ENGG1000 CVEN SUS 2013 SUSTAINABILTY ASSIGNMENT

Janush Adabjou Group- John Wu (15) // TUTOR- Sarah Abid

TABLE OF CONTENTS Goals and Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Goals.......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Scope ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Inventory Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Materials Used........................................................................................................................................... 3 Steel .......................................................................................................................................................3 Concrete ................................................................................................................................................3 Embodied Energy Issues ........................................................................................................................... 3 Impact Assesment ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Upstream ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Downstream .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Interpretation/ Improvement Assesment ....................................................................................................... 6 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 6 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

GOALS AND SCOPE GOALS

Fig. 1 Bridge Design

The aim of this study is to determine the energy, materials and emissions that are being used during the construction and lifespan of the bridge. From this basic assessment the impacts are then evaluated. These results are then used to formulate improvements of the design process to ensure sustainable and economically efficient use of materials is made in the cradle to grave lifespan of the bridge.

SCOPE The boundary conditions of the system in question pertain to both time and space. This report will consider the function of the system from cradle to cradle, from the extraction of raw materials to the project deconstruction. It is given that the bridge is to span an 80 metre river, with a clearance above the river of 10 metres and be 15 metres wide. It is estimated that 1.28x107 kg of concrete and 710251 kg of steel will be used in construction. This report will look in detail at the ESD principles, necessity of the project, possible alternatives to the project, conformance to other regional strategic policies and the mitigation of the impacts.

INVENTORY ANALYSIS

MATERIALS USED

STEEL Steel is comprised of raw materials which must be considered individually to determine their impact on the environmental system: 1. Iron Ore- Iron makes up about 5% of the Earth's crust (Rowe 2013), making it one of the more abundant substances. 2. Coke- The production of coke out of coal produces byproducts such as crude coal tar, light oils, and ammonia. It is then heated, requiring high amounts of energy to do. (Connor 1997) 3. Molten Iron- The main component of Steel. It requires high amounts of energy to heat the air to 1200C which is required to blast the iron to produce steel. CONCRETE Concrete is a composite material which is comprised of the elements: 1. Aggregate- It is a mixture of sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. They are extracted from quarries and mines. (Nelson & Bolen 2008) 2. Cement- Comprised of lime and sand. Cement accounts for large amounts of CO2 emissions through the heating of calcium carbonate to produce lime and carbon dioxide. 3. Water

EMBODIED ENERGY ISSUES

The total embodied energy of materials in this report is the summation of the long-term effects of the manufacturing processes, the stages of construction, building performance and operations, durability and maintenance of existing structures, andin the enddemolition, materials recycling, and future land use ramifications. (Portland Cement 2013) Figure 2 shows the total embodied energies of concrete and Steel split into two categories: Energy and Carbon Emission. Table ES- 2 shows an example of the distribution of embodied energy over the lifecycle of concrete in particular.
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Material Energy Concrete Steel (general average recycled content)

Energy MJ/kg 1.11 20.10

Carbon kg CO2/kg 0.159 1.37

Density kg /m3 2400 7800

Fig. 2 Embodied energy: http://www.greenspec.co.uk/embodied-energy.php

Portland Cement Association: http://www.nrmca.org/taskforce/Item_2_TalkingPoints/Sustainability/Sustainability/SN2137a.pdf

IMPACT ASSESMENT

Fig 4. Embodied energy by process step for 20 MPa (3,000 psi) concrete with no fly ash.

Portland Cement Association: http://www.nrmca.org/taskforce/Item_2_TalkingPoints/Sustainability/Sustainability/SN2137a.pdf

UPSTREAM Pollution/contamination (of soil, water and air) occurs during the mining, processing and manufacturing of the raw materials used in the project. Air pollution occurs during the unsettling of dust at the mine site/ quarry when extracting aggregate for concrete or iron for steel. The processing of coke to manufacture steel can cause leakage of the toxic chemical ammonia into the soil and into underground water tables. High energy consumption occurs through many areas of the upstream process: the extraction of raw materials (iron, aggregate), their processing and subsequent transport to the construction site. coke for instance is placed in a furnace at 1000C for 22 hours at a time as well as molten iron which requires 1200C. This requires very high amounts of energy as can be seen by the manufacturing of cement accounting for 70% of its total embodied energy. (Fig. 4) Energy in the form of fuel is then used in transportation of the processed materials to the construction site, thus depleting high amounts of diesel and petroleum.

DOWNSTREAM

Biodiversity loss may occur through the bridging of the two land masses. This bridging may allow invasion of foreign species from one land mass to the other, creating competition for resources and loss of flora and fauna. Noises and odours during the construction and deconstruction phase of the project have a high impact on the social aspect of the local community. Coupled with the visual amenity associated with such a construction, social unrest may occur. The deconstruction of the bridge will also cause unwanted pollution in the waterway and surrounding environment.

INTERPRETATION/ IMPROVEMENT ASSESMENT The significant issues which need to be addressed as a result of the impact assessment include: The reduction of the amount of steel used. The recycling of Concrete at the end of bridge life. Alternatives for coke. Local Sourcing.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The production of steel using scrap steel lessens the burden of producing new steel. This lowers demand for resources and energy requirement to make new steel. For example BlueScope steel is comprised of 17-20% scrap material. Once the bridge reaches its end of life, the steel can also be reused in other local projects (due to its long lifespan) or sent back to the producer to be recycled. Concrete can be crushed to form aggregate material. These materials can be used as general bulk fill material, in bank protection, base or fill for drainage structures, road construction, noise barriers, and embankments (Portland Cement 2013). All these application can be applied locally to ensure there is less need to use up energy through transportation. Unwanted wood residue from the harvested plantations can be used to replace the coal that is used to produce coke. There net reductions in the CO2 footprint as the plantations capture as much CO2 as they would later emit. (Rowe 2013) Using materials that are sourced and produced locally will reduce pollution and energy consumption creating throughout their transportation.

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/esm282/dfe/LCAoverview.PDF. [Accessed 26 April 2013]. James R. Conner, Metallurgical Coal (Coke). 1997. METALLURGICAL COAL (COKE). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.flatheadmemo.com/north_fork_coal/Coal/News/coke.html. [Accessed 26 April 2013]. Richard Rowe, Design for Sustainability Sustainability. 2013. DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABILITY. [ONLINE] Available at: http://sustainability.bluescopesteel.com.au/design-forsustainability. [Accessed 28 April 2013]. Nelson, T.I.; W.P. Bolen (June 2008). "Construction Aggregates". Mining Engineering 60: 2526. Portland Cement, Lifecycle Assesment, 2013, [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cement.org/buildings/sustainable_lca.asp [Accessed 28 April 2013].

4. 5.