Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction
The construction sector accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the production of steel, concrete and aluminum. As global infrastructure investments grow, exceeding $2.9 trillion in the United States alone, there is an urgent need to transition to low-carbon...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/adf665 |
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| author | Muzan Williams Ijeoma Sovanroth Ou Amin Nabati Hao Chen Michael Stoner Patricia Layton Dustin Albright Brandon Ross Weichiang Pang Michael Carbajales-Dale |
| author_facet | Muzan Williams Ijeoma Sovanroth Ou Amin Nabati Hao Chen Michael Stoner Patricia Layton Dustin Albright Brandon Ross Weichiang Pang Michael Carbajales-Dale |
| author_sort | Muzan Williams Ijeoma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The construction sector accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the production of steel, concrete and aluminum. As global infrastructure investments grow, exceeding $2.9 trillion in the United States alone, there is an urgent need to transition to low-carbon structural systems. Mass timber offers a promising alternative, with lower embodied carbon (EC) and the potential to function as a carbon sink when sustainably sourced. However, conventional mass timber floor systems are limited to spans of 16–25 feet, depending on the selected system and thickness. They often rely on concrete toppings for acoustic and vibration performance, undermining environmental and circularity benefits. Here, we present a novel, all-wood mass timber floor system capable of spanning 40 feet, comparable to steel-framed construction, while achieving carbon negativity, modularity, and disassembly. This is the first timber-based system to combine these structural and sustainability attributes at this span-length. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment, aligned with EN 15978 and ISO 14044, quantified the floor system development environmental performance across two proprietary connection strategies: adhesive + screw and sharp plate + screw. Each design sequestered 4,787 kg CO _2 -eq of biogenic carbon per functional unit, contributing to a net EC of −100.6 and −96.7 kg CO _2 -eq/m ^2 , respectively, after accounting for construction-stage emissions. The Sharp Plate system also showed lower impacts in smog formation, ecotoxicity, and energy use. Our findings demonstrate the viability of long-span, low-carbon timber floor systems and highlight how connection design can meaningfully influence environmental performance in timber-floor design. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-45beffe4c11649288d2dba8988f678d7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2634-4505 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-45beffe4c11649288d2dba8988f678d72025-08-20T04:02:27ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability2634-45052025-01-015303500910.1088/2634-4505/adf665Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/constructionMuzan Williams Ijeoma0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6400-1405Sovanroth Ou1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3752-4658Amin Nabati2Hao Chen3https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1968-0038Michael Stoner4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4777-8517Patricia Layton5Dustin Albright6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7342-9786Brandon Ross7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2418-7298Weichiang Pang8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3050-5491Michael Carbajales-Dale9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1568-384XSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaWood Utilization + Design Institute, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Architecture, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University , Clemson, SC, United States of AmericaThe construction sector accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the production of steel, concrete and aluminum. As global infrastructure investments grow, exceeding $2.9 trillion in the United States alone, there is an urgent need to transition to low-carbon structural systems. Mass timber offers a promising alternative, with lower embodied carbon (EC) and the potential to function as a carbon sink when sustainably sourced. However, conventional mass timber floor systems are limited to spans of 16–25 feet, depending on the selected system and thickness. They often rely on concrete toppings for acoustic and vibration performance, undermining environmental and circularity benefits. Here, we present a novel, all-wood mass timber floor system capable of spanning 40 feet, comparable to steel-framed construction, while achieving carbon negativity, modularity, and disassembly. This is the first timber-based system to combine these structural and sustainability attributes at this span-length. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment, aligned with EN 15978 and ISO 14044, quantified the floor system development environmental performance across two proprietary connection strategies: adhesive + screw and sharp plate + screw. Each design sequestered 4,787 kg CO _2 -eq of biogenic carbon per functional unit, contributing to a net EC of −100.6 and −96.7 kg CO _2 -eq/m ^2 , respectively, after accounting for construction-stage emissions. The Sharp Plate system also showed lower impacts in smog formation, ecotoxicity, and energy use. Our findings demonstrate the viability of long-span, low-carbon timber floor systems and highlight how connection design can meaningfully influence environmental performance in timber-floor design.https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/adf665mass timberwood floor systemembodied carbon accountinglife cycle assessmentmass timber constructionsensitivity analysis |
| spellingShingle | Muzan Williams Ijeoma Sovanroth Ou Amin Nabati Hao Chen Michael Stoner Patricia Layton Dustin Albright Brandon Ross Weichiang Pang Michael Carbajales-Dale Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability mass timber wood floor system embodied carbon accounting life cycle assessment mass timber construction sensitivity analysis |
| title | Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction |
| title_full | Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction |
| title_fullStr | Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction |
| title_short | Life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity, future adaptability, and end-of-life de/re/construction |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of an entirely wood floor system designed for carbon negativity future adaptability and end of life de re construction |
| topic | mass timber wood floor system embodied carbon accounting life cycle assessment mass timber construction sensitivity analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/adf665 |
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