Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Characteristics of natural limes
People concerned about sustainability who are using building limes in the UK generally
consider that it is preferable to use air limes or feebly hydraulic limes, since the raw ma-
terials needed to produce these are found in the UK. This is a sensible assumption, as in-
creased transport costs certainly increase embodied energy. However, as we saw in the last
chapter regarding the different methods of hempcrete production, many factors combine
to make up the total embodied energy of any given product, not least the energy used in
the manufacturing process. And until all building materials are subjected to proper life-
cycle analysis and carbon profiling (calculation of carbon emissions - both those associ-
ated with a building's use and in terms of embodied energy) - and companies are required
to share this openly - it is hard to tell how much difference choosing a particular material
will make. It may be that in countries such as France, where lime is more routinely used
than in the UK, increased efficiencies of scale in manufacturing plant may offset the en-
ergy used in transportation to the UK. In any case, considering that many of the building
materials used in the UK are shipped halfway around the world, getting lime from France
could be seen as sourcing locally.
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