Fired Clay Brick or Autoclaved Aerated Concrete as Walling Materials in Terms of Sustainability

Abstract

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The construction sector is a significant contributor to harmful environmental impacts throughout the entire building life cycle. The fact that a large amount of and a wide range of materials used in construction makes their environmental impacts important. In this context, Environmental Product Declarations contribute to compare the environmental impacts of the building materials with the same functional unit for the same processes. Fired clay brick (FCB) and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) are commonly used materials for the exterior walls in Turkey. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the environmental impacts and identify environmental hot spots to improve the sustainability of the two materials in the scope of the “cradle to gate”. EPDs and local data obtained from two factories through mutual interviews were used. The environmental impacts of FCB caused by raw materials acquisition and transportation are less than AAC. On the other hand, the manufacturing of FCB is an energy-intensive process because of the firing and firing temperatures compared to the manufacturing process of AAC. It is thought that the results of this study can be useful to improve the sustainability of the materials and to select sustainable building materials.

Keywords

• Aerated concrete,brick,sustainability

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