibre modification technique for durability purposes. A life cycle assessment (LCA) determined the environmental effect of waste cardboard integration. A Monte-Carlo simulation was utilised as the sensitivity analysis to investigate transportation and energy manufacturing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission variables. LCA results of SFKF105 had a savings of 11%, 8%, 4% and 1% for terrestrial acidification potential, global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial ecotoxicity potential (TEP) and human toxicity potential, respectively. SFKF5 revealed savings of 3%, 2% and 4% for GWP, TEP and marine eutrophication potential, respectively. The additional travel requirements of KFs and MK to the cement batching plant for composite production did not surpass the embodied energy and travel emissions of the control. However, this was negated due to the additional energy requirements to manufacture KFs. The control, SFKF5, and SFKF105 had an average total of 572, 1023 and 997 kgCO2-eq/m3, respectively.

Thermal Characterizations of Waste Cardboard Kraft Fibres in the Context of Their Use as a Partial Cement Substitute within Concrete Composites.

The building and construction industry consumes a significant amount of virgin resources and minimizing the demand with alternative waste materials can provide a contemporary solution. In this study, thermal components of kraft fibres (KFs) derived from waste cardboard are investigated. The mechanical properties containing KFs within concrete composites are evaluated. Metakaolin (MK) and KFs were integrated into concrete samples as a partial substitute for cement. Silica Fume (SF) was applied to the KF (SFKFs) with a view to enhancing the fibre durability. The results indicated that there was a reduction in compressive strength of 44 and 56% when 10% raw and modified KFs were integrated, respectively. Raw, fibre and matrix-modified samples demonstrated a 35, 4 and 24% flexural strength reduction, respectively; however, the tensile strength improved by 8% when the matrix was modified using MK and SFKF. The morphology of the fibres was illustrated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), with an energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) provision and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) employed to gain insights into their chemical nature. The thermal, calorimetric and combustion attributes of the fibres were measured using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC). SFKFs showed a lower heat release capacity (HRC), demonstrating a lower combustion propensity compared to raw KFs. Furthermore, the 45% decreased peak heat release rate (pHRR) of SFKFs highlighted the overall reduction in the fire hazards associated with these materials. TGA results also confirmed a lower mass weight loss of SFKFs at elevated temperatures, thus corroborating the results from the PCFC runs.

Selection of emission factor standards for estimating emissions from diesel construction equipment in building construction in the Australian context.

Emissions from equipment usage and transportation at the construction stage are classified as the direct emissions which include both greenhouse gas (GHG) and non-GHG emissions due to partial combustion of fuel. Unavailability of a reliable and complete inventory restricts an accurate emission evaluation on construction work. The study attempts to review emission factor standards readily available worldwide for estimating emissions from construction equipment. Emission factors published by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Australian National Greenhouse Accounts (AUS NGA), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and European Environmental Agency (EEA) are critically reviewed to identify their strengths and weaknesses. A selection process based on the availability and applicability is then developed to help identify the most suitable emission factor standards for estimating emissions from construction equipment in the Australian context. A case study indicates that a fuel based emission factor is more suitable for GHG emission estimation and a time based emission factor is more appropriate for estimation of non-GHG emissions. However, the selection of emission factor standards also depends on factors like the place of analysis (country of origin), data availability and the scope of analysis. Therefore, suitable modifications and assumptions should be incorporated in order to represent these factors.