Life Cycle Assessment and eco-design of building materials: the case study of a Sicilian cement plaster

Buildings in the European Union (EU) account for the largest share of the total EU final energy consumption (42%), and greenhouse gas emissions (35%). Therefore, the reduction of energy use, the development of quality-oriented processes and the improvement of energy performance in the building sector are important measures needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the energy dependency of the European Union from foreign countries. In this context, it is necessary to develop sustainable building products, with low energy and environmental impacts during their life cycle, from the extraction of raw material to the manufacturing, use and end-of-life. The main goal of the study is to define the energy and environmental profile of a cement plaster with photocatalytic function, produced in a Sicilian firm. This product is useful for neutralizing atmospheric pollutants by means of a photocatalyst able to oxidize pollutants in the presence of light and air. The analysis is performed using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, following the international standards of the ISO 14040 series, in accordance with the approach “from cradle to grave”. The selected functional unit is 1.000 kg of cement plaster. The results of the analysis will allow the assessment of the share of each life cycle step of the selected functional unit on the total impacts; the identification of “hot spots” in the examined supply chain and the proposal of “best practices” for the reduction of the impacts associated to the life cycle of the product. The study is carried out in the framework of the project “CRIM-SAFRI Creation of an Italian-Maltese research Centre for environmental sustainability and renewable energy sources” funded by the Operative Programme Italy-Malta 2007-2013.