Environmental emissions of construction equipment usage in pile foundation construction process-a case study

The level of emissions to the environment imposed by different human activities has been increasing at an alarming rate over the past decades. Measurement and control of air pollutant emissions into the atmosphere can lead towards reducing the emission level considerably. Construction industry is a major contributor to the environmental emissions due to the extensive use of construction equipment, which is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions. Pile foundation is extensively used in high-rise buildings construction and it involves operation of heavy construction equipment. This study developed a process-based model to quantify environmental emissions of equipment usage in a typical pile foundation construction using the US EPA methodology. The emissions of excavation works govern the total emissions at site because of the high usage hours of excavators. In general the emission rates of piling rig and concrete pumping truck were found to be the highest although excavator emission rates are higher for carbon monoxide and particulate matter. It is seen that careful selection of machines and equipment can reduce the emissions up to 10 %. These findings of the study could be effectively used for minimizing the environmental emissions by careful selection of suitable equipment and technology.