Process information
| Key Data Set Information | |
| Location | IE |
| Geographical representativeness description | Ireland |
| Reference year | 2021 |
| Name |
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| Technical purpose of product or process | This EPD is carried out for the Kingscourt brick product: clay bricks. The raw materials for the normal clay bricks are predominantly clay (locally sourced keuper marl) with a minor amount of molasses, and for the sand-faced bricks the raw materials are predominantly clay, with minor amounts of molasses and sand. The bricks are manufactured in accordance with the requirements of I.S. EN 771–1: Specification for masonry units: Clay masonry units. The bricks are primarily used as a facing brick for external walls in standard domestic and commercial construction projects. Bricks and brick slip are also used as internal exposed wall facings for aesthetic effect. The main ingredient of the bricks is clay that is quarried at a nearby clay pit and transported to the production site. At the production site the clay is milled and mixed with water and molasses to homogenise and provide a standard consistency. The clay is then formed into moulds that are wire-cut to the required sizes, and then sent to the dryer to drive off excess moisture. After drying, the dried bricks are put in a vitrifying oven for firing. After firing the bricks are left to cool and then stacked where they are covered and banded secure for transport to the customer. A pallet-less system is used in the packaging, storage and transport of the finished goods. |
| General comment on data set | Data flows have been modeled as realistically as possible. Data quality assessment is based on the principle that the primary data used for processes occurring at the production site is selected in the first instance. Where this is not available, other reference data is selected from appropriate sources. The dataset is representative for the production processes used in 2020. The process descriptions and quantities in this study are reproducible in accordance to the reference standards that have been used. The references of all sources, both primary and public sources and literature, have been documented in the LCA report. The ‘polluter pays’ and ‘modularity’ principles have been followed. The cut-off criteria of section 6.3.5 of EN 15804 have been followed. Allocation has been done on a mass basis. The measurement of environmental impacts uses the CML 2 baseline method In addition, to facilitate the reproducibility of this LCA, a full set of data records has been generated which can be accessed via the EcoChain tool. This data portfolio contains a summary of all the data used in this LCA, and correspondingly, in the Kingscourt Brick Ecochain account. |
| Copyright | Yes |
| Owner of data set | |
| Quantitative reference | |
| Reference flow(s) |
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| Time representativeness | |
| Data set valid until | 2026 |
| Time representativeness description | "12.07.2021" - "12.07.2026" |
| Technological representativeness | |
| Technology description including background system | A1. Raw materials supply This module considers the extraction and processing of all raw materials and energy which occur upstream to the Kingscourt Brick manufacturing process, as well as waste processing up to the end-of waste state. A2. Transport of raw materials to manufacturer This includes the transport distance of the raw materials to the manufacturing facility via road and sea. A3. Manufacturing This module covers the manufacturing of Kingscourt bricks and includes all processes linked to production such as, mixing, drying, firing, packing and internal transportation. Use of electricity, natural gas, diesel and auxiliary materials used during production is taken into account as well. A4 and A5. Transport and installation This module covers road transport of the the bricks from production site in Kingscourt to construction site in Ireland. A4: Transport to site references: Road transport: Transport, freight, lorry 7.5-16 metric ton, EURO6 | Europe Distance by road: 200 km Capacity utilisation: 64% A5: installation on site: It is assumed there are 5% losses on site, from cutting and damage, and that all this material is sent to recycling by the contractor. The distance to the recycling facility is assumed to be 50km. C2, C3, and C4. End of Life C1: Demolition/deconstruction: No specific energy, nor materials, are allocated to this phase, and the impacts are assumed to be zero in C1. C2: Transport: Transport from the construction site to landfill is 50km. C3: Processing: It is assumed that bricks are crushed on site, by a mobile crushing plant. Of the crushed bricks it is assumed that 90% are re-used on the demolition/construction site as infill, and 10% are sent off-site to landfill. The energy used to fuel the crushing plant on site is assumed to be diesel, and one tonne of bricks uses 0.83 litres of diesel for crushing. C4: 10% of the bricks are disposed in an inert landfil site. D4 (Benefits beyond the system) Per tonne, 900kg of crushed brick is used on site as clean fill. This 900kg of crushed brick is assumed to take the place of 900kg of virgin raw aggregate. |
Modelling and validation
| Subtype | specific dataset | ||||
| LCA methodology report | |||||
| Data sources, treatment and representativeness | |||||
| Documentation of data quality management | |||||
| Data source(s) used for this data set | |||||
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| Validation | |||||
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| Compliance Declarations | |||||
| Compliance |
Compliance system name
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Approval of overall compliance
Fully compliant |
Nomenclature compliance
Fully compliant |
Methodological compliance
Fully compliant |
Review compliance
Fully compliant |
Documentation compliance
Fully compliant |
Quality compliance
Fully compliant |
| Compliance |
Compliance system name
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Approval of overall compliance
Fully compliant |
Nomenclature compliance
Fully compliant |
Methodological compliance
Fully compliant |
Review compliance
Fully compliant |
Documentation compliance
Fully compliant |
Quality compliance
Fully compliant |
| Compliance |
Compliance system name
|
Approval of overall compliance
Fully compliant |
Nomenclature compliance
Fully compliant |
Methodological compliance
Fully compliant |
Review compliance
Fully compliant |
Documentation compliance
Fully compliant |
Quality compliance
Fully compliant |
Administrative information
| Data entry by | |
| Time stamp (last saved) | 2021-10-15T17:32:02 |
| Data set format(s) | |
| Publication and ownership | |
| UUID | 80a5efba-f2c3-4faa-bc02-b6aadf594989 |
| Date of last revision | 2021-10-12T08:32:40.8035701Z |
| Data set version | 00.03.002 |
| Registration number | EPDIE-21-51 |
| Owner of data set | |
| Copyright | Yes |
| License type | Free of charge for all users and uses |
Environmental indicators
Indicators of life cycle