Safe, Sustainable, and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine (S3RoU)
Lead Participant:
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
Abstract
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed Ukraine's infrastructure through continuous shelling and missile attacks. The World Bank estimates that rebuilding Ukraine will cost 2.6 times greater than its GDP in 2022, with a cost estimated to be ~$400 billion. This involves a massive amount of construction activity, and it is imperative that it is performed in a sustainable way while reducing the cost. Destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure has created huge amounts of rubble, currently estimated to be about 1.4 billion tons as of March 2023\. This project, titled Safe, Sustainable, and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine (S3RoU), aims to upcycle this vast number of rubbles available into low-energy and low-carbon construction materials to create a circular economy as well as develop technologies that can help the UK reach its net zero target.
Ukraine's construction practices are significantly different than the UK's, specifically in terms of asbestos usage as well as utilisation of alkali-activated materials, an alternative form of concrete. Asbestos usage is widespread in Ukraine's civil infrastructure, as an asbestos ban was only implemented recently in 2017, and before that, Ukraine was Europe's second largest asbestos consumer (183,000 tons in 2005). S3RoU will ensure the safe utilisation of Ukraine's rubble and will utilise rapid characterisation techniques to separate alkali-activated materials from conventional concrete. The conventional concrete will then be separated into three different components with different particle sizes, using and developing a modular, mobile plant, that can be deployed rapidly, and utilised locally, enabling the upscaling process. The separated components will then either be used as recycled aggregate or supplementary cementitious materials for direct manufacturing of concrete or will be utilised as a feedstock for low-carbon cement manufacturing through electrified sintering processes. The environmental impact and cost of the different upcycling processes will be calculated, and finally, a tool-box will be developed to recommend upcycling processes based on the availability of suitable rubble, and its chemical composition. This will also help globally, including areas of disaster (e.g., earthquakes) and the western world, in terms of construction and demolition waste upcycling as most of their infrastructure is reaching end-of-life and needs to be recycled. This project will also work on raising awareness regarding GESI, asbestos, and the circular economy; in Ukraine and around the world, this will encourage local authorities and construction companies to take sustainability into consideration for infrastructure development and resolve gender and social inequality in this sector.
Ukraine's construction practices are significantly different than the UK's, specifically in terms of asbestos usage as well as utilisation of alkali-activated materials, an alternative form of concrete. Asbestos usage is widespread in Ukraine's civil infrastructure, as an asbestos ban was only implemented recently in 2017, and before that, Ukraine was Europe's second largest asbestos consumer (183,000 tons in 2005). S3RoU will ensure the safe utilisation of Ukraine's rubble and will utilise rapid characterisation techniques to separate alkali-activated materials from conventional concrete. The conventional concrete will then be separated into three different components with different particle sizes, using and developing a modular, mobile plant, that can be deployed rapidly, and utilised locally, enabling the upscaling process. The separated components will then either be used as recycled aggregate or supplementary cementitious materials for direct manufacturing of concrete or will be utilised as a feedstock for low-carbon cement manufacturing through electrified sintering processes. The environmental impact and cost of the different upcycling processes will be calculated, and finally, a tool-box will be developed to recommend upcycling processes based on the availability of suitable rubble, and its chemical composition. This will also help globally, including areas of disaster (e.g., earthquakes) and the western world, in terms of construction and demolition waste upcycling as most of their infrastructure is reaching end-of-life and needs to be recycled. This project will also work on raising awareness regarding GESI, asbestos, and the circular economy; in Ukraine and around the world, this will encourage local authorities and construction companies to take sustainability into consideration for infrastructure development and resolve gender and social inequality in this sector.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
---|---|---|
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD | £343,194 | £ 343,194 |
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Participant |
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UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD | £125,721 | £ 125,721 |
C2CA TECHNOLOGY B.V. | £1,220,028 | £ 854,020 |
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | £119,993 | £ 119,993 |
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS | £531,898 | £ 531,898 |
LVIV POLYTECHNIC NATIONAL UNIVERSITY | £286,310 | £ 286,310 |
IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON | £153,157 | £ 153,157 |
RETHINK NGO | £191,520 | £ 191,520 |
ECO+LOGIC | £916,140 | £ 641,298 |
People |
ORCID iD |
James Shaw (Project Manager) |