Construction waste poses a major environmental problem owing to traditional building methods, resulting in a huge global waste burden that ultimately ends up in landfills. The development of sustainable methods is necessary not only to reduce environmental problems but also to encourage material circularity and promote the effective recycling and reuse of construction waste. Yet, previous research has largely focused on using recycled construction waste as a single or double additive ingredient. However, this study aims to assess the development of sustainable concrete blocks for residential building applications with a novel blend of two or more waste ingredients, with each additive contributing to a specific characteristic. Physical properties (bulk density, porosity, water absorption, thermal conductivity, compressive strength, fire resistance, and mass loss), cost, and CO2 emissions were determined to evaluate the efficiency of the block. Subsequently, the energy savings were assessed using block samples as single-layer building envelopes within a full-scale room simulated using EnergyPlus. The results showed a reduction in density of up to 24.32 %, and thermal conductivity and heat transfer of up to 56.8 % compared to typical blocks, which satisfied the compressive strength requirements of load- and non-load-bearing walls. The sustainability assessment revealed that the developed concrete blocks could significantly lower production costs by up to 31.75 % and reduce carbon emissions by up to 27.15 % compared to typical concrete blocks. It was found that the best single-layer building envelope in a full-scale residential room improved energy efficiency by up to 9.17 % when the produced blocks were used. This enhancement could lower the cost of energy consumption from 88.34 to 80.24 kWh/m2/year. This research contributes to the utilization of circular building blocks, which reduce the need for typical raw materials while improving their functional properties and lowering the production cost, carbon emissions, and energy consumption in a single-layer residential building.

中文翻译：

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实现回收建筑废物的材料循环，生产用于住宅建筑应用的可持续混凝土块


由于传统的建筑方法，建筑垃圾造成了重大的环境问题，导致全球产生巨大的垃圾负担，最终进入垃圾填埋场。开发可持续方法不仅可以减少环境问题，还可以鼓励材料循环并促进建筑垃圾的有效回收和再利用。然而，之前的研究主要集中在使用回收的建筑垃圾作为单一或双重添加剂成分。然而，本研究旨在评估用于住宅建筑应用的可持续混凝土砌块的开发，该混凝土砌块采用两种或多种废物成分的新型混合物，每种添加剂都具有特定的特性。确定物理特性（堆积密度、孔隙率、吸水率、导热率、抗压强度、耐火性和质量损失）、成本和二氧化碳排放量，以评估砌块的效率。随后，在使用 EnergyPlus 模拟的全尺寸房间内，使用块样本作为单层建筑围护结构来评估节能效果。结果表明，与典型砌块相比，密度降低了24.32%，导热传热能力降低了56.8%，满足了承重墙体和非承重墙体的抗压强度要求。可持续性评估显示，与典型混凝土砌块相比，所开发的混凝土砌块可显着降低生产成本高达31.75%，减少碳排放高达27.15%。结果发现，使用生产的砌块时，全尺寸住宅房间中最好的单层建筑围护结构可将能源效率提高高达 9.17%。 这一增强可以将能源消耗成本从 88.34 kWh/m2/年降低至 80.24 kWh/m2/年。这项研究有助于循环建筑砌块的利用，减少对典型原材料的需求，同时提高其功能特性，降低单层住宅建筑的生产成本、碳排放和能源消耗。