1. The document discusses the production, transportation, installation, demolition, and recycling of concrete and wood. It addresses the energy usage and pollution associated with each stage of these materials' lifecycles. 2. Concrete production requires significant energy, especially for cement production, and generates large amounts of CO2 emissions. Its transportation, installation, and demolition also use energy from vehicles, equipment, and labor. Recycling concrete reduces pollution by reusing material. 3. Wood requires less energy to produce than other building materials like cement or steel. Its production generates wood waste and CO2 emissions. Transporting wood risks dust pollution. Installation, demolition, and recycling of wood also utilize energy sources.

1. Cairo University
Faculty of engineering
Credit hours system
AET
ARCN330
Ecologies of Construction
“Assignment #1”
Presented to:
Dr. Ayman Hassan
Presented by:
Omar Mohamed Abd El-Hafez
Ahmed Magdy Aly

2. Concrete
1. Production
(Energy)
Energy used in production of Portland cement
Using this value for portland cement and the mix proportions, the energy
in the production of concrete was estimated to be 2.07 GJ/m3 or
0.89 MJ/kg. Replacing 10% of the portland cement with fly ash reduced this to 1.94
GJ/m3 or 0.83 MJ/kg. The major part of this energy, as expected, is associated with
the portland cement.

3. Concrete
1. Production
(Energy)
Energy used in production of concrete

4. Concrete
1. Production
(pollution)
• Generates 1.5 billion ton of co2
• Responsible for 5%co2 production in the world

5. Concrete
2. Transportation
(Energy)
• Ready mix
• Mix in site
Ton miles / gallon

6. Concrete
2. Transportation
(Pollution)
• Cars and trucks produce air pollution throughout their life, including pollution emitted during
vehicle operation, refueling, manufacturing, and disposal. Additional emissions are associated with
the refining and distribution of vehicle fuel.
Air pollution from cars and trucks is split into primary and secondary pollution. Primary pollution is
emitted directly into the atmosphere; secondary pollution results from chemical reactions between
pollutants in the atmosphere. The following are the major pollutants from motor vehicles:
Carbon monoxide nitrogen dioxide sulphur dioxide .
• Dusts have been found migrating and running in roads and side walks, accumulation of more than
5 cm above the soil surface .
• Generated dust during operation may affect human, plant and animal growth at the surrounding
community.
*Therefore, a management strategy should be implemented to avoid the negative impacts of dust
contamination and to reduce the translocation of dust outside the plant

7. Concrete
3. Installation
(Pollution and energy)
• Concrete is used to create hard surfaces which
contribute to surface runoff that may cause
soil erosion, water pollution and flooding.
• Solid waste from wrong concrete pouring
Sources of energy
1. Labors
2. Concrete pumps
3. Concrete mixers

8. Concrete
4. Demolition
Pollution
Concrete dust released by building demolition and natural
disasters can be a major source of dangerous air pollution. The
presence of some substances in concrete, including useful and
unwanted additives, can cause health concerns due to toxicity
and radioactivity. Wet concrete is highly alkaline and
should always be handled with proper protective
equipment.
Energy
1. Labor
2. Concrete demolition tools
3. machinery

9. Concrete
5. Recycling
Pollution
Concrete recycling is an increasingly common method of disposing of concrete structures. Concrete debris was once
routinely shipped to landfills for disposal, but recycling is increasing due to improved environmental
awareness, governmental laws and economic benefits.
Concrete, which must be free of trash, wood, paper and other such materials, is collected from demolition
sites and put through a crushing machine, often along with asphalt, bricks and rocks.
Reinforced concrete contains rebar and other metallic reinforcements, which are removed with magnets and
recycled elsewhere. The remaining aggregate chunks are sorted by size. Larger chunks may go through the
crusher again. Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new construction projects.
Aggregate base gravel is laid down as the lowest layer in a road, with fresh concrete or asphalt placed over
it. Crushed recycled concrete can sometimes be used as the dry aggregate for brand new concrete if it is
free of contaminants, though the use of recycled concrete limits strength and is not allowed in many
jurisdictions.

10. Concrete
5. Recycling
Energy
1. Labour
2. Concrete crushing tools
3. Crushing Machinery

11. wood
1. Production
Energy
1. Labour
2. wood cutting machine
3. Timber mills
Wood product manufacturing requires substantially less energy than the production of
other building products. For example, consider the amount of energy it takes to produce
one ton of cement, glass, steel, or aluminum compared to the amount of energy needed to
produce one ton of wood:
•Cement requires 5 times more energy
•Glass requires 14 times more energy
•Steel requires 24 times more energy
•Aluminum requires 126 times more energy

12. wood
1. Production
Pollution
1. Wood solid waste from cutting
2. CO2 emission of wood in three main phases: production
phase, in-use phase and end of life phase. At production phase,
wood generally requires less energy for extraction, production
and transportation than that of other materials. Therefore, less
CO2 is emitted.

13. wood
2.Transportation
Energy
1. Labour
2. Trucks
Pollution
• Dusts have been found migrating and running in roads and
side walks, accumulation of more than 5 cm above the soil
surface .
• Generated dust during operation may affect human, plant
and animal growth at the surrounding community.
Ton miles / gallon

14. wood
3. Installation
Energy
1. Labour
2. Machinery
Pollution
• wood gives negative net emission.. Because the majority of energy is spent on the
operating period, a good design can significantly reduce energy consumption and
at the same time give a comfortable living condition. The less energy is
required, the less CO2 is emitted.
• Solid waste from assembling wood structure and dust from cutting .

15. wood
4. Demolition
Energy
1. Labour
2. Machinery
Pollution
• 1. Emissions to environment:
Air pollution such as SO2, NOx and CO2 .Those gases can be limited by trying to limit
polluting exhaust from machines and trucks as much as possible . Besides the pollution of the
smoke and dust from open fires, it should be underlined that much wood and inflammable
material contains a lot of hazardous chemical substances from paint, waterproofing and other
covering substances, these being harmful to the atmosphere.
2. Noise:
Demolition work is noisy. With respect to workers' health and safety and with respect to
neighbors. There are different limits given as shown:

16. wood
5. Recycling
Energy
1. Labour
2. Machinery
• Converting Wood into Transportation Fuels
• Converting Wood into Liquid Oil
• Converting Wood into Gas

17. Wood can also be made into a type of liquid oil, also
called bio-oil, by heating it quickly to a high temperature in
the absence of oxygen. This process is called fast
pyrolysis. In addition to producing liquid oil, this process
produces char and a combustible syngas.
Bio-oil can be burned in boilers to heat buildings or in
generators to produce electricity. Since the bio-oil contains
a much higher amount of energy per unit volume than
wood, it is easier and cheaper to transport than wood. The
pyrolysis syngas, as mentioned earlier, can be used much
like natural gas. The char can be processed into
briquettes for grilling and can also be used to purify metals
and as an additive to fertilizer.
Converting Wood into Transportation Fuels
Wood can also be used to produce transportation fuels,
such as ethanol, methanol, or biodiesel. Ethanol is
produced through a process called fermentation in which
wood is exposed to microorganisms. As these
microorganisms decompose the wood, enzymes are
produced. These enzymes trigger a chemical reaction that
exposes and breaks down the sugars in the wood. Certain
microbes can then be added to the sugar solutions to
convert them into ethanol, a colorless alcohol, and other
byproducts. Once processed, ethanol can be used in
combination with gasoline to make E-10 or E-85 to power

18. Conclusion
Environmental impact

19. References
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http://www.pmw.de/cps/rde/xchg/pm_online/hs.xsl/552_ENU_HTML.htm
http://www.concreteconstruction.net/concrete-articles/what-is-the-best-way-to-transport-concrete.aspx
http://www.buildingsciences.net/concrete-structures.html
http://www.inece.org/mmcourse/chapt6.pdf
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-4951-the-benefits-and-issues-of-using-wood/2/