IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i9p3564-d1381844.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life Cycle Assessment of Plasterboard Production: A UK Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Saeed Morsali

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Kambiz Rakhshanbabanari

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Mohamed Osmani

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Sergio Cavalaro

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Matyas Gutai

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Miguel Castro-Díaz

    (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK)

  • Bill Parker

    (British Gypsum, East Leake, Loughborough LE12 6JT, UK)

  • Joanna Sparkes

    (British Gypsum, East Leake, Loughborough LE12 6JT, UK)

  • Paul Needham

    (ENVA, Enviro Building, Private Road 4, Colwick Industrial Estate, Nottingham NG4 2JT, UK)

  • Scott Newport

    (ENVA, Enviro Building, Private Road 4, Colwick Industrial Estate, Nottingham NG4 2JT, UK)

  • Meaghan Sands

    (ENVA, Enviro Building, Private Road 4, Colwick Industrial Estate, Nottingham NG4 2JT, UK)

  • Alexis Massey

    (Wernick Group, Windmill Lane, Denton, Manchester M34 2JF, UK)

Abstract

Plasterboard, which serves as a nonstructural building material, is widely employed for lightweight wall construction and surface finishing in walls and ceilings. Amid mounting concerns regarding product sustainability and the adoption of Net Zero strategies, evaluating the environmental performance of materials has become crucial. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) for wall gypsum plasterboard, aiming to pinpoint areas for potential environmental improvement. The LCA methodology, adhering to established guidelines and considering midpoint impact categories, was employed to quantify environmental impacts across various stages of the plasterboard life cycle—encompassing raw material extraction, plasterboard manufacturing, transportation during all stages, and end-of-life treatment of plasterboard waste. Primary data were sourced directly from a plasterboard manufacturer and recycler and supplemented with secondary data obtained from the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and the Ecoinvent 3.9 database. Among the identified impact categories, the human carcinogenic toxicity category emerged as the most affected category, primarily due to the raw material supply stage, followed by freshwater ecotoxicity, which was impacted due to the material supply stage.

Suggested Citation

  • Saeed Morsali & Kambiz Rakhshanbabanari & Mohamed Osmani & Sergio Cavalaro & Matyas Gutai & Miguel Castro-Díaz & Bill Parker & Joanna Sparkes & Paul Needham & Scott Newport & Meaghan Sands & Alexis Ma, 2024. "Life Cycle Assessment of Plasterboard Production: A UK Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3564-:d:1381844
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3564/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3564/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiménez Rivero, Ana & Sathre, Roger & García Navarro, Justo, 2016. "Life cycle energy and material flow implications of gypsum plasterboard recycling in the European Union," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 171-181.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Kylili, Angeliki & Ilic, Milos & Fokaides, Paris A., 2017. "Whole-building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a passive house of the sub-tropical climatic zone," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 169-177.
    2. Mark Anthony Camilleri, 2020. "European environment policy for the circular economy: Implications for business and industry stakeholders," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1804-1812, November.
    3. Cyrine Mrad & Luís Frölén Ribeiro, 2022. "A Review of Europe’s Circular Economy in the Building Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Aitana Sáez-de-Guinoa & David Zambrana-Vasquez & Víctor Fernández & Carmen Bartolomé, 2022. "Circular Economy in the European Construction Sector: A Review of Strategies for Implementation in Building Renovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-27, June.
    5. Rabbat, Christelle & Awad, Sary & Villot, Audrey & Rollet, Delphine & Andrès, Yves, 2022. "Sustainability of biomass-based insulation materials in buildings: Current status in France, end-of-life projections and energy recovery potentials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Jiménez-Rivero, Ana & García-Navarro, Justo, 2017. "Exploring factors influencing post-consumer gypsum recycling and landfilling in the European Union," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 116-123.
    7. Rodríguez, Rosa M. & Labella, Álvaro & Nuñez-Cacho, Pedro & Molina-Moreno, Valentin & Martínez, Luis, 2022. "A comprehensive minimum cost consensus model for large scale group decision making for circular economy measurement," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).

    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:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3564-:d:1381844. 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.