eco-friendly construction material 2007-02

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status of Environment and Related luuesVoI.2 No.9Build well with wasteT he construction industry inIndia is growing fast. Theincrease in the demand for What is eco-friendly building material?Eco-friendly construction material are thosethat have a lower effect on human healthhomes and commercial space has driventhe sector to a growth rate of 9.2 per cent Eco-Friendly and the environment when comparedwith competing products that servethe same purpose.very year, against the global average of5.5 per

cent. Of late, concerns have been raised over theConstruction

way residential apartments and commercial buildings aredesigned and constructed. Most of hese concerns pertainto energy, environment, sustainable constructionmethods and technology.The most common raw material used in construction aresteel, cement, glass, aluminum, plastics, bricks, etc. Allthese are energy-intensive material and need to betransported across vast distances leading to more energyconsumption. I t is not possible to meet the ever-growingdemand for housing by using only traditional energyefficient material like mud, thatch, timber, bamboo, etc.

material Eco-friendly constructionalternativesEco-friendly construction alternatives should necessarilyhave the following properties:+ Derived from renewable source: like agricultural

waste.+ Re-use of waste product: use of fly ash, iron oretailings etc.+ Easy availability: for material not locally available,transport costs could be significant, affecting costeffectiveness.+ Reduction in air, land and water pollution: use of_______________ maen.. l.whi.chiioii.esuliiiiis. in less or no VOC emission,Thus there is a need for ,. or those which may notoptimum utilization 0 Properties of eco-frlendly building materials and techniques result in water and lor

the available energy Renewable source air pollution.resources and raw \ JBiodegradable +Durability & life span:material to produce material which aresimple, energy-efficient, ~ ~ ~ . : ; d 'Reuse / recyc le durable and requireenvironment-friendly Eco-friendly materials low maintenanceand sustainable building Embodied and techniques +alternatives. It is in this energy . . . - v ~ A i d s e n e r g y Energy efficient:context that the eco- A efficiency in building Those which requirefriendly construction " 1f " ' \ less energy fo rLocal availability a Durability and d ti' likm a t e r l'al ga l 'n I'fa proucon, epre-Reduction in air, water I spanimportance. and land pollution cast slabs.~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + B i o - d e g r a d a b l e : The demand-supply gapIn the last 50 years, the country's population has risenfrom 330 million to 1.07 billion. Between 1999 and 2001,there was a requirement for 4,61,600 million bricks and24,700 million roof tiles, a need that could not be met.Against a housing requirement of200 million units, only175 million are currently available, leaving a huge gapbetween the need and availability.

material constructed from farm waste etc.+Reuse / recycle: products like aluminum and iron canbe reused.

These alternatives may serve all or some of the abovementioned criteria but generally they should be costeffective so as to be financially viable for a potentialcustomer. Cost-effectiveness may depend on a variety offactors like availability of raw material, its use for otherAccording to India's national report, by 2021 the country would face a housing shortage of 44.9 million units


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~ h r i . Subir Hart Singh, lAS,Principal Secretary to Government~ o u s i n g Department~ i k a s Soudha~ a n g a l o r e 560001

02-04-2007

MESSAGE

With increase in population, burgeoning urban growth and general improvement in thestandard of living of the people, the construction industry in the country is witnessing anunprecedented growth. While glass-and-aluminium structures are often seen as signs of prosperityan d well-being, there are simple, energy-efficient, environment-friendly and sustainable buildingalternatives available.Eco-friendly construction materials derived from eas ily available, renewable sources that aredurable and bio-degradable is available as a less expensive option. Judiciously used, this allows thediscerning citizen to build aesthetically-pleasing and comfortable homes and other structures whilemaking a statement of his commitment to nurture environment.In this backdrop, a word of caution to every citizen building his or her house is that they makesure of proper and timely disposal ofconstruction waste generated during building dream houses in anenvironmentally friendly way. !A

purposes (competing uses), maintenance requirementsand durability.Conventional eco-friendly building material--Bamboo, bamboo-based particle board & ply board,bamboo matting. - Sun dried bricks'-Pre-cast cement concrete blocks, lintels, slabs.Structural and non-structural modular elements'-Calcinedphospho-gypsum wall panels'-Calciumsilicate boards and tiles'-Cellularlight weight concrete blocks'-Cementpaint'-Clay roofing tiles'-Water, polyurethane and acrylic-based chemicaladmixtures for corrosion removal, rust prevention,waterproofing'-Epoxy resin system, flooring, sealants, adhesives andadmixtures'-Ferro-cement boards for door and window shutters'-Ferro-cement roofing channels'-Fly-ash sand lime bricks and paver blocks'-Gypsum board, tiles, plaster, blocks, gypsum plasterfibre jute / sisal and glass fibre composites'-Laminatedwood plastic components'-Marble mosaic tiles'-MDFboards and mouldings'-Micro concrete roofing tiles'-Particle boards'-Polymerised waterproofcompound'-Portland pozzolana cement fly-ash / calcinated claybased'-Portland slag cement

( s ! ' i r ~ i n ~ '-RCC door frames'-Readymix cement concrete'-Rubberwood fingerjoint board'-Stonedust'-Waterproofcompound, adhesive, polymer powder

Eco-friendly material / techniques and resourcecentresBagasse board-BMTPC

}>Bricks from coal washery rejects CBRI, Roorkee}>Building blocks from mine waste SERC}>Burnt clay flyash bricks CBRI, Roorkee}>Coircementboard CBRI,Roorkee}>Compressed earth blocks BMTPC}>EPS composites and door shutters CBRI, Roorkee}>Fibre flyash cement boards BMTPC}>Fibre-reinforced concrete pre-cast elements, wallpanels, blocks, manhole covers SERC}>Fibrous gypsum plaster boards CBRI, Roorkee}>Flyash cellular concrete, flyash cement brick, blocksBMTPC

Kamataka Rajya Nirmana Kendra(KARNIK), a Government ofKamatakaenterprise, is promoting cost-effectivebuilding technologies through itsnetwork of'Nirmiti Kendras' in the State.It received a Government of India awardfor utilization of fly ash as an innovativebuilding material on World Habitat Day2006.

~ ! > r o x i m a t e 100 million tonnes of fly ash is generated in india's thermal power plant per annum


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Hon'ble President A P J AbdulKaJam's VISion of construction in tbefntnre' 'The building of the future will havemany new features of aesthetics andconvenience. Their energy sources willbe cleaner, based on solar power andhydrogen. The glass panes of windowsand doors may have conducting polymers to regulate transmissionofsolar rays into the room. The leakages during the monsoon willbe athing of the past due to improved design and construction methods.Above all, the time taken for construction ofhouses maybe cut down toseveral weeks or a few months instead of years. This would beachieved thorough the useofprefabricated structures and various otherfactory-manufacturedparts like advanced composite doors".

Issues to be addressed by the constructionindustry include:. . Minirnizjng the useofhighenergy material.. Use ofenvironment-friendly technologies.. Minimize transportationofmaterial.. Maximize the use oflocal material and resources.. Utilization of industrial and mine wastes for the production ofbuilding material

Building technologies meeting these principles could becomesustainable and facilitate sharing or resources especially in usingenergy more efficiently. This could minimize damage to theenvironment.

pollution. At present, fly ash is disposedofby mixing it with bottom ash and largequantities ofwater. The resultant slurry issluiced to settle in a setting pond. Thismethod makes heavy demand on landand has the potential to cause groundwater pollution.A remedy to this malady is to use fly ashfor the manufacture of bricks, Portlandpozzolana cement blocks, tiles, lightweight aggregates and hollow blocks.Consisting mostly of silica, alumina andiron, fly ash is a pozzolana a substancecontaining aluminous and siliciousmaterial that forms cement in thepresenceofwater.When mixed with limeand water, it forms a compound similar toportland cement. The spherical shape ofthe particles reduces internal frictionthereby increasing the concrete'sconsistency. Improved workability alsomeans less water is needed, resulting inless segregation of the mixture. Thoughfly ash cement itself is less dense thanportland cement, it results in a smoothersurface with sharper detail.Mechanized manufacture of fly ash limebricks has already been undertaken inmany parts of the country. The aim is toutilize bulk quantitiesof fly ash and helpbridge the huge shortfall of bricks andother building material required by the}>Flyash lime cellular concrete CBRI, Roorkee}>Flyash lime gypsum brick BMTPC

}>Insulating bricks from rice husk ash Central Glassand Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata}>Jute fibre polyester BMTPC

construction industry. At present in India, fly ash is beingused to manufacture ash blocks, floor tiles, terrazzo tiles,cellular lightweight concrete (CLC),MCR tiles, door andwindow frames, interlocking blocks and flowerpots.

}>Non-erodable mud plaster CBRI, Roorkee}>Ploytiles CBRI, Roorkee}>Timber from trees such as poplar, rubber, eucalyptus

BMTPC}>Precast wall and roofing components CBRI, Roorkee}>Prefab brick panel system CBRI, Roorkee

Let's now take a look at some of the eco-friendlyconstruction material which are in use in India.Fly ash bricksAlmost 70per cent of he total power generated in India isthrough coal-based plants. This translates into 70 milliontones of fly ash generation every year and the productionmay increase in the years to come. Managementofflyashis a huge problem as it is light weight and can travel by airand result in reduced agricultural productivity and water Fly ash products

There are about 50,000 tile and brick industries in the country.


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90

20

14 1211

2 1.6 1.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Milliontonnes/year

Agro wastes generated in India (million tonnes / year)

Series1 90 20 14 12 11 2 1.6 1.4

Bagas se Rice hus k JuteRice wheat

Straw

Groundnut

shell

Saw mill

waste

Coconut

huskcotton stalk

Source: www.ics.trieste.it


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A model house from unconventional building materialCost comparison of buildings constructedby conventional method and by usingIron ore waste tailings products

Totolcostof Total cost ofbuilding building IfNam. of building constructed constructed Over'llilusing iron-ore .01 of savingswut8talling conventlona'products prod . . .Pilot plant 33.08.000 36.00.000 2.92.000Demonstration unns 135000 169000 34000b 1,49.000 1.87.000 38.0002. D. draa Model house 1.33.000 1.67.000 34.00.000Model house in R & D centre, Surathkal Total 37 000 4123000 398000The house has clean lines and a compact design. It looks like any other well-designed urban, low-cost housingeffort. What is different however is that it has been constructed out ofunconventional building material. The doorsare made out of a wood substitute, the walls from iron tailing blocks, and the ceiling sports rafters made from ferrocement. A living room, a bedroom, a kitchen and bath-toilet make up the accommodation available in the house.The house can comfortably accommodate a family of four members (see table for cost comparison between

constructing with iron ore waste tailing products and conventional products).,The model house has demonstrated that iron tailing products work well; additionally, the technology can also bereplicated wherever there is a requirement for low-cost housing options. It offers, thus, a ray ofhope for thehousing sector and economically backward sections of society.

bonded particle board which can bring down the use ofcement and brick. The cement boarduses only 60 pe r centof cement and the remainder 40 per cent is eucalyptusflakes an d other agricultural waste. These boards canwithstand the damage caused by fIre and earthquake andare waterproof too. They have four times the strength ofordinary cement and require less water to set. Bricksmade from agricultural wastes are bio-degradable andlastionger.Red mud utilizationRed mud jute fibre polymer composite: RFPC is asubstitute for wood-based panel products. It is made upof easily available raw material like red mud, polymersand natural fIbres. During aluminum production,bauxite ore is digested with caustic soda, when most ofthe aluminum passes into solution as aluminate. The

muddy red residue consists of alumina, iron oxide,titanium oxide and small quantities of silica, calciumoxide and alka\i. India generates over 4 million tonnesof his by-product annually which is not otherwise putto any use. Red mu d is usually disposed of in ponds.During the monsoon months this could lead tocontamination of ground water.RFPC composite contains ferric oxide, alumina andtitanium oxide from red mud, 82.5 pe r cent celluloseand 11.3 pe r cent liguin from its jute component Gute is15 pe r cent of the total volume of the shutter).RFPC is particularly suitable for door shutters, ensuringsiguifIcant savings in initial as well as maintenancecosts. There is a huge market for composite doors andpanels, with the potential waiting to be tapped both indeveloping and developed countries.

Sisal plant Sisal fibre Red mud ute fibre polymer productsEstimated agricultural waste generated in India exceeds 500 million tones Jler year. -


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Indo-Norwegian Environment ProgrammeIndo-Norwegian Environment Programme (INEP) is acollaborative venture between the Government of India and theGovernment ofNorway. Through an agreement with theDepartment of Economic Affairs, the two governments haveinitiated pilot project in two Indian states, namely Karnataka andHimachal Pradesh. The pilot programmes are designed to createawareness on, and demonstrate corrective actions for serious and~ e n t environment issues.A project taken up in Karnataka under the INEP has addressedIron ore waste tailings problem in an effective way. As part ofthis programme, the R&D Centre of he Karnataka RegionalEngineering College at Surathkal has undertaken a project todevelop a technology for using the abundantly-available iron oreas raw material in the construction industry. The products alreadymanufactured include bricks, tiles and other material. Thefollowing products were developed at the R&D Centre with ironore waste tailings: Roofmg tiles Bricks Hollow blocks Pavement bricks

Coloured bricks Glazed roofing tiles Studio pottery Wall tiles Floor tilesOutcome of the project:>Environ Charitable Trust' a special purpose vehicle fortechnology transfer, entrepreneur development anddissemination of information set up under DeputyCommissioner, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.> Environmental protection and ecological balance byconverting industrial waste into useful building material> Over coming the paucity of clay> Preservation of opsoil for agricultural purposes.> Promotion of scope for rura1 based industries.> Transfer of technology to existing and new entrepreneurs.Techno development in Iron Ore Waste Tailings basedbuilding products such as Roofing tile, Decorative tile, Bricks,Pavement blocks, Wall tiles, Floor Tiles.> Spinn off technologies like cus tom designed RCC & FCCrafters developed.

R&D Centre, NITK, SurathkalKey contributors .nd tMlr rot. for 1M Im. .m .. . on of Iron0 .. lailing baed building products.

...,."of pIrt of 1hc ftmd

Demo house constructedatNirmithi Kendra, Dakshina #Cannadausing Iron ore waste tailings products

RFPC can also be used for furniture, flooring, electricalswitchbox and insulation sheets for housing. Plastic that cannot be further recycled can be used withfillers for processing composites useful for applicationslike fence posts, park benches, pallets and street furnitureas substitute to timberand concrete products.Plastic waste as building material:With constant urbanization and industrialization, the

problem of discarded items and their disposal throughgarbage has become a cause for concern. Items likeplastic bags and related material abound in garbagedumps. The solution lies in recycling of plastic wasteafter segregation.Mixed and multilayer plastics containing several gradesof plastic material can be made into pallets. The palletscan take the shape of tile flooring, waste containers,planks, profiles, railway sleepers etc.

Recycled PET: Unsaturated polyester resin fromrecycled PET can replace the conventionalhigh cost resinfor use in GRP products, polymer concrete / polymermortar, and industrial floorings.Phospho-gypsum as building material:Phospho-gypsum is waste generated by phosphoric acid,ammonium phosphate and hydrofluoric acid-producingplants. The fluoride content of phosphor-gypsum is asource of land and water pollution. It is possible toprofitably utilize this pollutant for making cement,

In Kamataka, the requirement of clay for the tile and brick industries is about 3 million tonnes per annum,


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Products developed at the R&D centre with iron ore waste tailings.

Hollow Blocks

Wall tiles Penholders

gypsum board, partitions, ceiling tile, artificial marblesand fiberboards.Phospho-gypswn can be gainfully utilized in themanufacture of expansive or non-shrinking cement,super-sulphated and anhydride cement, simultaneousmanufacture ofcement and sulphuric acid, as a hydraulicbinder, as set controller in the manufacture of Portlandcement, as mineraliser and in making gypswn plasterboards and slotted tiles.Pre-cast concrete frames:Pre-cast concrete frame is one of the substitutes fortimber. Traditionally timber has been a vital buildingmaterial. Excessive deforestation is leading to an

Lakkya dam in Kudremukha, completelyfilled with iron ore waste tailings

Interlocking Pavers

Decorative potteryecological imbalance which could spell large-scaledisaster for mankind. In fact, adverse effects ofdeforestation are already being felt in many parts of theglobe. It is necessary to take urgent steps to conserve ourforests. A substantial portion ofwood is consumed in theconstruction industry directly or indirectly. It isimperative to reduce the consumption of timber inbuilding applications by identification, development andpromotion of alternate material which can partially /completely substitute wood.Pre-cast concrete frames are made out of cement, sandaggregates and steel reinforcement. Fly ash and blastfurnace slag can also be used as raw material.Commercial levels ofproduction can be taken up at a lowlevel of nvestment and with minimal labour training.Advantages ofpre-cast concrete frames:'-Conservation offorestreserves of imber'-Tennite-proof'-Highqualityand durable'-Much cheaper than timber alternatives'-Minimal requirement ofraw material and high rate ofproduction'-Water and fireproofGypsum board:Gypsum board is the generic name for a family ofpaneltype products consisting of a non-combustible core,primarily ofgypswn, with a paper surfacing on the face,back, and long edges. Gypswn board is often calleddrywall, wallboard, or plasterboard and differs from

The world's urban population is growing 2.5 times faster than the rural po!'ulation.


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products such as plywood,hardboard, and fiberboardbecause of its non-combustible core.Gypsum is a mineral foundin sedimentary rockformations in a crystallineform knows as calciumsulfate dehydrate. Onehundred pounds of gypsumrock containsapproximately 21 poundsof chemically combinedwater. Gypsum rock ismined or quarried and thencrushed. The crushed rockis then ground into a finepowder and heated to about 350 degrees F, driving of fthree fourths of the chemically-combined water in aprocess called calcining. The calcined gypsum is thenused as the base for gypsum plaster, gypsum board andother gypsum products.To produce gypsum board, the calcined gypsum is mixedwith water and additives to form slurry which is fedbetween continuous layers ofpaper on a board machine.As the board moves down a conveyer line, the calciumsulphate recystallizes or rehydrates, reverting to itsoriginal rock state. The paper becomes chemically andmechanically bonded to the core. The board is then cut tolength and conveyed through dryers to remove any freemoisture.Gypsum is also used as a raw material for some of theproducts briefed as below:Glass reinforced gypsum boards:In building material, I wood can partially be replaced bythe use of glass reinforced gypsum (GRG). It is madefrom glass fibre distributed evenly in gypsum matrix toyield boards of2m x 1m size with a thickness of4mm andbeyond. The material is pseudo-ductile in nature with aflexural strength in the range of 20-35 Mpa and impactstrength of 10-26 N/mrn2. The boards can be utilized formaking door and window panels, false ceilings, partitions,furniture, etc. These can be easily cut, drilled and otherwood working operations carried out as with theconventional wood working tools. GRG boards can bepainted, polished and decorated by conventional means.GRG offers advantages over wood and otherconventional board material, such as:

Pre-cost concrete frames"'"It can be made to the required size and thicknessthereby reducing labour, wastage and jointing cost."'"Being isotropic in nature, it has eqnal strength in all

directions.Any ornamental design can be incorporated atnominal cost."'"GRG panels are about 50 per cent cheaper than teakwood: the cost also compares favourably withplywood and particle boards. Industrial wastes likephosphor-gypsum and fibres from waste glass cu11etscan be utilized to further reduce the cost.

Medium density fibre boards:Various types of agro and agro-industrial wastes areconverted into fibers of he required size. The material ismixed with a thermosetting binder and pressed in ahydraulic press under specified conditionsof emperature,pressure and time and the resultant boards are trimmed tothe required size. The product is waterproof, termiteresistant and fire resistant.

Source:[1] Convertiog waste to wealth-Publishedby INEP[2] Article of Dr.Rajendra Jagdale, Director-General,Science& Techoology Park, University ofPune[3] Wikipedia.org[5] www.ics.trieste.it[4]TERIENVISTeam:Chakravarthi Mohan K.A.S., Co-ordinator, ENVISCentre,Vijay Bhat, Programme Manager, INEP,K.N. Koushik, IT Assistant.

ENVIS Centre - KarnatakaDepartment ofForests, Ecology & Environment, Govemment ofKamataka010 Indo Norwegian Environment Programme, 2nd noor, Parisara Bhavan ,

No 49, Church street Banga/ore - 560 001. /{amatakaPh: 080-2559 1515 email: [email protected] URL: http://www.parisaramahiti.kar.nic.in

eco-friendly construction material 2007-02

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