Investigation of Carbon Emission from Construction Waste in the Building Construction Process

Significant efforts have been made to reduce carbon emissions across the design, building, and operation phases of construction. However, there is a lack of focus on measuring carbon emissions from the recycling of building waste at the end-of-life stage. The objective of this study is to conduct a quantitative analysis of carbon emissions from building waste in Erbil City. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is employed to quantify the energy consumption and environmental impact of construction materials. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) primarily aims to quantify environmental impacts, such as CO2 emissions, by examining their effects on specific environmental factors. This study emphasized calculating the carbon emissions from energy and chemical processes in prefabricated materials and the corresponding carbon produced during the service stage, including logistics, electrical consumption, and energy use. An investigation is conducted on the carbon emissions associated with primary components of building waste like concrete, brick, steel, wood, mortar, etc. The calculated carbon emission for one ton of construction waste is 231.7 Kg, from using steel, cement, and blocks, which are considered high-carbon, energy-intensive materials. This research has the potential to measure carbon emissions and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality in Erbil City. The presented methodologies can be extended to other locations, particularly where data on building debris is limited.