Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2021
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative “cradle to gate” life cycle assessment (LCA) of 3D printing houses and conventional buildings using SimaPro software, as a tool to model and compare the two alternatives. The study considered a terraced type of buildings with a floor area of 60 m2 (functional unit), which could occupy 2-3 households. The results indicated that 3D printing houses have a smaller environmental impact than conventional buildings in all impact categories except in terrestrial ecotoxicity, in which both alternatives resulted in 172 kg 1,4-DB eq. 3D printing houses exhibit a higher climate impact from Timber floorboards, window frames, and Portland cement which are responsible for 7.39 ´ 104 kg CO2 eq, 9.34 ´ 104 kg CO2 eq, and 3.82 ´ 104 kg CO2 eq respectively.
Keywords
3D printing, LCA, environmental impact, impact categories
Publication Title
Journal of Earth Science and Engineering
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Ali, Elias, "Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of 3D Printing Houses" (2021). Faculty Scholarship. 42.
https://commons.case.edu/facultyworks/42