Search results for " Embodied Energy"

Earth Bricks with Halloysite Nanoclay: Research and Experimentation for the Sustainability of Materials

2021

The paper illustrates the experimentation activities on rammed earth and nanotechnologies conducted by the authors. The experimental research was carried out with the aim of improving the performance of rammed earth bricks with clay nanotubes, creating a ‘new material’ with reduced embodied energy and low CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Specifically, the analysed performances are related to the compressive strength that expand their area of use as a building material.

Marble quarrying: an energy and waste intensive activity in the production of building materials

2008

Marble represents an important component of Italian buildings, where it is often utilized as a covering for bottom surfaces, despite its relatively high price. Moreover, it characterizes several public buildings, for which it is by far the most important decorative material, also because of its structural features and its long durability. Unfortunately, marble quarrying is an energy intensive activity that requires relevant amounts of electric and thermal energy sources; in addition, the extraction of the marble blocks from the mountain sides does involve a noticeable quantity of explosives, particularly in sites where traditional working methods are utilized. Another important feature of t…

INNOVAZIONE DEI MATERIALI NATURALI: TERRA E NANOTUBI DI ARGILLA PER UNA SFIDA SOSTENIBILE

2019

All’interno del dibattito culturale che vede la questione ambientale come prioritaria e con riferimento a studi e ricerche che negli ultimi anni hanno promosso materiali compositi a base di terra cruda, gli Autori, consapevoli della necessità che il rapporto fra Progetto e Materia debba assumere una nuova centralità supportato dalle specificità della Tecnologia dell’Architettura, illustrano le risultanze di una sperimentazione che ha l’obiettivo di migliorare le prestazioni della terra cruda con l’apporto delle nanotecnologie, sviluppando un ‘nuovo materiale’ con una ridotta embodied energy e una ridotta quantità di emissioni di CO2 in atmosfera.

Valutare la qualità energetico-ambientale nell’edilizia

2013

The building sector is one of the most important in terms of wealth and employment, but it also involves significant resource consumption and environmental impacts. In particular, it affects the energy balance and the greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. It is responsible for 50-60% of the natural resource consumption and for 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe, and this percentage will increase without strategies and actions aimed at enhancing the use of renewable energy resources. Therefore, the reduction of resource consumption and the minimization of environmental impacts have become in recent years the main goals in the design and construction of sustainable buildings (eco-des…

Materiali edilizi e sostenibilità

2012

Environmental assessment of a new building envelope material derived from urban agriculture wastes : the case of the tomato plants stems

2023

Abstract Purpose Decarbonizing cities is one of today’s biggest challenges. In this regard, particular attention has been paid on improving the environmental performance of buildings. In this framework, this work consists in assessing the environmental impact of an innovative building envelope component derived from urban agriculture (UA) wastes. In fact, rooftop UA seems to be a possible solution to the rising food demand due to increasing urban demographic growth. Consequently, rooftop UA wastes need to be treated in sustainable ways. Methods This study aims to determine the carbon footprint and embodied energy of a new infill wall material, derived from UA wastes produced by a building r…

Energy and environmental assessment of heritage building retrofit

2020

In the transition to a low-energy economy, the building stock renovation should address the reduction of the environmental impacts, by means of suitable energy retrofits oriented to meet current energy efficiency regulations, construction guidelines, and standards on comfort and operation. With regard to the historic segment of the building stock, suitable refurbishment policies are needed to avoid the loss of their heritage values, even if this is a complex issue requiring interdisciplinary approaches, dedicated diagnostic procedures, and specific tools. In this paper a suitable method for energy and environmental assessment specifically devoted to historical building retrofit, following a…

Energy and environmental analysis of a mono-familiar Mediterranean house

2008

Embodied energy and environmental impacts of a biomass boiler: a life cycle approach

2015

The 2030 policy framework for climate and energy, proposed by the European Commission, aims towards the reduction of European greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in comparison to the 1990 level and to increase the share of renewable energy of at least the 27% of the European's energy consumption of 2030. The use of biomass as sustainable and renewable energy source may be a viable tool for achieving the above goals. However, renewable energy technologies are not totally clean because they cause energy and environmental impacts during their life cycle, and in particular they are responsible of air pollutant emissions. In this context, the paper assesses the energy and environmental impacts of a …