| A review of current practice for life cycle assessment of cement and concrete | Josefine A Olsson, Sabbie A Miller, Joshua D Kneifel | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2024 | Concrete production is a significant contributor to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to its extensive use. These notable impacts have driven a desire to quantify the environmental burdens and pathways to reduce burdens of this product, commonly through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Here, we review the application of the LCA methodology in assessing various decarbonization strategies and areas where accuracy of quantitative environmental impact assessments for comparison can be improved. | Read Report | mdsc |
| The climate benefits from cement carbonation are being overestimated | Elisabeth Van Roijen, Kati Sethares, Alissa Kendall, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Communications | 2024 | Rapid decarbonization of the cement industry is critical to meeting climate goals. Oversimplification of direct air capture benefits from hydrated cement carbonation has skewed the ability to derive decarbonization solutions. Here, we present both global cement carbonation magnitude and its dynamic effect on cumulative radiative forcing. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Mass, enthalpy, and chemical‐derived emission flows in mineral processing | Seth Kane, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Industrial Ecology | 2024 | The production of materials from mineral resources is a significant contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This contribution is driven primarily by chemical CO2 emissions from the conversion of mineral resources and emissions tied to energy demands for material processing. In this work, we synthesize the thermodynamically required enthalpy and chemically derived emissions of mineral processing and consumption in the United States. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Combined cement and steel recycling could cut CO2 emissions | Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature | 2024 | Cement can be reused by including it as a component of steel recycling. This opens the way to an industrial partnership that improves the use of materials and lowers carbon emissions — but only if waste resources are well managed. | Read Report (paywall) | mdsc |
| Assessing uncertainty in building material emissions using scenario-aware Monte Carlo simulation | Ahmad Bin Thaneya, Aysegul Petek Gursel, Seth Kane, Sabbie A Miller, Arpad Horvath | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability | 2024 | Global greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment remain high, driving innovative approaches to develop and adopt building materials that can mitigate some of those emissions. However, life-cycle assessment (LCA) practices still lack standardized quantitative uncertainty assessment frameworks, which are urgently needed to robustly assess mitigation efforts. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Predicting biochar properties and pyrolysis life-cycle inventories with compositional modeling | Seth Kane, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Bioresource Technology | 2024 | Biochar, formed through slow pyrolysis of biomass, has garnered attention as a pathway to bind atmospheric carbon in products. However, life cycle assessment data for biomass pyrolysis have limitations in data quality, particularly for novel processes. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of rice hull ash from electricity generation as a mineral additive to concrete | Jin Wook Ro, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller, Alissa Kendall, John Harvey | Peer-reviewed Article | Scientific Reports | 2024 | A circular economy based on symbiotic relationships among sectors, where the waste from one is resource to another, holds promise for cost-effective and sustainable production. This research explores such a model for the agriculture, energy, and construction sectors in California. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Towards the production of net-negative greenhouse gas emission bio-based plastics from 2nd and 3rd generation feedstocks | Elisabeth Van Roijen, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2024 | Here, we show production pathways for greenhouse gas (GHG)-negative bio-based plastics from 2nd and 3rd generation feedstocks. We focus on bio-based plastics that are technically capable of replacing 80% of the global plastic market. | Read Report | mdsc |
| A review of drivers for implementing geopolymers in construction: Codes and constructability | Andrés Martínez, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2023 | Geopolymer concrete (GPC) has emerged as an alternative to Portland cement (PC) concrete in recent decades, with recent drivers for its use being tied to its potential environmental sustainability benefits and comparable performance. However, many aspects influencing its implementation are yet to be fully addressed. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Harmonized Life-Cycle Inventories of Nanocellulose and Its Application in Composites | Seth Kane, Sabbie A Miller, Kimberly E Kurtis, Jeffrey P Youngblood, Eric N Landis, W Jason Weiss | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Science & Technology | 2023 | Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and nanofibers (CNF) have been broadly studied as renewable nanomaterials for various applications, including additives in cement and plastics composites. Herein, life cycle inventories for 18 previously examined processes are harmonized, and the impacts of CNC and CNF production are compared with a particular focus on GHG emissions. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Meeting industrial decarbonization goals: a case study of and roadmap to a net-zero emissions cement industry in California | Alyson Kim, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Letters | 2023 | Recent decarbonization policies are expected to significantly impact high greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting industries, as they will be forced to find ways to operate with a lower environmental footprint. Due to the energy required for the kilns and the unavoidable chemical-derived emissions during manufacturing, in addition to its high global consumption levels, the cement industry is anticipated to be among the early industries affected. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Near-term Pathways for Decarbonizing Global Concrete Production | Josefine A Olsson, Sabbie A Miller, Mark G Alexander | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Communications | 2023 | Growing urban populations and deteriorating infrastructure are driving unprecedented demands for concrete, a material for which there is no alternative that can meet its functional capacity. The production of concrete, more particularly the hydraulic cement that glues the material together, is one of the world’s largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While this is a well-studied source of emissions, the consequences of efficient structural design decisions on mitigating these emissions are not yet well known. Here, we show that a combination of manufacturing and engineering decisions have the potential to reduce over 76% of the GHG emissions from cement and concrete production, equivalent to 3.6 Gt CO2-eq lower emissions in 2100. | Read Report | mdsc |
| The Influence of Biochar on the Flow Properties, Early Hydration, and Strength Evolution of Paste | Wolfram Schmidt, Louise Midroit, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller, Sofiane Amziane | Conference Paper | International Conference on Bio-Based Building Materials | 2023 | In order to reduce the carbon footprint, biochar can be used as CO2-negative concrete constituent. The paper shows results of experiments with cement paste and mortar mixtures with 5%, 15% and 30% of cement volume replaced by biochar. | Read Paper (paywall) | mdsc |
| Optimizing supplementary cementitious material replacement to minimize the environmental impacts of concrete | Kelli A Knight, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Cement and Concrete Composites | 2023 | With growing environmental consequences from material consumption, there is increased urgency to decarbonize the production of materials we consume frequently, including concrete. It is common to use supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to limit the clinker content of Portland cement and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in concrete production. However, over-utilization of SCMs can degrade material performance and increase other environmental impacts. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Value-Based Additive for Low Carbon Footprint Concrete with Limestone | Krishna Siva Teja Chopperla, Sivakumar Ramanathan, Keshav Bharadwaj Ravi, Angel Mateos, John Harvey, Somayeh Nassiri, Jeffrey Alan Buscheck, Sabbie Miller, O Burkan Isgor, W Jason Weiss | Project Report | | 2023 | This project evaluated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as an additive that can aid in concrete 3 mixture modifications in an effort to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint. This project explored the 4 use of CNCs in cementitious materials containing various amounts of limestone (LS). | Read Report | mdsc |
| Engineering the performance of post-consumer calcium carbonate from carpet in cement-based materials through pre-treatment methods | Patrick R Cunningham, Peter G Green, Sanjai J Parikh, John T Harvey, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2023 | Using post-consumer carpet calcium carbonate (PC4) in concrete can support a circular economy. Three treatments were evaluated to engineer PC4: furnacing at 600°C, furnacing at 900°C, and milling. | Read Report | mdsc |
| OpenConcrete: a tool for estimating the environmental impacts from concrete production | Alyson Kim, Patrick R Cunningham, Kanotha Kamau-Devers and Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | IOP Science | 2022 | As the increasing global consumption of concrete drives notable environmental burdens from its production, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, interest in mitigation efforts is increasing. Yet current environmental impact quantification tools rely on user decision-making to select data for each concrete constituent, have inconsistent scopes and system boundaries, and often utilize third-party life cycle inventories. These factors limit customization or tracking of data and hinder the ability to draw robust comparisons among concrete mixtures to mitigate its environmental burdens. To address these issues, we introduce a cohesive, unified dataset of material, energy, and emission inventories to quantify the environmental impacts of concrete. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Cement substitution with secondary materials can reduce annual global CO2 emissions by up to 1.3 gigatons | Izhar Hussain Shah, Sabbie A Miller, Daqian Jiang, Rupert J Myers | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Communications | 2022 | Population and development megatrends will drive growth in cement production, which is already one of the most challenging-to-mitigate sources of CO2 emissions. However, availabilities of conventional secondary cementitious materials (CMs) like fly ash are declining. | Read Report | mdsc |
| A material flow analysis of carpet in the United States: Where should the carpet go? | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2022 | On average in 2018, each person in the United States (US) used approximately 28 m2 of carpet. Relative to other building materials, carpet has a short lifespan (4–25 years) and its frequent disposal requires notable landfill volume. Limited understanding of the types and magnitude of resources available from carpet disposals has limited exploration into their contributions to the circular economy. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Literature review on policies to mitigate GHG emissions for cement and concrete | Pablo Busch, Alissa Kendall, Colin W Murphy, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2022 | The production and use of cement, the binding agent in concrete, emits seven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. Achieving climate change mitigation targets, such as those proposed in the Paris Agreement, requires emission reductions from this sector. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Reducing the environmental impacts of plastics while increasing strength: Biochar fillers in biodegradable, recycled, and fossil-fuel derived plastics | Seth Kane, Elisabeth Van Roijen, Cecily Ryan, Sabbie Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Composites Part C: Open Access | 2022 | In this study, material characterization and a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment methodology are applied to examine how the addition of biochar as a filler in recycled plastics (rHDPE) influences material properties and environmental burdens. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Industrial Decarbonization: Policy Pathwaysfor the Cement & Concrete Sector | Pablo Busch, Alissa Kendall, Colin Murphy, Sabbie Miller | Policy Brief | | 2022 | Globally, cement production is one of the key contributors to anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the industrial sector. Cement is a key constituent in the production of concrete and mortar, which are critical infrastructure materials used worldwide. | Read Report | mdsc |
| A review of bioplastics at end-of-life: Linking experimental biodegradation studies and life cycle impact assessments | Elisabeth C Van Roijen, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2022 | This review examines cradle-to-grave life cycle assessments (LCAs) and biodegradation studies of common bioplastics. Fueled by a growing single-use consumer base, the rate at which plastics are produced and disposed of is outpacing most other man-made materials, which is leading to substantial environmental impacts. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Using a micromechanical viscoelastic creep model to capture multi-phase deterioration in bio-based wood polymer composites exposed to moisture | Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2022 | To accurately depict in-service behavior of multi-phase, fully bio-based composites, models must be able to capture material deterioration. In this work, a viscoelastic micromechanical creep model, validated by experimental work, was proposed for bio-based wood polymer composites subject to moisture and prolonged loading. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Material Efficiency as a Means to Lower Environmental Impacts from Concrete | Sonoko Ichimaru Watanabe, Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Policy Brief | | 2021 | Concrete is a key component of the built environment. However, the manufacture of cement-based materials, such as concrete, produces over 8% of worldwide anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The largest contributor to the GHG emissions from concrete is associated with the manufacture of conventional cement, which reacts with water to “glue” rock fragments (aggregates) together to make concrete. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Quantifying Environmental Impacts from Concrete Production, While Accounting for Data Variability and Uncertainty | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Policy Brief | | 2021 | Concrete is the second most-used material on earth, surpassed only by water. Composed of cement (made by heating lime and clays at extremely high temperatures), crushed stone (aggregates), water, and other admixtures as needed, concrete is used in construction of roads, bridges, ports, and buildings. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Transformation of Engineering Tools to Increase Material Efficiency of Concrete | Sonoko Ichimaru Watanabe, Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | This report demonstrates how considerations across concrete material design and infrastructure design can be used together to change environmental impacts and costs by targeting appropriate constituents, materials, and system longevity. In this early stage exploration, methods to compare concrete mixtures proportioning as they relate to environmental impacts, comparison indices based on common performance characteristics were used. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Benchmarking GHG Emissions from California Concrete Production and Readily Implementable Mitigation Methods | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | The demand for concrete, which is conventionally composed of granular rocks (aggregates), water, and Portland cement (as well as other additives depending on desired performance) continues to grow. The manufacturing of Portland cement leads to notable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which has driven interest in alternative concrete mixture designs, cement production processes, and other emissions mitigation strategies. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Transformation of Engineering Tools to Increase Material Efficiency of Concrete | Sonoko Ichimaru Watanabe, Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | This report demonstrates how considerations across concrete material design and infrastructure design can be used together to change environmental impacts and costs by targeting appropriate constituents, materials, and system longevity. In this early-stage exploration, methods to compare concrete mixtures proportioning as they relate to environmental impacts, comparison indices based on common performance characteristics were used. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Material Efficiency as a Means to Lower Environmental Impacts from Concrete | Sonoka Ichimaru Watanabe, Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Patrick Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | Concrete is a key component of the built environment. However, the manufacture of cement-based materials, such as concrete, produces over 8% of worldwide anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing impacts from material production is an important strategy, structural design can also mitigate the environmental impacts of concrete. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Quantifying Environmental Impacts from Concrete Production, While Accounting for Data Variability and Uncertainty | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | Concrete is the second most-used material on earth, surpassed only by water. Concrete is used in construction of roads, bridges, ports, and buildings. Concrete is also responsible for over 8% of annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. As population and urbanization increase and existing infrastructure deteriorates, demand for production of concrete will increase, and with it, the environmental burdens from its production. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Benchmarking GHG Emissions from California Concrete and Readily Implementable Mitigation Methods | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Project Report | | 2021 | The demand for concrete, which is conventionally composed of granular rocks (aggregates), water, and Portland cement (as well as other additives depending on desired performance) continues to grow. The manufacturing of Portland cement leads to notable greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, which has driven interest in alternative concrete mixture designs, cement production processes, and other emissions mitigation strategies. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the cement industry via value chain mitigation strategies | Sabbie A Miller, Guillaume Habert, Rupert J Myers, John T Harvey | Peer-reviewed Article | One Earth | 2021 | Cement is used globally in construction materials for nearly all civil infrastructure systems supporting improved quality of life, and there is currently no substitute that can meet its functional capacity. The magnitude of cement production leads to more than 7% of annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resulting from both energy use and chemical reactions, which imposes a notable barrier to reach net zero emissions by 2050. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Opportunities and challenges for engineering construction materials as carbon sinks | Sabbie A Miller, Elisabeth Van Roijen, Patrick Cunningham, Alyson Kim | Project Report | | 2021 | Population growth and urbanization over the coming decades are anticipated to drive unprecedented demand for infrastructure materials and energy resources. Unfortunately, factors such as the degree of resource consumption, the energy-intensive nature of production, and the chemical-reaction driven emissions make infrastructure materials production industries among the greatest contributors to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Environmental impacts and environmental justice implications of supplementary cementitious materials for use in concrete | Leah Brinkman, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability | 2021 | As the second most used material after water and the producer of 8%–9% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, concrete is a key target for environmental sustainability efforts. Of these efforts, a main focus has been the use of industrial byproducts as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to replace some of the cement binder, the source of most of the GHG emissions from concrete production. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Utilization of post-consumer carpet calcium carbonate (PC4) from carpet recycling as a mineral resource in concrete | Patrick R Cunningham, Peter G Green, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2021 | The short residence time of certain building materials, such as carpets, results in a notable waste stream that has the potential to be a resource for other material systems. In this work, we explore the utilization of post-consumer carpet calcium carbonate (PC4) consisting primarily of the material from carpet backing, which has thus far found few markets, as a potential mineral admixture in the production of concrete. | Read Report | mdsc |
| The role of data variability and uncertainty in the probability of mitigating environmental impacts from cement and concrete | Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Letters | 2021 | Concrete is the most produced manmade material globally. This widespread production results in significant anthropogenic environmental impacts, the awareness of which has spurred advances in material development to lower these burdens. | Read Report | mdsc |
| US industrial sector decoupling of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions under COVID: durability and decarbonization | Sabbie A Miller, Emily Grubert | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Communications | 2021 | The 2020 response to the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound and rapid effect on social behavior, the economy, and consumption. Associated declines in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have prompted calls to action to use the pandemic experience to accelerate decarbonization. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Effects of Leaching Method and Ashing Temperature of Rice Residues for Energy Production and Construction Materials | Patrick R Cunningham, Li Wang, Peter Thy, Bryan M Jenkins, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering | 2021 | Escalating demands for infrastructure materials and energy worldwide necessitate exploration of means to efficiently utilize resources to support growing consumption. This work evaluates the potential symbiotic relationship between cultivation of an agricultural product (namely, rice), energy conversion, and utilization of bioash in the production of cement-based materials to improve the sustainability across multiple industries. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Using internal micro-scale architectures from additive manufacturing to increase material efficiency | Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Valerie R Yanez, Van Willem Medina Peralta, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2021 | Several strategies have been posed to mitigate environmental burdens from plastics manufacturing. Two growing areas of exploration have been the use of bio-derived plastics and the use of material efficiency principles to reduce overall plastics demand. Bio-derived plastics are typically considered to be more environmentally sustainable than their petroleum-based counterparts. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Environmental impacts and decarbonization strategies in the cement and concrete industries | G Habert, SA Miller, VM John, JL Provis, A Favier, A Horvath, KL Scrivener | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment | 2020 | The use of cement and concrete, among the most widely used man-made materials, is under scrutiny. Owing to their large-scale use, production of cement and concrete results in substantial emission of greenhouse gases and places strain on the availability of natural resources, such as water. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Quantitative Assessment of Alkali-Activated Materials: Environmental Impact and Property Assessments | Patrick R Cunningham, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Infrastructure Systems | 2020 | This study compares greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, embodied energy, and air pollutant emissions of alkali-activated mortars and conventional portland cement (PC)-based mortars. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) do not require the use of PC to offer cementitious properties; these materials can valorize industrial waste streams and noncementitious natural resources. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Life cycle environmental impact considerations for structural concrete in transportation infrastructure | SA Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Pavement, Roadway, and Bridge Life Cycle Assessment 2020 | 2020 | Growing demand for infrastructure and its maintenance is resulting in a spike in concrete demand. Concrete is composed of several constituents, including granular rocks (aggregates), water, and cement. Conventional cement contains ground clinker, a kilned and quenched material with notable energy-derived and process-derived greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. | Read Report | mdsc |
| The environmental attributes of wood fiber composites with bio-based or petroleum-based plastics | Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment | 2020 | While bio-based composites (bio-based plastics reinforced with natural fibers) have been discussed as potential sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based plastic composites, there are few quantitative environmental impact assessments of these materials. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070 | Jeffrey Rissman, Chris Bataille, Eric Masanet, Nate Aden, William R Morrow III, Nan Zhou, Neal Elliott, Rebecca Dell, Niko Heeren, Brigitta Huckestein, Joe Cresko, Sabbie A Miller, Joyashree Roy, Paul Fennell, Betty Cremmins, Thomas Koch Blank, David Hone, Ellen D Williams, Stephane de la Rue du Can, Bill Sisson, Mike Williams, John Katzenberger, Dallas Burtraw, Girish Sethi, He Ping, David Danielson, Hongyou Lu, Tom Lorber, Jens Dinkel, Jonas Helseth | Peer-reviewed Article | Applied Energy | 2020 | Fully decarbonizing global industry is essential to achieving climate stabilization, and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050–2070 is necessary to limit global warming to 2 °C. This paper assembles and evaluates technical and policy interventions, both on the supply side and on the demand side. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Climate and health damages from global concrete production | Sabbie A Miller, Frances C Moore | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Climate Change | 2020 | Growing infrastructure needs worldwide have created an unprecedented demand for concrete. Its production results in high GHG emissions, the primary focus of research and mitigation strategies in the sector. However, emissions of air pollutants and the economic burden of resultant health consequences are not yet known. | Read Report | mdsc |
| The role of cement service-life on the efficient use of resources | Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Letters | 2020 | The high demand for cement-based materials to support building and infrastructure systems is of growing concern as the production of cement leads to significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and notable resource demand. While improved efficiency of cement use has been proposed as a means to mitigate these burdens, the effects of increasing longevity of cement in-use remains a poorly studied area. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Environmental impacts of alternative cement binders | Sabbie A Miller, Rupert J Myers | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Science & Technology | 2019 | Cement production is among the most difficult industrial activities to decarbonize. Various measures have been proposed and explored to reduce its CO2 emissions. Among these measures, the substitution of portland cement (PC) clinker with alternative materials is arguably the most effective, and consequently is an area of high research and commercial interest. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Eco-efficient design indices for reinforced concrete members | Pouria Kourehpaz, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Materials and Structures | 2019 | The production of cement, the primary binder in concrete, is resulting in notable environmental impacts worldwide. It has been argued that efficient use of cement in concrete and the efficient design of concrete components can be a means for reducing the impacts from these materials by lowering overall demand. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Hydrothermal aging of bio-based poly(lactic acid) (PLA) wood polymer composites: Studies on sorption behavior, morphology, and heat conductance | Kanotha Kamau-Devers, Zachary Kortum, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2019 | This work examines the moisture sorption, the morphology, and the thermal conductivity of fully bio-based composites, namely wood flour (WF) filled poly(lactic acid) (PLA), to better understand hydrothermal deterioration and potential for long-term application. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Rice-based ash in concrete: A review of past work and potential environmental sustainability | Sabbie A Miller, Patrick R Cunningham, John T Harvey | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2019 | The demand for concrete continues to grow with increases in population and increased urbanization. This demand, in turn, increases the need to reduce the environmental impacts of concrete while continuing to provide the same or better performance. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Carbon dioxide reduction potential in the global cement industry by 2050 | Sabbie A Miller, Vanderley M John, Sergio A Pacca, Arpad Horvath | Peer-reviewed Article | Cement and Concrete Research | 2018 | This paper, which is a contribution to the UNEP series on Eco-Efficient Cements, examines the role of material-based solutions to reducing CO2 emissions from cement production considering factors that could influence implementation. Global urbanization has led to an increase in demand for cement and cement-based materials. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Natural fiber textile reinforced bio-based composites: Mechanical properties, creep, and environmental impacts | Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2018 | With rising demand for construction materials, so too grow the environmental impacts associated with their production. This trend has raised interest in the development of bio-based composites as environmentally favorable alternatives to conventional materials. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for prescribed concrete compressive strength | Chao Fan, Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2018 | Often, when proportioning “green” concrete mixtures, the use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) is deemed to be favorable. While appearing more in the literature, it is still not commonplace that design strength is considered in assessments of environmental impacts. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Supplementary cementitious materials to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from concrete: can there be too much of a good thing? | Sabbie A Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2018 | Among the many possible strategies for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is reduction of emissions associated with the production of concrete, which is responsible for 8–9% of global anthropognic GHG emissions. Using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete to offset demand for clinker in cement is a commonly proposed method to cut GHG emissions from concrete production. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Impacts of booming concrete production on water resources worldwide | Sabbie A Miller, Arpad Horvath, Paulo JM Monteiro | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Sustainability | 2018 | Concrete is the most-used construction material worldwide. Previous studies on the environmental impacts of concrete production have mainly focused on the materials involved and energy consumption, as well as CO2 emissions; little is known, however, about its water consumption as well as the effective measures to reduce such consumption. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Towards sustainable concrete | PJM Monteiro, SA Miller, A Horvath | Peer-reviewed Article | Nature Materials | 2017 | Paulo J. M. Monteiro, Sabbie A. Miller and Arpad Horvath provide an overview of the challenges and accomplishments in reducing the environmental burden of concrete production. | Read Paper (Paywall) | mdsc |
| Concrete mixture proportioning for desired strength and reduced global warming potential | Sabbie A Miller, Paulo JM Monteiro, Claudia P Ostertag, Arpad Horvath | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2016 | In this research, formulae for predicting compressive strength and global warming potential (GWP) per cubic meter of concrete are proposed. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Influence of carbon feedstock on potentially net beneficial environmental impacts of bio-based composites | Sabbie A Miller, Sarah L Billington, Michael D Lepech | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2016 | Natural fiber composites are of increasing interest in research because of their potential to provide a low environmental impact material for applications, such as in the construction industry. In this analysis, fully bio-based composites with varying natural fiber reinforcement in a biosynthesized polymer matrix were assessed. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Readily implementable techniques can cut annual CO2 emissions from the production of concrete by over 20% | Sabbie A Miller, Arpad Horvath, Paulo JM Monteiro | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Letters | 2016 | Due to its prevalence in modern infrastructure, concrete is experiencing the most rapid increase in consumption among globally common structural materials; however, the production of concrete results in approximately 8.6% of all anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Comparison indices for design and proportioning of concrete mixtures taking environmental impacts into account | Sabbie A Miller, Paulo JM Monteiro, Claudia P Ostertag, Arpad Horvath | Peer-reviewed Article | Cement and Concrete Composites | 2016 | As awareness and concern for greenhouse gas emissions grow, methods for reducing a significant industrial emission source, the production of cement for use in concrete, have been appearing. Assessments of these methods typically do not take into account the influence of material properties and environmental impacts concurrently. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Greenhouse gas emissions from concrete can be reduced by using mix proportions, geometric aspects, and age as design factors | Sabbie A Miller, Arpad Horvath, Paulo JM Monteiro, Claudia P Ostertag | Peer-reviewed Article | Environmental Research Letters | 2015 | With increased awareness of the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the significant contribution from the cement industry, research efforts are being advanced to reduce the impacts associated with concrete production and consumption. | Read Report | mdsc |
| A Framework for Engineering Sustainable Composites Based on Time-Dependent Material Properties and Environmental Impact Assessments: An Application to Bio-Based Composite Design | Sabbie A Miller, Michael D Lepech, Sarah L Billington | Project Report | | 2015 | Improved design measures for civil engineering materials are necessary to reduce the environmental impact of the built environment. Over the last century buildings have been one of the largest consumers of materials. Due to growing material demands in the construction industry associated with increased global population and economic demands, it is imperative that research on designing materials use sustainability metrics in conjunction with performance metrics. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Integrating durability-based service-life predictions with environmental impact assessments of natural fiber–reinforced composite materials | Sabbie A Miller, Wil V Srubar III, Sarah L Billington, Michael D Lepech | Peer-reviewed Article | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 2015 | As concern about resource conservation has grown, research efforts have increased to develop materials out of rapidly renewable constituents, to assess their life cycle environmental impacts, and to predict their service-life performance. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Static versus Time-Dependent Material Selection Charts and Application in Wood Flour Composites | Sabbie A Miller, Michael D Lepech, Sarah L Billington | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy | 2015 | With growing concern about the sustainability of materials, research efforts have increased in advancing material selection and design methods to incorporate environmental impact metrics. However, these tools typically are based on initial properties, which are assumed to remain static during the duration of material use and do not account for time-dependent material properties. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Incorporating spatiotemporal effects and moisture diffusivity into a multi-criteria materials selection methodology for wood–polymer composites | Wil V Srubar III, Sabbie A Miller, Michael D Lepech, Sarah L Billington | Peer-reviewed Article | Construction and Building Materials | 2014 | Naturally occurring biopolymers have demonstrated suitability for use in wood–polymer composites (WPCs), which have the potential to replace petroleum-based plastics, wood, and engineered-wood materials in construction applications. However, widespread applicability of WPCs remains limited because of long-term durability concerns, especially in high-humidity and wet environments. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Renewable biobased composites for civil engineering applications | SL Billington, WV Srubar, AT Miche, SA Miller | Peer-reviewed Article | Sustainable Composites: Fibers, Resins and Applications | 2014 | While today’s built environment is a woven urban fabric of as-sembled civil engineered systems including transportation, public works, wastewater, and hydroelectric facilities, the construction and operation of buildings is one of the greatest consumers of all materials, energy, and natural resources worldwide. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Application of multi-criteria material selection techniques to constituent refinement in biobased composites | Sabbie A Miller, Michael D Lepech, Sarah L Billington | Peer-reviewed Article | Materials & Design (1980-2015) | 2013 | Biobased composites offer a potentially low environmental impact material option for the construction industries. Designing these materials to meet both performance requirements for an application and minimize environmental impacts requires the ability to refine composite constituents based on environmental impact and mechanical properties. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Evaluation of Functional Units Including Time-Dependent Properties for Environmental Impact Modeling of Biobased Composites | SA Miller, MD Lepech, SL Billington | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy | 2013 | As understanding of anthropogenic effects on the environment grows, interest in developing more sustainable materials, such as biobased composites, is increasing. It is commonly assumed that biobased composites have fewer environmental impacts than petroleum based materials. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Improvement in environmental performance of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(β-hydroxyvalerate) composites through process modifications | SA Miller, SL Billington, MD Lepech | Peer-reviewed Article | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2013 | As interest grows in developing materials with low environmental impact, research on bio-based composites is gaining attention in the composites industry. Bio-based composites are polymer matrix composites reinforced with natural fibers. | Read Report | mdsc |
| Mechanical and Environmental Characterization of Biobased Composites | SA Miller, MD Lepech, SL Billington | Project Report | | 2013 | Interest in natural fiber reinforced composites has been growing because of their potential to offer low environmental impact alternative to conventional materials. Several studies have shown desirable mechanical properties can be achieved with polymer composites reinforced with natural fibers, but environmental impact is not typically meticulously quantified. | Read Report | mdsc |
