|
doi:10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4_S3-M006-cd
Environmental Savings from the use of Vegetable Fibres as Concrete Reinforcement
E. B. B. Zea Escamilla and H. Wallbaum
Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute Construction and
Infrastructure Management, Sustainable Construction,
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
ABSTRACT
The growing interest in sustainable construction materials has brought back the spotlight to the
use of bio-fibers as reinforcement of concrete. Bio-fiber reinforced concrete elements can achieve
mechanical properties comparable to traditional products with added values as coming from
renewable sources, being less expensive and opening new possibilities for concrete recycling.
The life cycle inventories of both traditional and bio-fiber reinforced products were developed
using SIMA pro.Moreover, life cycle assessmentswere carried out in order to represent different
scenarios considering amounts of materials required; energy demands due to processing,
transportation and disposal. It was concluded that the use of bio-fibers as reinforcement for
concrete can produce a significant environmental saving only under certain conditions. These
were noticeably influenced by material quantities while factors like transport, disposal, or
possibilities of recycling of the studied products did not produce a significant impact. The
replacement of traditional reinforcements can not only bring a significant environmental saving
for the production of concrete but carries also a remarkable cost reduction potential, making
it an interesting option for the ever growing demand of housing in the developing world,
where many of the bio-fibers grow naturally, thus opening new opportunities for sustainable
and affordable construction materials, employment generation, and business.
Keywords: Bio fiber, Concrete, Life cycle assessment, Sustainable, Materials, Environmental.
Back to TOC
FULL TEXT(PDF)
|