Sustainable Use of Concrete Materials module (CE50019)

In this module, you will examine the ways in which the construction process can impact the environment, how this impact can be measured, and ways in which impacts can be reduced or avoided entirely.

You will learn - initially using concrete as an example, but then more broadly – how the activities involved in the manufacture of civil engineering materials have implications for resource use, climate change, and other aspects of sustainability. You will also learn how to measure environmental impact through environmental impact assessment (EIA) and life-cycle analysis (LCA) techniques. Using these techniques, you will also explore how impacts can be reduced, as well as critically evaluate the pros and cons of different construction technologies and renewable energies.

Topics include:

• Fundamentals of Environmental Impact – sustainability; resources; energy resources; pollution (climate change, acidification, nutrification, photochemical oxidant creation, ozone depletion, toxicity); waste and recycling.
• Reducing the Environmental Impact of Concrete - alternatives to Portland cement; recycled aggregates; employing chemical admixtures in low carbon concrete; measuring impact.
• Resource and Waste Management – resource efficiency; resource management plans; the waste hierarchy; site waste management plans.
• Fabric Energy Storage
• Environmental Impact Assessment – EIA process; EIA development team activity.
• Life-Cycle Analysis – the LCA process; LCA inventory team activity; ‘live’ LCA development activity.