Life cycle assessment and identification of embodied carbon hotspots in a reinforced concrete factory

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Reducing embodied carbon is a key strategy for delivering low-carbon buildings because emissions from construction materials and activities represent a substantial share of total building life-cycle emissions. Although embodied carbon has been widely studied in residential and commercial buildings, comprehensive hotspot analyses of industrial buildings remain limited, particularly in Thailand. The study objectives were to quantify the embodied carbon of a reinforced concrete factory building and identified carbon hotspots at the life-cycle module, building-component, and material levels to support evidence-based mitigation during the building pre-use stage.METHODS: A reinforced concrete factory building in Thailand with a gross floor area of ۹۰.۰۰ square meters was selected as the case study. Embodied carbon was assessed using life cycle assessment in accordance with International Organization for Standardization ۱۴۰۴۰ and ۱۴۰۴۴ and British Standard European Norm ۱۵۹۷۸. The cradle-to-practical completion system boundary comprised construction material production, transportation of construction materials, on-site construction energy use, and construction waste management. Carbon hotspots were analyzed at the life-cycle module, building-component, and resource type levels.FINDINGS: The total embodied carbon was ۲۹,۳۵۳.۴۷ kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, corresponding to ۳۲۶.۱۵ kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per square meter. Construction material production was the dominant emission source, contributing ۷۸.۱۰ percent of total embodied carbon. On-site construction energy use contributed ۱۲.۰۹ percent, construction waste management contributed ۵.۲۵ percent, and transportation of construction materials contributed ۴.۵۶ percent. The reinforced concrete structural system generated the highest embodied carbon at ۱۰,۵۳۳.۲۹ kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, followed by the wall system at ۷,۵۲۷.۳۶ kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. Concrete, structural steel, and corrugated steel roofing with associated components contributed ۲۳.۱۳ percent, ۱۸.۳۱ percent, and ۱۶.۷۳ percent, respectively. Together, these three resource types accounted for ۵۸.۱۷ percent of total embodied carbon.CONCLUSION: Construction material production represents the principal opportunity for reducing embodied carbon in reinforced concrete factory buildings. Improvements in construction energy efficiency and construction waste management can provide additional emission reductions. The hotspot-based assessment framework provides a comprehensive embodied carbon dataset for reinforced concrete factory buildings in Thailand and offers practical guidance for low-carbon design, material selection, and construction management.

کلیدواژه ها:

Embodied carbon ، Greenhouse gas (GHG) ، Industrial buildings ، Life cycle assessment (LCA) ، Pre-use embodied carbon ، Reinforced concrete.