circular economy innovation & global challenges · low elevation coastal zones (leczs)...
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Circular Economy Innovation & Global Challenges
Professor Sean Smith
Professor of Construction Innovation
Director - Institute for Sustainable Construction
School of Engineering & the Built Environment
Edinburgh Napier University
www.napier.ac.uk/sebe
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OVERVIEW
• Background to ISC and research
• Growth of natural materials and new innovations• Optimising type of plastics in construction• Construction packaging
• Future global construction
• LECZs and Oceans
• Architecture for Emergencies
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Three Leading Research GroupsAll in one school
School of Engineering & the Built Environment
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Healthy
Mobility
Optical
fibre
sensing
Landslides & rainfall
Energy recovery
Su
rfac
e
coat
ing
s
Fuel
poverty Transport
Offsite
construction
Wood
science
Membran
eFreight
transport
ERG ERG ERG
ERG
ISC
ISC
ISC
ISC
TRI
TRI
Timber
Engineering
ISC
TRI
• Last 3 decades have seen a more diverse use of plastics in construction
• Main drivers have been for insulation to reduce energy use
• Lower U-values have seen a switch to more energy efficient ‘in-situ’ materials
• More recently – increasing use of offsite has reduced on site waste and created B2B supply and ‘take back’ re-use and recycle partnerships
• Edinburgh Napier undertook a project in 2012 with ZWS and BRUFMA to look at alternative waste products from rigid foam offcuts
Plastics in Construction
We must ensure that if some
wish to focus on alternatives to plastics we do
not make things worse
Circular Economy
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Gold Performance• Section 7
Sustainability
• No screeds for separating floors
• Gold level sound insulation
• A circular world of complete plastics recycling involving new technologies and an innovative integrative approach
• Aiming for 90% recycling of plastics
• Targeting many difficult plastics
• PVC piping, gutters, rigid plastics
Project Beacon (Scotland)
Icopal Projects (Manchester)
Research and product development projects with Edinburgh Napier University
Monarfloor Tranquilt• Uses recycled reconstituted plastics
foam content >90%• High levels of sound insulation for
both airborne and impact• Can be re-used and recycled in
future
Monarfloor Tranquility• Used for bonded soft floor coverings• High levels of sound insulation for
both airborne and impact• Can be re-used and recycled in
future
Using recycled plastics and foams in new construction
Circular EconomyCareful Assessment is Needed
• Some plastic based solutions may be better overall for performance, LCA and environment
• Edinburgh Napier’s recent project with Energystore Superbead insulationsystem on acoustic solutions
• Identified a number of performance benefits which were unique
• Long term ease for deconstruction and re-use can be key attributes
Key Aspect
• Not the plastic used in the construction materials
• Not the waste streams from construction products
• The major issue discussed was extent of packaging of white goods for new homes andpackaging of construction products
Use of plastics in construction
Using Cardboard Based Products for Packaging
http://www.lhexagone.com/en/cardboard-honeycomb.php
http://www.encase.co.uk/sustainability/
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P R E V I O U S 2 0 Y E A R S N E X T 2 0 Y E A R S
COMPARING PREVIOUS 20 YEARS WITH NEXT 20 YEARSHOUSING IN SOUTH EAST SCOTLAND REGION
40%Increase in
housing demand
(using ONS and NRoSprojections)
New Engineering Technologies Edinburgh South East Scotland City Region Deal
Global Challenges
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1. Global Construction 2030: A global forecast for the construction industry to 2030. PWC (2016)
FUTURE:
Sector Growth
• Global spend over $100
trillion over next 20 years
• 15% of global GDP
• China, India and US account
for 57% of future growth 1
• India will grow twice as fast
as China
• By 2022 India’s population
overtakes China
• World shortage in
Engineering & Construction
professionals
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Future Cities
Green Highways
Low Carbon Logistics
Major Infrastructure
• Designing to optimise the type of plastics that are used in construction• Design for Deconstruction
Image: NASA
Population growth(Source: UN 2015)
2100 = 11.3 billion
2050 = 9.7 billion
2030 = 8.5 billion
2015 = 7.3 billion
o Habitat development availability?
o Sustainable communities
o Material resources and processes?
o Building performance?
o Engineering solutions?
o Aging population and demographics?
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• 29 countries• 570 M population• 320 M homes• Schools, hospitals,
offices, industry, infrastructure
• 500 years in the making
6.25 x European total housingEquivalent increase in
Global Housing Need in next 80 years
By Year 2100
https://theconversation.com/the-world-needs-to-build-more-than-two-billion-new-homes-over-the-next-80-years-91794
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Low Elevation Coastal Zones (LECZs)
• Globally 2.4 billion people live within 100 km of the coastline
• Over 600 million people live within less then 10m above sea level
• Storm surge is the greatest risk
LECZ Definition: Low elevation coastal zones (LECZ), involves the physical land area and the total percentage of
population that is in a coastal zone ranging from 1m to 20m above mean sea level. In other words, the land area,
which is 100km of the coastline and within 20m above, mean sea level (MSL) in coastal proximities. Bays, rivers, and
estuaries are also classified within LECZ
24Module: Research & Innovation BSV 08114: Lecture 11
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Disaster Adaptation to Mitigate Storm Surge (DAMSS)
Developing a DAMSS Framework
5 million tonnes of debris
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Global Issues:65 million displaced people
• Designing sustainable habitat
• Using local and natural materials where possible
• Designing for deconstruction
Zaatari refugee camp - Jordan
Architecture for Emergencies in the Middle EastLara Alshawawreh, Sean Smith, John Wood
Edinburgh Napier University
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Global Issues:
• Sadly such global events are not one-offs
• Pro-active predesign and “readiness” deployment
• Geographically located around the world
• Sustainable, re-usable and functional
Azraq refugee camp - Jordan
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SUMMARYUK• Much innovation going on within sector and many solutions are available. Some plastic
based solutions are better involving full LCA analysis. Deconstruction and re-use should be given higher positive weighting
• Clients, specifiers, local authority sustainable development goals should encourage full life cycle best practice
• Construction and associated product suppliers for existing buildings and new sites should switch away from plastic packaging – where possible
Global• LECZs should develop better resilience in relating construction systems and storm surge
resilience and avoid plastic based products – if insufficient resilience measures• Future habitat for emergencies should be ‘pre-designed, prefabricated and deployed in
readiness for future use globally’ with a strong focus on sustainable materials• With global population growth and future habitat needs such designs and actions need
to start immediately
Professor Sean Smith BSc, PhD, FIOA, FRSA, FHEA, HONFRIAS
School of Engineering & the
Built Environment
Edinburgh Napier University
www.napier.ac.uk/sebe
29School of Engineering & the Built Environment