Life cycle assessment environmental data for structural steel construction in Greece

Figures & data

Figure 1 Manufacturing stages for cold-formed hollow structural steel sections.

Table 1 LCI data with respect to the transport of scrap.

Origin and transport	LCI data	Comments
From Cyprus to Greece by boat and then by truck to the manufacturer	– Cargo or freight ship– 22–25 t truck– 1200 km by boat– 12 km in truck– 4000 t of scrap	The distance covered by boat is calculated from the largest cargo port in Cyprus (Lemesos) to the port of Thessaloniki
From the Balkans by train	– Freight train, average technology– 300 km– 100,000 t of scrap	200,000 t of scrap were transported from the Balkans in 2008. This quantity is divided equally into train and truck transport
From the Balkans by trucks	– 22–25 t truck– 300 km– 100,000 t of scrap
From Athens by trucks	– 22–25 t truck– 504+12 = 516 km– 60,000 t of scrap	The distance from Athens to Thessaloniki by road is 504 km. Another 12 km is added for the transport to the manufacturer
From the Northern Greece by trucks	– 22–25 t truck– 15 km– 200,000 t of scrap	It is assumed that the largest part of this quantity comes from Thessaloniki
From the steel facilities inside units by trucks	– 22–25 t truck– 0.3 km– 6000 t	6000 t of scrap are sent for recycling from inside units of the steel facility

Figure 2 Flow diagram of environmental inputs and outputs for the transport of scrap to the steel manufacturer and its radiation inspection according to ISO 14044:2006.

Table 2 Secondary data used for the LCI study of cold-formed hollow steel members.

Category	Process	Source database	Reference year, geographic coverage	Used in current analysis data sets
Energy	Electricity, high voltage,  production GR, at grid/GR U	Ecoinvent unit  processes	2007 (updated in 2010), Greece	Scrap inspection, EAF, ladle furnace,  continuous casting, reheat furnace
Energy	Natural gas furnace  >100 kW Europe U	ETH-ESU 96  unit processes	2003 (updated in 2004), Europe	Reheat furnace
Transport	Freighter inland ETH U	ETH-ESU 96  unit processes	2003 (updated in 2004), Europe	Scrap transport
Transport	Transport, lorry, 20–28 t, fleet  average/CH U	Ecoinvent unit  processes	2007 (updated in 2010), Switzerland, Europe	Scrap transport, finished product  storage
Transport	Transport, freight, rail/RER U	Ecoinvent unit  processes	2003 (updated in 2010), Europe	Scrap transport
Processing of metals	Hot rolling, steel/RER U	Ecoinvent unit  processes	2003 (updated in 2010), Europe	Hot rolling

Table 3 Environmental data-sets for the production of 1 kg of cold-formed structural steel (EAF) hollow members (sections SHS 100 × 5, SHS 250 × 10 and RHS 180 × 100 × 6).

Substance	Category	Unit	SHS 100 ×	SHS 250 × 10	RHS 180 × 100 × 6
Inputs
Coal (brown, in ground)	Raw material	kg	0.964369	0.949706	0.957036
Dolomite (CaCO3, in ground)	Raw material	kg	0.088355	0.088301	0.088328
Iron (46% in ore, 25% in crude ore, in ground)	Raw material	kg	0.088606	0.08859	0.088598
Manganese (Mn, 35.7% in sedimentary deposit, 14.2% in crude ore, in ground)	Raw material	kg	7.87E − 06	7.83E − 06	7.85E − 06
Natural gas (in ground)	Raw material	m^3	0.105514	0.104932	0.105223
Natural gas (35 MJ/m^3, in ground)	Raw material	m^3	0.064289	0.064289	0.064289
Oil (crude, in ground)	Raw material	kg	0.064956	0.064502	0.064729
Steel scrap	Raw material	kg	1.45E − 09	1.45E − 09	1.45E − 09
Water (unspecified natural origin)	Raw material	m^3	0.007138	0.007136	0.007137
Zinc (Zn, in ground)	Raw material	kg	2.21E − 09	2.21E − 09	2.21E − 09
Outputs
Carbon dioxide (CO2)	Air emission	kg	0.233242	0.233242	0.233242
Carbon dioxide, fossil (CO2)	Air emission	kg	0.006366	0.006333	0.00635
Carbon monoxide (CO)	Air emission	kg	1.252214	1.240148	1.24618
Carbon monoxide, fossil (CO)	Air emission	kg	0.000804	0.000803	0.000804
Dinitrogen monoxide (N2O)	Air emission	kg	2.45E − 05	2.42E − 05	2.44E − 05
Hydrogen chloride (HCl)	Air emission	kg	0.000234	0.00023	0.000232
Hydrogen sulphide (H2S)	Air emission	kg	2.31E − 05	2.28E − 05	2.29E − 05
Lead (Pb)	Air emission	kg	6.06E − 07	6.04E − 07	6.05E − 07
Mercury (Hg)	Air emission	kg	0.155713	0.153502	0.154607
Methane (CH4, fossil)	Air emission	kg	4.25E − 09	4.25E − 09	4.25E − 09
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)	Air emission	kg	0.001838	0.001824	0.001831
Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC)	Air emission	kg	0.000585	0.000584	0.000584
Particulates < 2.5 μm (PM2,5)	Air emission	kg	0.000579	0.000572	0.000576
Particulates < 10 μm, mobile and stationery (PM10)	Air emission	kg	3.64E − 06	3.64E − 06	3.64E − 06
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	Air emission	kg	0.004331	0.004275	0.004303
Sulphur oxides (SOx)	Air emission	kg	1.31E − 08	1.31E − 08	1.31E − 08
Zinc (Zn)	Air emission	kg	6.92E − 07	6.87E − 07	6.9E − 07
Ammonia (N)	Water emission	kg	1.24E − 07	1.24E − 07	1.24E − 07
Cadmium, ion	Water emission	kg	1.51E − 06	1.51E − 06	1.51E − 06
Chemical oxygen demand (COD)	Water emission	kg	0.002183	0.002176	0.00218
Chromium, ion	Water emission	kg	8.85E − 07	8.85E − 07	8.85E − 07
Iron	Water emission	kg	4.1E − 06	4.1E − 06	4.1E − 06
Lead (Pb)	Water emission	kg	1.92E − 06	1.92E − 06	1.92E − 06
Nickel, ion	Water emission	kg	0.006164	0.006076	0.00612
Suspended solids	Water emission	kg	3.97E − 14	3.96E − 14	3.96E − 14
Zinc, ion	Water emission	kg	1.74E − 11	1.74E − 11	1.74E − 11
Calcium	Soil emission	kg	1.58E − 05	1.57E − 05	1.57E − 05
Heat, waste	Soil emission	MJ	1.97E − 11	1.97E − 11	1.97E − 11
Iron	Soil emission	kg	6.22E − 08	6.22E − 08	6.22E − 08
Oils, unspecified	Soil emission	kg	0.000252	0.00025	0.000251
Steel waste	Waste	kg	0.054156	0.054156	0.054156
Waste, unspecified	Waste	kg	0.14323	0.14323	0.14323

Figure 3 Plan view of steel residential building (dimensions in mm).

Figure 4 Side view of steel residential building (dimensions in mm).

Table 4 Main materials and processes required for the construction of the steel residential building.

Main materials and processes	Unit	Quantity	Description
Steel columns	kg	2864.4	SHS 250 × 10
Steel beams	kg	1919.8	SHS and RHS sections
		773.7	IPE 220
Connection and joints of steel elements	kg	311.3	M16 and M32 bolts
	m	91.4	5-mm-width welding
	kg	968.6	Steel plates
	kg	66.4	L70 × 7 (connection of purlins)
	kg	17.8	12-mm-diameter reinforcement bars (connection of purlins)
Steel roof purlins	kg	945	SHS 90 × 4
Steel wind bracing	kg	359.7	SHS 50 × 4
Reinforced concrete foundation	m^3	33.4	C20/25 concrete
	m^3	3.1	C16/20 concrete
	m^3	161.6	Excavation
	kg	3038.9	Reinforcement bars
Reinforced concrete slab (ground floor)	m^3	10.2	C20/25 concrete
	kg	360.8	Reinforcement bars
Composite slab (deck)	kg	217	Trapezoidal sheet profile of 0.8 mm thickness
	m^3	2.9	C20/25 concrete
	kg	168.2	Reinforcement bars
Reinforced concrete bracing	m^3	1.5	C20/25 concrete
	kg	192.4	Reinforcement bars

Figure 5 Graphical display of the weight of the main material groups used for the construction of the steel residence.

Figure 6 Environmental impact assessment for the construction of the steel residential building according to the Eco-Indicator 99 methodology.

Figure 7 Environmental impact assessment for the construction of the steel residential building according to the Eco-Indicator 99 methodology.

Table 5 Impact assessment results for the construction of the steel residential building according to the CML 2 baseline 2000 method.

Impact category	Unit	Environmental impact
Abiotic depletion	kg Sb eq	239.1684
Acidification	kg SO2 eq	132.2892
Eutrophication	kg PO4 eq	96.20376
Global warming (GWP 100)	kg CO2 eq	40,837.1
ODP	kg CFC-11 eq	0.00456
Human toxicity	kg 1.4-DB eq	17,897.47
Fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity	kg 1.4-DB eq	22,331.27
Marine aquatic ecotoxicity	kg 1.4-DB eq	37,106,580
Terrestrial ecotoxicity	kg 1.4-DB eq	365.7589
Photochemical oxidation	kg C2H4 eq	9.871291