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Dean
Registered Users
Posts:3
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| 12/07/2001 12:56 PM |
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I understand all the energy saving benifits but doesn't the manufacturing of EPS products emit a lot of pollution into the air? Does the finished product release toxins into the home? Any related info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dean
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enermizermuskoka
Registered Users
Posts:272
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| 12/07/2001 2:56 PM |
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In my veiw, I.C.F.'s are the most environment
friendly buiding material ever introduced.
Virtually all scrap from a job can go in the
blue box for recycle into other products.
As for pollution, there are emmision standards in place globally and heavy fines for violators. Steam from heat is what you
may find rising from a plant. The product will offgas initially, but will become inert
in days after. They wouldn't be handing out
"Green" product awards if it wasn't so.
Hope this helps, take care. Sincerely,C.Kerr
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Ian ICF Builders
Registered Users
Posts:612
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| 12/07/2001 6:49 PM |
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With regard to the Expanded Poly Styrene (EPS), the best source for environmental information would be from the EPS Molders Association website. I believe it is listed in the directory or use a search for it....www.EPSMA.org possibly. As for the environmental impact of the Portland Cement concrete, try visiting the Portland Cement Association Website. I believe you can get there via www.concretehomes.com
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Dean
Registered Users
Posts:3
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| 12/08/2001 11:35 AM |
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[ They wouldn't be handing out
"Green" product awards if it wasn't so.
Hope this helps, take care. Sincerely,C.Kerr
[/quote]
Thanks for the post. Could you point me in the direction of some of these "Green" awards though? I didn't have much luck myself.
Thanks again.
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Dean
Registered Users
Posts:3
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| 12/08/2001 11:38 AM |
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I appreciate the help. I didn't have much luck finding info though. I'll keep looking as I may of just overlooked something.
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365
Registered Users
Posts:36
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| 12/08/2001 5:05 PM |
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Some time back when I was first getting into the manuf. of ICF's from a portable machine I was helping develop, I looked very heavily into what was produced as emissions from the production of ICF's. If all of this is still in place today it was basically this; the manuf. of polystyrene plants are given what is called emission credits of 25 tons per plant. The gas mainly given off was pentane, water through steam and a few by products in small amounts. A modern polystyrene plant recaptures most of these emissions and uses them to fire their boilers to produce more steam which is critical to the pre-expansion of the polystyrene bead used to produce the expanded blocks. The cooling water used to cool the molds so the product can be removed without much or little post expansion is cleaned and reused. It is not in the best interests of a polystyrene plant to let any materials which cost money to generate (such as water , heat and pentane) to just be thrown into the atmosphere. So from the production side ICF's are pretty envio. frendly. What about from the oil side.
The production of ICF material is expensive compared to materials such as concrete, and even in some cases wood products. ICF's enviro. efficiency is directly related to how enviro. conscious the oil industry is. Once the product is produced it is very enviro. friendly as a structure and as a potential off gas product. Keep the material contained as Polystyrene and it's great, and it's not until the product is burned or discarded carelessly in land fills that it becomes a potential problem. As ICFers we need to take extra care during our construction to keep as much of the product as possible out of the dumpster. As one person previouly mentioned," grind it up, put it in sacks, and place it in the attic as insulation if you have any left over. |
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enermizermuskoka
Registered Users
Posts:272
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| 12/08/2001 5:36 PM |
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Well put Juan. Dean- I was hoping to give you a direct link, but apparently there is not one available yet. This is what i can provide. Go to www.constructcanada.com and
at the side menu you will find "new/green products" and click on there. Amvic Inc.
was given a MERIT 2001 Green Product Recognition designation. The Merit Green
Products program is developed and managed by
Janis Kravis Consultants Limited and Lowans &
Stephen Consultants. The Merit program looks
at the broad implications of building materials with the aim of identifying products with a majority of positive attributes so that the product has a reduced
environmental impact, based on industry bench marks that are well established or regulated. You can e-mail jkravis@home.com
Hope this helps. Take care,sincerely.C.Kerr
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Mike C.
Registered Users
Posts:14
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| 01/16/2002 5:04 PM |
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In addition to EPSMA's site, please visit[url]www.ecco.org[/url]. If their website does not have the information you are looking for, just contact them and they can send you materials.
Mike C.
Portland Cement Association |
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built2last
Registered Users
Posts:4
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| 02/15/2002 1:31 AM |
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I need to jump in here too!. PCA just completed a 5 year research study called a life cycle inventory. It is a compilation of all the energy used (and carbon dioxide generated) for the complete life cycle of a home. This compared a "typical" wood frame house to an ICF house from cradle to grave. It includes material extraction, processing, shipping, construction, operation and recycling of the materials at the end of the life cycle.
It is true that the cement manufacturing process requires lots of energy and generates a lot of CO2. However, the initial construction of a home only accounts for about 5% to 10% of the total energy. The annual heating and cooling needs of a wood frame home use more energy and produce more CO2 than an ICF after about 5 to 7 years and continue to do so for the life of the structure. So, as I told attendees at the International Green Building Conference, "If you expect your new home to only last about 5 years, wood is the environmentally sound choice. Otherwise, concrete is the best long term solution."
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