Environmental profile of building materials. Field analysis of a brickwork in Sicily

Abstract

Brickmaking process is a highly energy-intensive operation, where a considerable amount of energy is spent in the drying and firing processes of bricks. Moreover, most of the Sicilian brick industries utilise electricity, fuel oil and gas oil. On the other hand, the conservation of energy becomes important in the aim of limiting greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere and reducing costs of materials. In this work, an experimental analysis of the energy utilised in a Sicilian brickwork for the realization of some typical bricks has been carried out. From this study, the embodied energy of the unity of product has been deduced. Finally, by means of an indirect method, the pollutants released in the atmosphere have been evaluated and the pressure exerted on the main environmental ambits has also been computed.