UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Integrated Environmental Design 2 (ABEE4012)

STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMBODIED AND OPERATIONAL
ENERGY IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NET POSITIVE ENERGY POWER
PLANT MASTERPLAN IN RAMSGATE

Daniah Basil Abdulazeez Al Mounajim 07 May 2020

1
 Abstract

The aim of this report is to study the relationship between embodied energy (EE) and
operational energy (OE) of a building in a circular economy through the utilisation of energy
minimisation strategies in a research centre in Ramsgate. It will outline the environmental
design strategies combined and quantify the EE and OE to aim to achieve a net zero outcome
through all stages of the building cycle. This will work in tandem with a supple of energy
provided by a pyrolysis power plant also on site.

The expected outcome of this project is the development of an economically and

environmentally sustainable waterfront masterplan in the town of Ramsgate, which utilises
methods of decreasing the EE and OE to create a net positive energy whole life cycle which
embodies principles of the circular economy.

Word Count: 3563

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 Contents

Abstract..................................................................................................................................... 2

List of Figures........................................................................................................................... 5

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ 6

Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7

1.1. Project Background ..................................................................................................... 7

1.2. Project Programme ...................................................................................................... 7

1.3. Environmental Aims and Ambitions ........................................................................... 9

1.4. Scope and Research Plan............................................................................................. 9

Chapter 2: The Circular Economy and Whole Life Cycle................................................. 10

2.1. Background ............................................................................................................... 10

2.2. Embodied Energy ...................................................................................................... 11

2.3. Operational Energy ................................................................................................... 12

2.4. Relationship between OE and EE ............................................................................. 13

Chapter 3: Operational Energy of Plasma Pyrolysis Process ............................................ 14

3.1. Plastic Collection and Drying ................................................................................... 14

3.2. Plastic Sorting ........................................................................................................... 14

3.3. Plastic Shredding ....................................................................................................... 15

3.4. Pyrolysis Fluidized Bed Reactor ............................................................................... 15

3.5. Bio-Oil Distillation.................................................................................................... 15

Chapter 4: Operational Energy of Building ........................................................................ 17

4.1. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 17

4.2. Building Fabric.......................................................................................................... 18

4.3. Daylighting and Solar Gains ..................................................................................... 23

4.4. Ventilation ................................................................................................................. 25

4.5. Summary ................................................................................................................... 27

3
Chapter 5: Embodied Energy ............................................................................................... 28

6.1. Foundations ............................................................................................................... 30

6.2. Frame Structure ......................................................................................................... 30

6.3. Upper floors............................................................................................................... 32

6.4. Envelope .................................................................................................................... 32

Chapter 6: Whole Life Cycle Conclusion ............................................................................ 36

References ............................................................................................................................... 38

Appendix A: Cold Plasma Co-Pyrolysis Literature Review .............................................. 40

A.1. Pyrolysis ....................................................................................................................... 40

A.2. Cold Plasma Catalyst Co-Pyrolysis.............................................................................. 41

Appendix B: IES Modelling Methods .................................................................................. 42

4
 List of Figures

Figure 1 Objecives of the overall project ................................................................................... 7

Figure 2 Masterplan diagram ..................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3 Exploded programme of the spaces............................................................................. 8
Figure 4 Report plan.................................................................................................................. 9
Figure 5 Comparison between LE and CE .............................................................................. 10
Figure 6 Lifecycle phases of a building and their contribution to the overall energy that the
construction industry has the ability to influence .................................................................... 11
Figure 7 Building complexity levels (Brand, 1994) ................................................................ 12
Figure 8 LETI Design Guidelines Estimation for future OE and EE relationship. (LETI,
2019) ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Figure 10 Energy load of pyrolysis process............................................................................. 14
Figure 11 IES VE Model of the Building ................................................................................ 17
Figure 12 represents overheating up to 37.5°C in the summer and temperatures of 13°C in the
winter ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 13 presents the external conduction gains (through the roofs, external walls, and
ground floors) of the building fabric using the two different sets of U-values presented in
Table 2 (data displayed from a week in January). ................................................................... 21
Figure 14 presents the annual heating plant load (in kW) results based on the two U-value
sets presented in Table 2. ......................................................................................................... 22
Figure 15 Heating plant sensible load throughout the year ..................................................... 24
Figure 16 Total energy, prior to ventilation changes ............................................................... 25
Figure 17 Annual cooling loads, prior to ventilation strategies ............................................... 26
Figure 18 Total annual energy load of the building................................................................. 27
Figure 19 Percentage of EE used by materials of each building element ................................ 28
Figure 20 Diagram of the division of EE (RICS, 2017) .......................................................... 29
Figure 20 EE of insulation materials ....................................................................................... 33
Figure 21 Thickness of insulation needed to achieve a U value of 0.2 W/m2.K ..................... 34
Figure 22 Figure 8 Estimation for OE and EE relationship ..................................................... 36
Figure 24 Plastics in the North Sea (Millman, 2020) .............................................................. 40

5
 List of Tables

Table 1 presents the types that are effectively used for Cold Plasma Co-Pyrolysis and their
respective availabilities in the North Sea. ................................................................................ 16
Table 2 presents the simulated U-Values on IES VE ............................................................... 20
Table 3 presents the required window percentage in a wall area (LETI, 2019) ...................... 23
Table 4 presents the building components and elements studied in this chapter..................... 28

6
 Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter discusses the report’s scope and problem, from which the aims are established. It
begins with a background into the project brief and the architecture, after which it delves into
the environmental standards that this project will aim to uphold.

1.1.Project Background
Arising from the research into the town and the programme interest, this project focuses on
the revival of the disused Port of Ramsgate. The overarching ambition of the project thus
becomes: The revival of the local economy in Ramsgate through the development of
the energy and tourism industries. This is then divided into smaller sub-objectives
(Figure 1) that can help achieve a positive outcome, working in tandem with each other to
achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations in 2015.

1 2 3
Recreating international Creating semi-public spaces where Creating research facilities to study
connections with nearby ports by waste that emerges from ports can the developments in ports usage,
reviving the existing port facilities be recycled into fuel and energy marine life and clean energy
and creating new ones in the powering the port and the nearby generation and the analysis of
development of a sustainable port neighbourhood, reducing waste in technology used to increase the
industry in Thanet. the North Sea. efficiency in their operation.

4 5
6
Increasing the awareness on the Activating the coastal edge into a
Improving the nearby public realm
importance of ports and their successful leisure and public space
of the town by increasing access
relationship to the marine heath and that reflects and takes advantage of
routes to the coastal areas through
environment through a form of an the rich history of the area, further
the development of an overarching
educational amusement park for all developing sustainable coastal
masterplan at the macro scale.
age groups. tourism.

Figure 1 Objecives of the overall project

1.2.Project Programme
The project is thus programmatically divided as presented in Figures 2 and 3, where public
and private circulation routes overlap in a power plant and research centre masterplan. This
project will focus on the research centre and office buildings in terms of analysing the
operation of the building, with data of energy load and supply taken from the power plant
in order to create an overall net positive masterplan.

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 Figure 2 Masterplan diagram

Offices

Public Spaces

Open Workspaces

Security Offices

Open Workspaces

Figure 3 Exploded programme of the spaces.

8
1.3.Environmental Aims and Ambitions
1. Analyse the circular economy’s relevance to the whole life energy cycle of a design,
2. Analyse the relationship between EE and OE,
3. Study the energy needed for and supplied by the power plant,
4. Study the OE of the scheme proposed,
5. Study the EE of the scheme and determine the indicators to minimise it.

1.4.Scope and Research Plan

This report is divided into 6 chapters, as explained below.

Chapter 2: The Circular Economy and the Whole Life Cycle

Chapter 3: Pyrolysis Operational Energy Demand and Supply

Develop an initial
understanding of Chapter 4: Operational Energy of Building
the CE (Aim 1) Determine the
energy used by Chaper 5: Embodied Energy of
Develop an initial
understanding of the mechanical Determine ways Building Materials
equipment of the in which to Chapter 6: Whole
the embodied and Life Cycle
operational power plant. follow Passive
energies and their Determine the House design
relationship (Aim energy produced values to reduce Compare the
2). by the power operational operational and
plant (Aim 3). energy demands embodied energy
of the research and the potential
and office spaces of creating a net
(Aim 4). positive energy
masterplan.

Figure 4 Report plan

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 Chapter 2: The Circular Economy and Whole Life Cycle

The economy currently in operation can be described as a linear one, which adheres to the
“take, make, dispose” process, resulting in a depletion of resources, causing high levels of
waste. Thus, if continued, it would be difficult to reach long term success (WBSCD, 2017).

Figure 5 Comparison between LE and CE

2.1. Background
In the past decade, a new economic model, the circular economy (CE) emerged, offering
a way to evolve the BE. Buildings can be redesigned to be modular, durable and
constructed with materials that produce less emissions in production, without sacrificing
economic growth (Pratt and Lenaghan, 2015).

The Circular Economy is defined as an economic system aimed at eliminating waste

and the continual use of resources. It employs reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment,
remanufacturing, and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimising the
creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.

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 The Innovation and Growth Team, IGT, have reported that energy demand arises
throughout the buildings lifecycle, from the initial design to the eventual refurbishment or
demolition. This demand can be identified in different points of the building development
process, as shown in Figure 6, where they can then be quantified and used to determine a
reduction strategy to achieve net zero energy.

Manufacture Distribution Construction Operation Refurbish

Design 0.5%
15% 1% 1% 83% 0.4%

Figure 6 Lifecycle phases of a building and their contribution to the overall energy
that the construction industry has the ability to influence

2.2. Embodied Energy

Embodied energy (EE) is the resultant energy load of the activities involved in the creation
and demolition of a building, which includes producing materials, their transport and
installation on site as well as their disposal at end of life.

In regards to CE principles, EE can be analysed for different elements, where each have
different lifespans and need to be peeled off or maintained without damaging adjacent
layers. Thus, buildings need to be built into different complexity levels identified to be:
site, structure, services, plan and stuff (Brand, 1994), allowing the structure and the fabric
to be adaptable, while the internals can be reusable (Arup, 2017).

This report will look at the elements of structure and the skin as well as the materials and
layers that make them up (Figure 7).

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 Figure 7 Building complexity levels (Brand, 1994)

2.3. Operational Energy

Operational energy (OE) is associated with the entire service life of a building, such as
heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, and ventilation and mechanical systems and
equipment (Tuladhar and Yin, 2019).

Whilst EE is a more contemporary field of research, OE is a well-established area of

research and practice, where rigorous data into current levels of consumption for different
building sectors exist, under design guidelines and building code restrictions that aim to
target performance benchmarks. Additionally, many precise and user-friendly simulation
tools have been developed to ease the attainment of these goals for architects and engineers
.
In this report, calculations will be completed through the utilisation of IES VE 2019, an
energy simulation tool, looking into the loads created by the building (Chapter 4) and the
effect of different strategies on them, and through calculations into the energy and
mechanical loads of the pyrolysis process (Chapter 3).

12
2.4. Relationship between OE and EE
OE is associated with relatively longer proportion of infrastructure's service life and can
constitute 80%–90% of the total energy associated with the structure (Tuladhar, 2019).
However, with the use of energy efficient building systems and appliances, OE of
buildings has seen remarkable reduction.

2%

28%
32%

2%
2%

34%

OE EE: Materials EE: Construction

EE: Transport EE: Maintenance EE: Disposal

Figure 8 LETI Design Guidelines Estimation for future OE and EE relationship. (LETI, 2019)

Figure 8 presents research completed by LETI, the London Energy Transformation

Initiative, which was established in 2017 to help create a net zero carbon and energy
capital. It shows a breakdown of OE and different factors of the EE with regards to a
building with “ultra-low” levels of energy.

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 Chapter 3: Operational Energy of Plasma Pyrolysis Process

This chapter studies the pyrolysis process’s load and supply. A literature review into
pyrolysis and processes needed for this reaction are found in Appendix A.

In order to determine space sizing and energy loads of various processes needed for plasma
pyrolysis, case studies are analysed and literature review studied. Figure 10 helped determine
the optimal energy required for each mechanical process needed (Zero Waste Scotland, NA).

Mixed
Waste
Plastic Pyrolysis Distillatio
Drying Sorting Shredding Bio-Oil
Reactor n
5000
kg/hr

Energy Input Energy Input Energy Input Energy Input Energy Input
126 kW/hr/tonne 9.8 kW/hr/tonne 16 kW/hr/tonne 1.5 MW/hr/tonne 121 kW/hr/tonne

Figure 9 Energy load of pyrolysis process

This is further detailed in Sections 3.3 – 3.7, wherein the energy needed to facilitate the
operation of each of the processes will be determined.

3.1.Plastic Collection and Drying

The programme requires that 50,000 kilograms of plastic waste be processed per hour with
a total of 1,000 tonnes processed in a single day. This is to accommodate a required supply
of 250,000 kg of bio-oil per day, which can be utilised by commercial and fishing vessels.

Drying is estimates to require 126MWh/day (32.76GWh/yr), as demonstrated in Figure 8.

3.2.Plastic Sorting
According to case studies and reports completed by Carolina Liljenström and Göran
Finnveden at KTH, energy required for the machinery used to sort the plastic is
experimented to be 9.8 kWh/tonne, which equates to 9.8 MWh for 1000 tonnes to be sorted
annually (Palm, 2009).

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3.3.Plastic Shredding
Shredding processes designed to give products a diameter less than 80 mm (as required in
this building process) have a power requirement of 16kWh/tonne (Shonfield, 2008) This
equates to 16MWh/year of energy needed.

3.4.Pyrolysis Fluidized Bed Reactor

This is the main process the reaction, where the shredded plastic will need to be melted and
depolymerized. This requires 1.5MWh/tonne, which equates to 1.5GWh/year.

3.5.Bio-Oil Distillation
The distillation process requires 121MWh/year .

Another method to determine the total energy required is found by calculating the energy
released or absorbed using the specific heat capacity of the different types of plastic, and the
temperature change needed to melt and break down the chemical bonds in the process.

Q = m × c × (∆T)

where Q = Energy demand, in Joules,

m = mass of plastic (kg),
c = specific heat capacity (J/kg.K)
∆T = change in temperature (Kelvins, K)

Table 1 presents the 6 types of plastic that can be undergo pyrolysis to form bio-oil when
combined with catalysts and biomass as well as their respective specific heat capacities
(Specific Heat of Solids, 2020). An average value of the specific heat capacity will be taken
with regards to the availability of each of the plastics in the North Sea (Foekema et al., 2013).

15
Table 1 presents the types that are effectively used for Cold Plasma Co-Pyrolysis and their respective availabilities
in the North Sea.

% in North
Type of Plastic Specific Heat Capacity
Sea

PET 1030 7

HDPE 1330 12

PVC 880 11

LDPE 2300 18

PP 1920 19

PS 1110 33

Calculations completed demonstrated that 94.15MWh/day is required to a total of 24,479

MWh/year for a total of 260 days in operation per year.

Thus, this creates a total energy demand of 34406.8 MWh/year. Throughout an annual
operation of this plant, it will also produce 3484000 MWh/year. This leads to an output energy
supply of about 100 times the input energy required.

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 Chapter 4: Operational Energy of Building

4.1.Methodology
In order to determine the operational loads of the design scheme, building iterations are
modelled using SketchUp 2019. The model is then exported into IES VE 2019, as presented
in Figure 11, to develop energy simulations.

Figure 10 IES VE Model of the Building

Prior to the study of OE, operation profiles were set for the building (with a total area of
10,350 m2). These are explained in Appendix A.

In order to achieve an OE zero (or net positive) building, Passive House strategies will be
implemented early in the design process, relative to the location and building typology.

17
 A Passive House is a building that has a comfortable indoor temperature throughout
the year with the strategic use of natural elements on site, such as site location, wind,
daylight provision, and climate. It helps guide architects, designers and engineers
develop buildings that require little energy for space heating and cooling in a process
that integrates with architectural design. This is a concept that was first used in
Germany (Mihai et al., 2017), but has become a standard for setting an energy
efficiency of buildings which results in a reduction of the building’s ecological and
carbon footprint.

Passive House key indicators include:

- Ensuring an annual space heat requirement of 15 kWh/m2,
- A total annual energy consumption for heating, hot water, and electricity that
does not exceed 120 kWh/m2,
- A maximum value of 0.6 ach-1 (at a pressure of 50 Pa) used to develop an
airtight building.

In order to achieve this indicators, the design of the building should focus on the reduction
of heat losses. This can be achieved by developing a super-insulated building fabric with a
high thermal mass, which would keep the energy inside the building, creating passive solar
gains and developing an efficient heat recovery system.

4.2.Building Fabric
Following Passive House and CIBSE Guide A design guidelines, creating a great exterior
insulation line is one of the easiest methods to achieving a low carbon and high-
performance building. This is to reduce the heat transfer through the walls, roof and floor.

18
 Air Temperature

Figure 11 represents overheating up to 37.5°C in the summer and temperatures of 13°C in the winter

The importance of this design intervention was studied, wherein the model was first
simulated without any insulation added in the walls, where the U-Values were presented as
required by Part L2 of the Building Regulations.

Figure 12 represents how these initial values and low thermal mass lead to a fluctuation of
very high temperatures in the summer and very low ones in the winter.

U-values are thus changed to those presented in the LETI Climate Emergency Design
Guide, published in 2019 (Table 2), which closely follows Passive House design guidelines.
This is to best understand the effect of changing the thermal envelope of the building fabric
on its total heat loss.

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 Table 2 presents the simulated U-Values on IES VE

Building Regulations Part L2B LETI U-Value

Element
U-Value (W/m .K)
2
(W/m2.K)

Walls 0.28 0.12

Floor 0.22 0.10

Roof 0.18 0.07*

Double-Glazed Windows 1.8 1.0

Doors 1.8 1.2

* This value was taken from the Sweden Passive Design Guide (Energy Efficiency, a Step
Further, 2018).

This was then compared to values presented in the LETI Design Guide, published in 2019
(Table 2), which closely follows Passive House design guidelines. This is to best understand
the effect of changing the thermal envelope of the building fabric on its total heat loss. A
wide range of thermal and structural materials can be used to facilitate these U-Value
requirements.

This intervention leads to a decrease in the total external conduction gains of the building,
as presented in Figure 13, where there is a clear decrease in the fabric heat losses,
particularly in the external walls and windows. This is also attributed to the higher thermal
mass, which has been identified to be one of the most effective passive measures to help
regulate heating loads (Rodrigues, 2016).

These materials and the construction of the various elements are further discussed in Chapter
6, wherein materials will be decided upon based on their EE.

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 External Conduction Gain Conduction gain – ground floor Conduction gain – roofs
Conduction gain – external windows Conduction gain – external walls

Figure 12 presents the external conduction gains (through the roofs, external walls, and ground floors) of
the building fabric using the two different sets of U-values presented in Table 2 (data displayed from a week
in January).

21
The annual heating load for both iterations is compared in Figure 13.

Heating Plant Sensible Load - Initial Heating Plant Sensible Load - Final

Figure 13 presents the annual heating plant load (in kW) results based on the two U-value sets presented in
Table 2.

Figure 14 presents how a small change in the thermal resistance of the building fabric can
reduce the average heating load from 23.5 kWh/m2/yr (243.5 MWh/yr) to 12.8 kWh/m2/yr
(132.7 MWh/yr) for a percentage decrease of 45.5% in the overall heating load of the
building.

|132.7 − 243.5|
Percentage Change(%) = = 45.5%
243.5

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 This intervention thus provides the starting point into achieving a building with a low
heating load.

A disadvantage that comes with a decrease in the U-Value is the increase in thickness of the
required insulation. This has the potential to increase the overall EE. It is however still
regarded as an important intervention to make.

4.3.Daylighting and Solar Gains

Following a reduction of the heating demand through increasing thermal demand, the total
energy and total heating load must still be decreased further. This section looks at
developing a balance between glazing and daylighting where a more opaque building would
require greater energy demand due to lighting and a more transparent building would lead
to greater daylighting but greater heat loss as well. Part L of the UK building regulations
has determined that window areas should be as stated in Table 3.

Table 3 presents the required window percentage in a wall area (LETI, 2019)

Percentage of Wall
Façade
Area
North 40%
East 40%
South 40%
West 40%
Doors 40%

Determining a glazing balance is also vital here due to the opportunity to have views across
the masterplan and canals on the North facades and views across the sea across the East,
South and West facades. Thus, vast windows will be required in some elevations in order to
take full advantage of the project location.

This will be done while keeping in mind that while the most comfortable daylighting for
offices is the soft north light, the south sun can provide more heating in the colder seasons.
Thus, the offices have been placed facing the north, while the south facing façade is used
for the more public spaces, such as the food hall and the public labs.

23
Windows are positioned on the South facing façade in an attempt to provide as much solar
gain as possible when heating is required. However, in order to prevent the potential of
overheating in the warmer seasons that might arise due to the windows on the South side,
as well as avoid the risk of glare and direct sunlight entering office spaces (to ensure
comfort), it is important to also factor in shading when designing the windows, where all
windows were modelled on IES to have an overhang on the south façade and louvres on the
east and west facades.

Following the operation of the building at 12.8 kWh/m2, this intervention can further the
decrease in required heating loads to a new value, presented in Figure 15, The total heating
load is decreased to 10.7 kWh/m2/yr (111.5 MWh/yr).

Heating Plant Sensible Load

Figure 14 Heating plant sensible load throughout the year

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4.4.Ventilation

Following the interventions of 4.2 and 4.3, the total energy was noticed to be 1066.8 MWh
(103 kWh/m2) as displayed in Figure 16, below. This can further be decreased through
applying natural ventilation to the building in the warmer months and reducing the cooling
demand of the spaces. The MacroFlow tool was used on IES VE to mitigate natural
ventilation and create openings in the windows around the building.

Total Energy

Figure 15 Total energy, prior to ventilation changes

Natural ventilation will save significant amounts of energy compared to mechanical

systems, and while it might not be enough for cooling buildings in certain condensed sites,
the openness of the port allows for wind to freely flow through the building from the
predominant direction of SW.

Figures 17 looks at the cooling loads prior to creating opening in the windows. Mechanical
ventilation was supplied throughout the building. This created a demand of 21.8 MWh.

25
Whilst a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system is still in place during the winter
months, this will not affect the cooling loads of the building.

Figure 16 Annual cooling loads, prior to ventilation strategies

When natural ventilation is applied instead, this is decreased to a load of 0 MWh, which
reduced the total energy to 919.5 MWh/yr (88 kWh/m2), as presented in Figure 18.

26
 Figure 17 Total annual energy load of the building

4.5.Summary
This chapter focused on looking at design interventions that can be utilised to minimise the
OE of the building’s office spaces. These include minimising the U-values of the building
elements as well as increasing their thermal mass and utilising daylighting schemes to
reduce heating demand as well as completely eliminating cooling demands through the use
of natural ventilation and window openings.

Following the analysis of the operational load of both the industrial processes (Chapter 3)
and the building (Chapter 4) and the energy generated through pyrolysis (as determined in
Chapter 3), the total energy required by the building to operate (annually) is

Total energy load = 919.5 + 34406.8 = 35326.3 MWh/yr

This is compared to the energy supply of 3484000 MWh/year, leading to an overall net
positive energy with a surplus of 3448673.7 MWh/yr.

27
 Chapter 5: Embodied Energy

This chapter will look at an overview of the EE of the building. Design standards and literature
review will then be used to estimate the EE of some building elements in order to form a holistic
view on the energy required by the design and minimise it while ensuring a high performance
building.

Figure 19 shows the proportions of EE by building element, helping determine which elements
need to be focused on.

Figure 18 Percentage of EE used by materials of each building element

Thus, according to this, this chapter will look at the materials needed for the foundation
(substructure) and the upper floors and frame (superstructure) and envelope (façade)

Table 4 presents the building components and elements studied in this chapter

Building Critical Elements * Materials

Component Studied
Substructure This includes the strip foundations used, which are made of Reinforced
concrete. Due to the scale of the building, the structural concrete
performance of this component will be a large design driver. foundations
Superstructure This includes the frame of the building required to support the Comparative
suspended slabs and roof as well as the upper floors of the analysis of timber
building. and steel
structures.
Using The Architects Studio Companion for Preliminary
Sizing, it was determined that, as this project will require am

28
 exposed grid structure that allows for changes to be made to the Determination of
building over time (making it adaptable and more circular), the materials needed
building will require either a timber or steel materiality. These for upper floors.
two options will be studied here in order to determine the best
possible outcome in relation to the architecture presented.
Envelope Focus on the facade at early design stages can be highly Determination of
beneficial to a project. Offering less-energy intensive material materials for the
solutions in design development stages can lead to exciting façade build up.
design decisions to decrease the energy needed by the building.

*: Recommended by RICS to be included in EE calculations.

Following the determination of what materials to analyse, the next step concerns the calculation
of EE for the materials. This looks at the calculation of mass of the materials, which was
extracted from the Green Guide to Specification and follows the RICS method of calculation.

As represented in Figure 20, the RICS factor is divided into 5 different building development
periods. For simplicity, calculating the EE of wall types is divided into 3 categories at this
stage, materials (A1-A3), transport (A4) and construction (A5) (RICS, 2017).

A
EE

A1 - A3 A4 - A5
Product Stage Construction Stage

A1 A2 A5
A3 A4
Material Transport for Construction
Manufacturing Transport to
Extraction and manufacturing and installation
and fabrication project site
Suppy plant process

Figure 19 Diagram of the division of EE (RICS, 2017)

The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) database is used to extract information about the
EE of building materials (A1-A3). It has been founded by Dr Craig Jones, a former researcher
at the University of Bath, and Professor Geoff Hammond at the Sustainable Energy Research

29
Team (SERT). It is important to note that when using energy factors here, there is a higher
level of inaccuracy because the data is taken from a range of global sources and does not
represent the actual specification of a project. This initial assessment will however provide an
indication of what materials are best to use for the development of this office building. A1 – 3
is calculated as in Equation 2, where the material mass is calculated using data of the density
of the materials [kg/m3], obtained from CIBSE Guide A, as well as the volume they require
[m3], taken from the design development.

A1 − A3 = M × MEE
Eq. 5
where M = Material quantity, in kg
MEE = Material Embodied Energy, in MJ/kg

6.1.Foundations
Concrete is chosen for the foundations for its strength and thermal mass. Concrete acts as
a heat sink during the daytime and as a heat source during the night. Applying thermal mass
materials such as concrete is a useful strategy to reduce the energy consumption of
buildings (Shafigh, P., Asadi, I., & Mahyuddin, N. B., 2018).

In total, the building material is determined to have an EE content of 1.96 MJ/kg. This is
relative to 6,132,600 kg required for 3,150 m2 of ground floor slab.

Thus, the overall EE content of this material is

EE = 6,132,600 × 1.96
= 12,019,896 MJ = 3338.860 MWh

6.2.Frame Structure
As stated in Table 4, steel and timber frames are compared in this section, in order to
determine the best possible material to be used with regards to the scale of the project.

30
 Option 1: Timber frame
CLT has an EE content of 9.36 MJ/kg. In order to understand the overall content
required for the structure of the whole building, design drawings need to be used.
The number of frame elements needed are determined to be 70 (240x260x15000mm)
columns and 420 (240x200x8000) beams, leading to a total required volume of 226.8
m3 of hardwood timber. Using the known density of the timber, this is determined to
weigh 139,708.8 kg.

Thus, the overall EE content of this material is

EE = 139708.8 × 9.36
= 1,307,674.4 MJ = 363.24 MWh

Option 2: Steel
Steel has an EE content of 31.5 MJ/kg. The number of frame elements needed are
determined to be 43 (245x254x8000 mm) columns and 318 (254 x 254 mm) beams,
where 107kg is the mass per metre (DREVARI.SK, 2020). The beams span a total of
3816 metres. This leads to a total mass of 408,312 kg.

Thus, the overall EE content of this material is

EE = 408312 × 31.5
= 12,861,828 MJ = 3572.73 MWh

Comparatively, steel would require roughly 10 times the amount of energy as timber. Thus,
timber is chosen for this design as the more whole life environmentally friendly option, and
it will be used in the structural frame of the office buildings in the design.

31
6.3.Upper floors
Looking at the materials needed for the upper floors, design guides were used to decide that
timber would be the best material to use for the floors, at an EE content of 31.5 MJ/kg for
an area of 7,200 m2 (where the mass needed is 347,688,000).

EE = 347,688,000 × 9.36
= 3254360000 MJ = 903988.89 MWh

6.4.Envelope
This section looks at the facing materials and insulation needed for the façade envelope.

In the development of the masterplan, it has been determined that dredging of some of the
sea ground will be required in order to create the canals presented in Figure 1, which allow
ships and fishing boats into the port. Where this ground is made up of chalk stone, it was
decided to extract some of this material and use it as a facing material in the building.
Additionally, as determined in Section 4.3, 40% of the external building face will be
glazing. Thus, the remaining 60% will be chalk stone.

Stone has an EE content of 1 MJ/kg. Using IES VE, it was determined that the external
wall area is 9,255 m2. 60% of this area is 5,553 m2. At a thickness of 150 mm, this leads to
a volume of 832.95 m3.

Thus, the overall EE content of this material is

EE = 832.95 × 1
= 832.95 MJ = 0.231 MWh

Glass has an EE content of 15.05 MJ/kg. 40% of the external wall area is 3,702 m2. The
required volume per glazing panel (6mm thickness) is 22.21 m3. This is estimated to be
66.63 m3 for triple glazing.

Thus, the overall EE content of this material is

32
 EE = 66.62 × 15.05
= 1,002.78 MJ = 0.278 MWh

Following this, literature review and local availability are used to determine the best
insulation to be used for energy optimisation in the building. This has shown that natural
materials are the best way to reduce the EE of insulation (Bull, 2020).

Figure 20 presents a list of commonly used insulation materials, it is shown that materials
such as wool, cork and straw naturally sequester carbon and store it over their lifetime. On
the other hand, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) require a
large amount of energy to manufacture, resulting in a very high EE load (Bull, 2020). Thus,
availability of straw bale, rock wool fibre and cellulose fibres will be determined in Kent
in order to decide whether they are viable materials. It is also important to ensure that these
materials are installed correctly in order to ensure that they don’t slump over time, creating
a thermal bridge.

Figure 20 EE of insulation materials

33
 Figure 21 Thickness of insulation needed to achieve a U value of 0.2 W/m2.K

Due to the larger wall thickness required by the cellulose fibre and straw bale (Figure 21),
it was decided to use the rock wool fibre insulation, where a total volume of 2,332.26 m3.

The EE content of this is

EE = 2,332.26 × 17
= 39,648.42 MJ = 11.013 MWh

Thus, based on this initial analysis, a ratio of EE in different building components, completed
by LETI, (Figure 18) can be utilised to determine the overall EE requirement. According to
this, the foundations make up 19% of the EE of the materials and 16% is made up of the frame
of the building, 14% is due to the envelope and 28% is due to the upper floor, where:

34
 Foundations = 3338.86 MWh
Frame = 3572.73 MWh
Envelope = 0.23 + 0.28 + 11.01 = 11.522 MWh
Upper Floors = 903,988.89 MWh
Total = 910,912.002 MWh

This leaves 23% for the rest of the building materials, which leads to a total EE of materials of
1,183,002.6 MWh for the whole building.

This is then used to predict the EE of the transport, construction and maintenance of the
building (Figure 8), leading to a total EE content of 3,479,419.41 MWh, where the maintenance
load is estimated to be 32% of this value (1,113,414.21) for 60 years of operation and 18,556.9
MWh per year.

35
 Chapter 6: Whole Life Cycle Conclusion

This report aimed to explore the relationship between the EE and OE in the whole life cycle of
a building. It represented the low values that can be achieved when applying a few design rules
and guidelines to an office building in Ramsgate.

This chapter looks at the overall comparison of EE and OE, compared to the LETI guidelines,
and conclusion to the results obtained in Chapters 3-5.. As Chapter 5 looked at the EE over a
period of 60 years, the OE will be multiplied to look at a similar timeframe. Thus, the total OE
load is 2,119,578 MWh and the total EE load is 3,479,419.41 MWh, leading to a total energy
load of 5,598,997.41 MWh. These values are compared to the predicted EE and OE
comparisons (Figure 8).

OE EE

38%

62%

Figure 22 Figure 23 Estimation for OE and EE relationship

Figure 22 presents the comparison between the OE and EE, which suggest a difference of 35%
when compared to Figure 8. Thus, while the OE is that of an ultra-low energy building, this
value still remains a higher percentage of the overall energy. This is set to be due to the added
mechanical load due to the power plant which has been factored into the operational energy
demands. Moreover, the EE can stand further developments in order to be reduced as well.
This includes utilising more detailed calculation methods. This would also include changed to
the design such as using lower energy insulation, which would lead to walls becoming too
thick, conflicting with the design. Another change is utilising double-glazed windows in place

36
of triple-glazed. This decision was made in favour of decreasing the OE and increasing the
comfort indoors.

Moreover, the total pyrolysis supply is 209,040,000, thus leaving a surplus of 203,441,003
MWh over 60 years. This can then be generated as a sustainable energy source for certain parts
of the town, utilising plastic waste to produce their energy.

Further discussions into this project can include further investigating methods of reducing the
EE by looking at all the different elements of it that were estimated in this project such as the
MEP systems and the construction methods.

37
 References

Tuladhar, R., Torgal, F., Khatib, J., Colangelo, F. n.d. Use Of Recycled Plastics In Eco-Efficient Concrete.

Perkins, G., Bhaskar, T. and Konarova, M., 2018. Process development status of fast pyrolysis technologies for
the manufacture of renewable transport fuels from biomass. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 90,
pp.292-315.

Mutz, Dieter & Hengevoss, Dirk & Hugi, Christoph & Gross, Thomas. (2017). Waste-to-energy options in
municipal solid waste management. A guide for decision makers in developing and emerging countries.

Karvonen, J., Kunttu, J., Suominen, T., Kangas, J., Leskinen, P. and Judl, J., 2018. Integrating fast pyrolysis
reactor with combined heat and power plant improves environmental and energy efficiency in bio-oil
production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 183, pp.143-152.

Liljenström, C. and Finnveden, G., 2014. Data For Separate Collection And Recycling Of Dry Recyclable
Materials.

Foekema, E., De Gruijter, C., Mergia, M., van Franeker, J., Murk, A. and Koelmans, A., 2013. Plastic in North
Sea Fish. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(15), pp.8818-8824.

Engineeringtoolbox.com. 2020. Specific Heat Of Solids. [online] Available at:

<https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-solids-d_154.html> [Accessed 28 April 2020].

STENG, 2020. A Life cycle Assessment (LCA) of Biomass Pyrolysis & Gasification.

Passivhaustrust.org.uk. 2020. What Is Passivhaus?. [online] Available at:

<https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/what_is_passivhaus.php#2> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Nytimes.com. 2020. Energy Efficiency, A Step Further. [online] Available at:

<https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/09/26/business/energy-environment/Passive.html> [Accessed 26
April 2020].

Mihai, M., Tanasiev, V., Dinca, C., Badea, A. and Vidu, R., 2017. Passive house analysis in terms of energy
performance. Energy and Buildings, 144, pp.74-86.

2010. Approved Document L2B: Conservation Of Fuel And Power In Existing Buildings Other Than Dwellings.
[Place of publication not identified]: TSO.

ICE. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/briefing-sheet/embodied-

energy-and-carbon> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Level.org.nz. 2020. What Is Embodied Energy In Building?. [online] Available at:

<http://www.level.org.nz/material-use/embodied-energy/> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

ArchDaily. 2020. Embodied Energy In Building Materials: What It Is And How To Calculate It. [online] Available
at: <https://www.archdaily.com/931249/embodied-energy-in-building-materials-what-it-is-and-how-to-
calculate-it> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

38
Passivehouse-international.org. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://passivehouse-
international.org/upload/BRE_Passivhaus_Designers_Guide.pdf> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

calculator, c., 2020. Concrete Calculator. [online] Calculator.net. Available at:

<https://www.calculator.net/concrete-
calculator.html?slablength=80&slablengthunit=meter&slabwidth=65&slabwidthunit=meter&slabthick=200&sla
bthickunit=centimeter&slabquantity=1&slabcal=Calculate> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

DREVARI.SK, s., 2020. Timber | Volume | Weight | Calculator. [online] Timberpolis.co.uk. Available at:
<https://www.timberpolis.co.uk/calc-timber-weight.php#goToPage> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Millman, R., 2020. University Deploys Satellites, Iot To Fight North Sea Plastic Pollution | Internet Of Business.
[online] Internet of Business. Available at: <https://internetofbusiness.com/university-of-oldenburg-installs-
satellite-technology-to-battle-north-sea-plastic-pollution/> [Accessed 2 May 2020].

Britishsteel.co.uk. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://britishsteel.co.uk/media/40517/british-steel-universal-

beams-uc-datasheet.pdf> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

Materialspalette.org. 2020. INSULATION – Carbon Smart Materials Palette. [online] Available at:
<https://materialspalette.org/insulation/> [Accessed 7 May 2020].

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insulation/> [Accessed 5 May 2020].

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CIBSE Guide A, 2015.

39
 Appendix A: Cold Plasma Co-Pyrolysis Literature Review

A.1. Pyrolysis
Due to the fact that plastics do not decompose naturally, it has become imperative to make
use of appropriate technologies for recovery of resources from plastic waste. Mechanical
recycling is most well-known, however, plastic waste must be homogeneous and
uncontaminated for this recycling. Incineration is the simplest and most effective method
for recovering energy, however, this process is not considered sustainable (Mutz et al.,
2017).

Figure 24 Plastics in the North Sea (Millman, 2020)

Researchers are now developing technologies for the recycling of plastic waste to form new
products due to declining landfill capacity and increasing petroleum costs. The conversion
of plastic into bio-oil products requires long polymer chains in plastics to be broken down
into shorter chains. This involves moderate to high temperatures and various catalysts to
achieve depolymerisation. One of the most efficient methods of depolymerisation is
pyrolysis (Zero Waste Scotland, 2018) (Puncochár et al, 2012).

40
 Pyrolysis is a process involving the decomposition of organic materials on the
application of heat and absence of oxygen. This results in the decomposition of the
feedstock, but the absence of oxygen means that no combustion occurs. Pyrolysis
produces gas, liquid and solid char, the relative proportions of which depend upon
the method of pyrolysis and the operating conditions of the pyrolysis reactor, chiefly
the rate of heating, the operating temperature and residence time within the pyrolysis
reactor.

Literature review was completed in order to achieve an efficient and commercial scale
method of plastic to bio-oil conversion, cold plasma “fast” co-pyrolysis must be used
(where some biomass is also used). This leads to the maximum production of liquid, with
residence times of less than 1 minute and heating temperatures of 400 °C (Perkins, Bhaskar
and Konarova, 2018). In a CE, new and advanced technologies that give life to waste
products and could help eliminate the problem of plastic waste should be prioritised. This
process will be used to recover valuable materials and reintroduce them into industry
(Karvonen et al., 2018).

A.2. Cold Plasma Catalyst Co-Pyrolysis

In 2000, Guddeti first introduced this using an inductivity coupled plasma technology for
the depolymerization of plastics. The benefits of this process relative to conventional
pyrolysis processes include cold plasma’s ability to operate at a much lower energy
demand. The cold plasma is generated through the use of two electrodes separated by one
or two insulating barriers in the reactor. This produces highly energetic electrons, which
aim in the breaking down of the chemical bonds in plastics. (Diaz-Silvarrey et al., 2018).
Catalysts are used here to improve conversion efficiency. This overall process produces
70-80% liquid bio-oil with similar properties as conventional diesel. The addition of
biomass into the co-pyrolysis process greatly influences the thermal behaviour of the
process. The hydrogen in plastics acts as a donor during the thermal decomposition of
biomass, thus creating a better quality bio-oil. It is therefore of considerable interest to
study plastic waste pyrolysis in plasma processes for gaseous fuel or chemical production
purposes (A Life cycle Assessment (LCA) of Biomass Pyrolysis & Gasification, 2020).

41
 Appendix B: IES Modelling Methods

Occupancy
A daily occupancy profile was set as below. On a weekly bases, this was applied on
weekdays throughout the year.

Heating profiles
A daily heating profile was set in line with the operation hours of the offices and the
recommendations set by CIBSE Guide A. On a weekly bases, this was applied on weekdays
and on an annual bases this was applies during the colder months.

42
Cooling Profiles
A daily cooling profile was set in line with the operation hours of the offices and the
recommendations set by CIBSE Guide A. On a weekly bases, this was applied on weekdays
and on an annual bases this was applies during the warmer months.

Ventilation
The ventilation strategy used is that of a MVHR during the winter months to make use of
the heat recovery system and natural ventilation in the warmer months.

43