Assessment for the Environmental Impacts of Chemical Constituents’ Percentage Variation for Ceramic Manufacturing

Ceramic tile manufacturing process is energy intensive since within several stages the product is subject to thermal treatment. The source of thermal energy used is by combustion of natural gas. Unfortunately, the oxidation of this fossil fuel produces greenhouse gases. The impact severity on environment and humans is influenced by the chemical composition of ceramic. Hence the objective of this research is to study the effect of changing the percentage of seven samples with the most effective composition of ceramic used in many countries.  The selected impact categories for the study were global warming, Climate change, acidification, eutrophication, and human toxicity. The constituents’ percentages of ceramic manufacturing have been evaluated using GABI vs OpenLCA. It was found that lowering the percentage of Silicon dioxide in the mixture from 51.01% to 87.8 leads to an overall emission reduction of 28% and the differences between the results were close for both software

Impact of Phase Change Materials on Cooling Demand of an Educational Facility in Cairo, Egypt

Heat gains and losses via building envelopes are impacted by varied characteristics such as geometry, orientation, properties of the building materials, and the type of construction and its interface with the exterior environment. Current studies are investigating the use of phase change materials (PCMs) characterized by high latent heat and low thermal conductivity that may cause temperature time lag and reduce amounts of heat transferred through building envelopes. The prime objectives of this research are evaluating zones’ energy consumption by type for an educational facility in a dry arid climate, examining the effects of a PCM (RT28HC) and polyurethane insulating material, comparing these effects to the existing situation with respect to cooling energy savings and CO2 emissions, and studying the effect of varying PCM thicknesses. The working methodology depended on gathering the real status and actual material of the building, constructing models of the building using Design Builder (DB) simulation software, and comparing the insulation effect of incorporating polyurethane and phase change insulating materials. A parametric study evaluated various PCM thicknesses (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 mm). Validation was performed primarily for a selected year’s energy usage; simulation results complied with field measurements. The results revealed that an 18 mm PCM had a high efficiency regarding thermal comfort attributes, which reduced cooling energy by 17.5% and CO2 emissions by 12.4%. Consequently, this study has shown the significant potential of PCM regarding improved energy utilization in buildings