Are bamboo construction materials environmentally friendly? A life cycle environmental impact analysis

Abstract

Bamboo is considered as an ideal building material with high mechanical properties and low carbon emissions. However, the environmental impact of bamboo building materials has not been well understood. This study aims to quantify and assess the environmental impact of bamboo construction materials throughout their life cycle and to demonstrate their advantages in energy saving and emission reduction. First, 12 environmental impact categories from global, regional and local perspectives were identified. Second, standardized parameters were summarized and life cycle emission data of bamboo construction materials were obtained by SimoPro software through the investigated resource and energy consumption (R&EC) and processes, which could provide a supplement to the software database belonging to bamboo construction materials. Third, the environmental impact values (EIV) and the weighted environment impact potential (WEIP) of bamboo building materials were presented. Last, the environmental impact of bamboo building materials was compared with other building structure materials. Results show that the total EIV of bamboo construction materials is 0.098 standard human equivalent, which is significantly lower than that of other building materials. Results also show that the environmental impact of bamboo construction materials can be easily controlled. Furthermore, this study explains the reasons for the high WEIP of ecotoxicity, photochemical smog and water intake of bamboo construction materials and the need for improvements. This study demonstrates the practical application of bamboo construction materials in an environmentally friendly manner and the importance of bamboo construction materials for environmental improvement.