Life Cycle Assessment of Reinforced Concrete Residential Buildings in Nepal: Pathways to Carbon Footprint Reduction through Sustainable Construction

IF 7.1 1区工程技术 Q1 CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

Building and Environment Pub Date : 2025-05-20 DOI:10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.113199

Bibek Bhattarai , Bikram Singh Bhattarai , Ramesh Kumar Maskey , Silu Bhochhibhoya

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Nepal’s massive post-2015 earthquake reconstruction has sparked a construction boom that carries substantial carbon implications. An LCA was conducted for a representative reinforced concrete dwelling using the ISO 14040/44 and EN 15978 frameworks, with material data from the ICE v3.0 database and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) grid emission factors. Results indicate a total embodied carbon of about 195,992 kg CO₂-eq for the structure, with cementitious concrete and mortar (cement), bricks, and reinforcing steel accounting for the bulk of emissions (over ∼70% of embodied CO₂). Over the building’s life, operational energy use surpasses embodied energy after roughly 40–50 years. Sensitivity analysis showed that under Nepal’s climate (cool temperate) the break-even occurs around year 42, and material contributions remain dominated by cement, brick, and steel. A Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis yielded moderate confidence bounds on these outcomes. These findings, in the context of Himalaya region urban growth, have broader relevance to similarly urbanizing South Asian contexts.

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尼泊尔钢筋混凝土住宅的生命周期评估：通过可持续建筑减少碳足迹的途径

尼泊尔2015年后的大规模地震重建引发了建筑热潮，这带来了大量的碳影响。采用ISO 14040/44和EN 15978框架，对具有代表性的钢筋混凝土住宅进行了LCA，材料数据来自ICE v3.0数据库和尼泊尔电力局（NEA）电网排放系数。结果表明，该结构的总隐含碳量约为195,992 kg CO₂-eq，其中水泥混凝土和砂浆（水泥），砖和钢筋占排放量的大部分（超过隐含CO₂的70%）。在建筑的生命周期中，大约40-50年后，运营能耗将超过隐含能耗。敏感性分析表明，在尼泊尔的气候（凉爽温带）下，盈亏平衡发生在第42年左右，材料贡献仍然以水泥、砖和钢铁为主。蒙特卡罗不确定性分析对这些结果产生了适度的置信限。在喜马拉雅地区城市发展的背景下，这些发现与南亚类似的城市化背景具有更广泛的相关性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Building and Environment 工程技术-工程：环境

CiteScore

12.50

自引率

23.00%

发文量

1130

审稿时长

27 days

期刊介绍： Building and Environment, an international journal, is dedicated to publishing original research papers, comprehensive review articles, editorials, and short communications in the fields of building science, urban physics, and human interaction with the indoor and outdoor built environment. The journal emphasizes innovative technologies and knowledge verified through measurement and analysis. It covers environmental performance across various spatial scales, from cities and communities to buildings and systems, fostering collaborative, multi-disciplinary research with broader significance.