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Triple Bottom Line Analysis, Methodology, and Its Implementation
Published in Jacqueline A. Stagner, David S-K. Ting, Green Energy and Infrastructure, 2020
Amit R. Patel, Prabir Sarkar, Himanshu Tyagi, Harpreet Singh
Embedded energy and embedded emissions are the quantities that are already consumed, in case of energy or released, in case of emission during the process of establishing the plant and machinery. Therefore, the determination of embedded energy and embedded emission will give estimates of the energy and emission that is already incurred in the process. Table 13.1 gives the embedded energy and emission data considered for the different materials consumed in the plant and machinery, while Table 13.2 gives information about the type of materials used and its corresponding weight of different parts at the various processing units. Calculation of embedded energy and emission is carried out as per the methodology suggested in the literature (Ashby 2012), the calculation procedure is as shown in (A. Patel et al. 2016). Embedded energy obtained in MJ is converted into the high-grade energy, i.e., in kWh by assuming a Carnot cycle efficiency factor of 40% (Çengel and Boles 2011), the detailed procedure is as suggested in Chr and Stefan (2005).
Toward Building Sector Energy Transition
Published in Muhammad Asif, Handbook of Energy Transitions, 2023
Niccolò Aste, Claudio Del Pero, Fabrizio Leonforte
Buildings’ energy consumption provides some insight into the impact of the sector on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but a more in-depth analysis of the causes of emissions is needed to better understand the phenomenon. Building emissions can be divided into direct, indirect, and embodied emissions. Direct emissions are those caused by fossil fuels exploited directly in-site, for heating and cooking, while indirect emissions are those caused by the production of electricity and district heat for building use. Both refer to emissions related to building operations while emissions due to construction and demolition are defined as “embodied emissions” and refer to the emissions of industry and transportation sectors, related to the construction of the building.
Quantitative research on embodied carbon emissions in the design stage: a case study from an educational building in China
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2022
Embodied carbon has been conventionally defined to comprise carbon emissions incurred in various stages, i.e., material extraction, material processing and component fabrication, and construction and assembly of the building’s life cycle. However, it may be extended to include the end-of-life carbon emissions. To clarify the life cycle phases considered, embodied carbon may be reported as “cradle to gate,” “cradle to site,” “cradle to service,” or “cradle to grave” embodied carbon (Akbarnezhad and Xiao 2017). In recent years, with the concept of “green” structural design being gradually accepted, green could also be considered as a structural evaluation standard. From the viewpoint of structure design, an evaluation is conducted by examining two major items: material saving and design optimization (Wang, Liu, and Shen 2021). In terms of embodied carbon emissions, the carbon caused by materials accounts for at least 90% thereof, whereas the effect of the carbon emissions caused by equipment is insignificant (Kang et al. 2015). Generally, buildings of the same structure use similar materials, but their construction approaches may vary according to the site conditions and tools. In order to help architects have a general constraint on the embodied emissions of buildings in the design stage, this paper focuses on the carbon emissions from construction materials reported as “cradle to site,” which account for the largest share of embodied carbon emissions, including carbon emissions from material production and from material transportation (Figure 2).