Assuring Sustainable Construction

1
Assuring Sustainable Construction

• An EU regional case story on concrete
• and its building application, and beyond
• Baudouin Piscaer - Univerde

2
Construction is complex

• Construction 2/3 Building and 1/3 Infra
• Design acc. to Climate, Culture, Codes
• Biggest economy with 2.5 M. hard to reach SMEs
• Different stages in Construction
• 1. Preparatory, non visible (foundations,
  drainage, . .)
• 2. Rough skeleton (floors, pillars and frames)
• 3. Finishing construction (equipment, paint etc)
  
• 4. Maintenance, Demolition Recycling/Re-use
• Materials production (concrete, windows etc)
• Central services (education, engineers,
  architects, specialized R D, QC, certification
  etc)

3
Heavy impact on environment

• Largest economical sector with largest carbon
  footprint, acc to UK study
• 12 CO2 from making construction materials,
  (cement 7, glass, steel etc)
• 12 CO2 from transporting these materials
• 40 from energy loss during life time of
  building (lighting, cooking heating/cooling).
• Note Relative few new building and restricted
  possibilities for improving existing buildings.

4
Concrete Environment

• Concrete is the MOST USED and most abused
  Construction Building material.
• The heavy environmental burden on the environment
  arrives mainly from
• 1 T Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) needs 1.6 t
  raw material, produces 1 t CO2/t (global 1.9
  Billion tpy)
• 15 Billion t Aggregates, rising to 22 and heavy
  impact on transport energy and CO2
• 80 of available sand gravel has been consumed
  in our generation!

5
Past Performance of Concrete

• Pantheon in Rome demonstrated that concrete can
  be an essentially permanent building material
• Concrete pillars from temples have been reused
  for churches
• Concrete can be recycled indefinitely (cradle to
  cradle)
• Thermal mass can contribute to energy saving
• Greenpeace Austria declared in Berlin 2001
  concrete more environmentally friendly then wood
• Image of Concrete deserves and needs
  rehabilitation (Concrete Jungles - Bob Marley,
  etc)

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Concrete global impact reduction

• Using existing Best Sustainable Concrete
  Practice
• - 600 Million ton CO2/year less, in 6 years (1/3
  reduction of present level)
• - 1.5 Billion ton less aggregates in 6 years
  (10 of present level)
• Using new RD and in pipeline technologies
• - another 600 Million ton CO2 by 2020
• - another 1.5 Billion ton aggregate reduction
• Note Faster CO2 reductions possible with
  concrete then with energy efficient new and retro
  fitting buildings, but holistic approach is
  needed, including public infra

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Case story 11, In FR Yes we can (but do we
want?)

• French Low Cement refractory Concrete patents
  from 70th implemented globally in 80th
• From high volume low quality cement to low
  volume high quality cement containing refractory
  concrete
• Changes to the benefit of all parties in the
  value chain, foremost the special cement
  producers (higher margins!)
• Subsidiary became world leader in its field
• Visionary Board of Directors of parent company
  request to transfer technology from refractory to
  civil concrete application
• Technical success with niche Ultra High
  Performance Concrete
• Proof with regular civil concrete applications
  with 25 kg CO2/m3 instead of 250 kg CO2/m3
  concrete!
• No implementation in bulk concrete applications
  possible, yet!

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Back round of civil concrete

• EN 197 for cement restrict use of new cement
  types
• EN 206 for concrete not harmonized. National
  additions restrict use of environmental friendly
  Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) as
  fly ash, blast furnace slag, limestone fines
• Standards Regulations Prescription instead of
  Performance based (as practiced in other
  industries)
• Technical Durability guided by the use of
  minimum binder content and/or Water Binder
  Ratio
• Strength guided by 28 days, penalizing more use
  of fly ash
• Aggregates specs directed by national suppliers
• No general agreed Best Recycling Practice
• Suppliers are comfortable with Volume thinking
  that worked in the past and uncertain with High
  Tech Quality Approach

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Case Story 12 A Sustainable precast SCC in Nl
for buildings.

• 180 kg CEM I 52,5 R (highest quality OPC, 180 kg
  CO2)
• 180 kg Limestone Fines (LF4 kg CO2)
• 180 kg Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (BFS
  6kg CO2)
• 165 kg water 2 Polycarboxilate chemical
  admixtures
• Water Binder Ratio UK 0.40 Nl 0.45 (imposed)
• FR 0.66 DE 0.92
• According to cement norm EN 197 recognized
  supplementary cementitious materials such as LF
  and BFS 0.36 !
• Lesson Imposed Water Binder Ratio is national
  practiced pseudo technology and is a market
  protection tool penalizing the use of
  environmental friendly SCMs, except till a
  limited extend in NL and UK

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Case story 12 B

• Sustainable Self Compacting Concrete
• 190 kg CO2/m3
• Noise, from music !
• Less errors
• Homogeneousdurable
• Smooth light surface
• Same cost (but could still be cheaper and less
  CO2 if allowed by NL regulations)
• Higher C 53/65 strength

• Former vibration concrete
• 340 kg CO2/m3
• Noise of vibrating
• Dust from vibration tables
• Maintenance
• Non homogeneous
• Rough surface
• C 35/45 strength

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Case Story 13 powder coal Fly Ash (FA 0 kg
CO2) in NL

• America uses 50 FA50 OPC binder 150 kg
  CO2/m3, Europe only 35 FA65 OPC 200 kg CO2
• European standards allow cement industry to
  consider FA 100 binder, but concrete producer
  only 40 so his use of 0 CO2 waste material is
  limited and use of OPC imposed
• Netherlands can use special controlled Attest
  mix of 100 kg each FA, OPC and Cem III B (65
  GGBS35 OPC) 135 kg CO2/m3 instead of 300 kg
  OPC 300 kg CO2/m3
• Such environmental friendly mixing is not
  allowed in Belgium, Germany and many other
  countries
• Note price of FA is less then half of that of
  OPC

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Miscellaneous regional stories

• 14. New concrete made in BE with waste steel
  slag, not allowed to be used 25 km further in NL
• 15. New super sulphonated low CO2 cement (from
  Holcim) is not allowed in NL
• 16. Passif housing technology from DE is by codes
  discouraged in NL
• 17. Self Compacting Concrete is allowed to be
  used for pre-stressed concrete, except in DE
• 18. Recycling of CDW in NL 95, in FR 35
• 19. Building permit in NO in 30 seconds, purchase
  of 10 m2 from city of Amsterdam in 22 month.
• 20. Etc., etc., etc.

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Conclusion of case stories

• Change from volume towards quality practice with
  concrete is possible
• Concrete can become a win-win high tech product
  in favor of CO2 and resource reduction
• The present market can not direct the use of more
  economical low CO2 concrete
• Standards, national regulations, procedures and
  not invented here culture are barriers for
  implementations of existing environmental
  friendly technologies
• Information Education is insufficient

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Towards sustainable concrete

• Reduce Portland cement by stimulating the use of
  all available sustainable SCMs by both cement
  and concrete producers, applying equal rights
• Stop use of wasteful coarse OPC (Cem I 32,5)
• Increase common material design knowledge with
  producers, users, specifiers, educators etc.
• Stimulate/regulate practice of re-use and
  recycling of Construction and Demolishing Waste
  (CDW)
• Develop Sustainability Index for materials
• Develop new cement concrete technologies
• Keep 2 X 600 Million t CO2 and 1.5 Billion t of
  aggregate reductions/year objectives up front.

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Towards sustainable buildings

• Our global problem cannot be solved and EU 2020
  objectives cannot be reached by present
  local/national building practice
• Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building RD is
  only effective if II (Innovation Implementation)
  is taking place and mind set is changing
• Suggestion Mobilize students (bottom up) in a
  Trans Atlantic/U.N. GREEN BUILDING COMPETITION to
  include SMEs (detailed plan is available)
• Competition Identifies, trains,
  recognize/permits and promotes the use of the
  Best Sustainable Building Practice for all new
  buildings as of 2012.
• Note the crisis oriented U.S. is getting
  prepared for SME oriented sustainable
  construction under Obama and will surpass Europe
  if we cannot get mobilized.

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Conditions for success

• AMBULANCE PRIORITY for most sustainable
  performance by most dedicated 160 cities
  regions.
• Remove environmental unfriendly trade barriers
  (pseudo technology regulations, procedures etc)
• Political will Lead, follow, or get out of our
  way
• Education for and co-operation by all players in
  the value chain in helping to change the building
  culture
• - architects engineers
• - contractors and building material producers
  especially cement aggregate producers
• - education and technology institutes
• - end users are the CUSTOMERS
• EC Task Force of DGs ENTTRENENVRES EAC

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"One cannot think the same way solving a
problemas one did while creating
it". EinsteinThe question is Can the same
captains of industry,responsible for or
maintaining the present problems,think different
now, for our changing world in crisis?If I
dont do it at my age,and we will not do it at
this day and age,when will we do it?So let
us, while the crisis helps us, MOBILIZE THE
CONSTRUCTION ECONOMY, NOW

• Baudouin Piscaer, UNIVERDE/SUSTCON
• b.piscaer_at_univerde.nl