Building circularity potential for post-disaster housing: LCA, cost evaluation, and material optimization

Abstract

Indonesia, a seismically active country, frequently experiences earthquakes, yet the potential for reusing recovered debris in post-disaster housing remains largely unexplored. This study upgrades Indonesia's permanent post-disaster housing by using recovered debris as an alternative to new materials, aiming to reduce the environmental impact (EI) and minimize material costs. The EI analysis was conducted via life cycle assessment (LCA) at the cradle-to-gate stages for four types of permanent post-disaster houses (Houses A–D) built after the 2022 earthquake in Cianjur, Indonesia. The initial assessment identified House D as having the lowest EI. This study assesses the replacement of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), non-structural steel, and iron sheets in Houses A–C to minimize their EI, aligning them more closely with House D's values. Optimization scenarios were formulated via response surface methodology (RSM) to determine material combinations that reduce the EI while minimizing costs. Hence, by replacing AAC with recovered brick debris, Houses A–C achieved reductions of approximately 23% in global warming potential, 30% in abiotic depletion potential, and 20% in acidification potential while also lowering material costs by 3%–5%. This finding represents the initial step in exploring the reduction of new materials and reuse of recovered debris to decrease the EI of post-disaster housing.