IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i21p11978-d667957.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Footprint and Economics of a Full-Scale 3D-Printed House

Author

Listed:
  • Hadeer Abdalla

    (Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Kazi Parvez Fattah

    (Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Mohamed Abdallah

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates)

  • Adil K. Tamimi

    (Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

3D printing, is a newly adopted technique in the construction sector with the aim to improve the economics and alleviate environmental impacts. This study assesses the eco-efficiency of 3D printing compared to conventional construction methods in large-scale structural fabrication. A single-storey 3D-printed house was selected in the United Arab Emirates to conduct the comparative assessment against traditional concrete construction. The life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is utilized to quantify the environmental loads of raw materials extraction and manufacturing, as well as energy consumption during construction and operation phases. The economics of the selected structural systems were investigated through life cycle costing analysis (LCCA), that included mainly the construction costs and energy savings. An eco-efficiency analysis was employed to aggregate the results of the LCA and LCCA into a single framework to aid in decision making by selecting the optimum and most eco-efficient alternative. The findings revealed that houses built using additive manufacturing and 3D printed materials were more environmentally favourable. The conventional construction method had higher impacts when compared to the 3D printing method with global warming potential of 1154.20 and 608.55 kg CO 2 eq, non-carcinogenic toxicity 675.10 and 11.9 kg 1,4-DCB, and water consumption 233.35 and 183.95 m 3 , respectively. The 3D printed house was also found to be an economically viable option, with 78% reduction in the overall capital costs when compared to conventional construction methods. The combined environmental and economic results revealed that the overall process of the 3D-printed house had higher eco efficiency compared to concrete-based construction. The main results of the sensitivity analysis revealed that up to 90% of the environmental impacts in 3D printing mortars can be mitigated with decreasing cement ratios.

Suggested Citation

  • Hadeer Abdalla & Kazi Parvez Fattah & Mohamed Abdallah & Adil K. Tamimi, 2021. "Environmental Footprint and Economics of a Full-Scale 3D-Printed House," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11978-:d:667957
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11978/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11978/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ju-wan Ha & Soolyeon Cho & Hwan-yong Kim & Young-hak Song, 2020. "Annual Energy Consumption Cut-Off with Cooling System Design Parameter Changes in Large Office Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Maris Sinka & Jelizaveta Zorica & Diana Bajare & Genadijs Sahmenko & Aleksandrs Korjakins, 2020. "Fast Setting Binders for Application in 3D Printing of Bio-Based Building Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-12, October.
    3. Huguet Ferran, Pau & Heijungs, Reinout & Vogtländer, Joost G., 2018. "Critical Analysis of Methods for Integrating Economic and Environmental Indicators," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 549-559.
    4. Aktacir, Mehmet Azmi & Büyükalaca, Orhan & YIlmaz, Tuncay, 2010. "A case study for influence of building thermal insulation on cooling load and air-conditioning system in the hot and humid regions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 599-607, February.
    5. Gebler, Malte & Schoot Uiterkamp, Anton J.M. & Visser, Cindy, 2014. "A global sustainability perspective on 3D printing technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 158-167.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Juhi Kamra & Ambica Prakash Mani & Sudhanshu Joshi & Manu Sharma, 2025. "Measures to decarbonize the cement industry; an AHP analysis," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 30(6), pages 1-71, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nine Klaassen & Arno Scheepens & Bas Flipsen & Joost Vogtlander, 2020. "Eco-Efficient Value Creation of Residential Street Lighting Systems by Simultaneously Analysing the Value, the Costs and the Eco-Costs during the Design and Engineering Phase," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Dmitriy Grigorievich Rodionov* & Evgenii Alexandrovich Konnikov & Olga Anatolievna Konnikova, 2018. "Approaches to Ensuring the Sustainability of Industrial Enterprises of Different Technological Levels," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, pages 277-282:3.
    3. Francesco Cappa & Fausto Del Sette & Darren Hayes & Federica Rosso, 2016. "How to Deliver Open Sustainable Innovation: An Integrated Approach for a Sustainable Marketable Product," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Florinda Matos & Radu Godina & Celeste Jacinto & Helena Carvalho & Inês Ribeiro & Paulo Peças, 2019. "Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Karna Ramachandraiah, 2021. "Potential Development of Sustainable 3D-Printed Meat Analogues: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Tilman Santarius & Johanna Pohl & Steffen Lange, 2020. "Digitalization and the Decoupling Debate: Can ICT Help to Reduce Environmental Impacts While the Economy Keeps Growing?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-20, September.
    7. Mohammadreza Akbari & John L. Hopkins, 2022. "Digital technologies as enablers of supply chain sustainability in an emerging economy," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 689-710, December.
    8. Jaya Priyadarshini & Rajesh Kr Singh & Ruchi Mishra & Surajit Bag, 2022. "Investigating the interaction of factors for implementing additive manufacturing to build an antifragile supply chain: TISM-MICMAC approach," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 567-588, June.
    9. Balghouthi, M. & Chahbani, M.H. & Guizani, A., 2012. "Investigation of a solar cooling installation in Tunisia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 138-148.
    10. Ghobadian, Abby & Talavera, Irene & Bhattacharya, Arijit & Kumar, Vikas & Garza-Reyes, Jose Arturo & O'Regan, Nicholas, 2020. "Examining legitimatisation of additive manufacturing in the interplay between innovation, lean manufacturing and sustainability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 457-468.
    11. Guerini, Mattia & Vanni, Fabio & Napoletano, Mauro, "undated". "E pluribus, quaedam. Gross domestic product out of a dashboard of indicators," FEEM Working Papers 324043, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    12. Jin Wei & Fangsi Yu & Haixiu Liang & Maohui Luo, 2020. "Thermal Performance of Vertical Courtyard System in Office Buildings Under Typical Hot Days in Hot-Humid Climate Area: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul & Rahma Hagi & Rahma Abdelghani & Monaya Syam & Boshra Akhozheya, 2021. "Building Envelope Thermal Defects in Existing and Under-Construction Housing in the UAE; Infrared Thermography Diagnosis and Qualitative Impacts Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    14. Naghshineh, Bardia & Ribeiro, André & Jacinto, Celeste & Carvalho, Helena, 2021. "Social impacts of additive manufacturing: A stakeholder-driven framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    15. Birtchnell, Thomas & Böhme, Tillmann & Gorkin, Robert, 2017. "3D printing and the third mission: The university in the materialization of intellectual capital," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 240-249.
    16. Huang, Yu & Niu, Jian-lei & Chung, Tse-ming, 2013. "Study on performance of energy-efficient retrofitting measures on commercial building external walls in cooling-dominant cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 97-108.
    17. Biman Darshana Hettiarachchi & Stefan Seuring & Marcus Brandenburg, 2022. "Industry 4.0-driven operations and supply chains for the circular economy: a bibliometric analysis," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 858-878, December.
    18. Yadav, Dinesh & Garg, Ramesh Kumar & Ahlawat, Akash & Chhabra, Deepak, 2020. "3D printable biomaterials for orthopedic implants: Solution for sustainable and circular economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    19. Thomas S.J. Smith, 2020. "‘Stand back and watch us’: Post-capitalist practices in the maker movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(3), pages 593-610, May.
    20. Figge, Frank & Thorpe, Andrea Stevenson, 2019. "The symbiotic rebound effect in the circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 61-69.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11978-:d:667957. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.