Planning: Establishing an Industry Partnership for Sustainable Demolition Research on Climate Change

非技术性说明：建筑和拆除行业是能源相关二氧化碳（CO2）排放的主要贡献者，占2019年全球碳排放量的38%。特别令人关切的是拆除部门，由于涉及重型机械的能源密集型活动，消耗大量柴油燃料，该部门对这些排放量贡献很大。这种对机械的依赖导致大量的二氧化碳和其他温室气体排放。此外，拆除阶段产生了90%以上的建筑和拆除（C D）废物，包括具有高碳足迹的混凝土和钢材等材料。当这些材料在垃圾填埋场处置时，会排放大量的内含碳排放。然而，适当的管理可以回收约90%的拆除废物，这是通过回收和再利用减少碳排放的重要机会。尽管有显著的碳减排潜力，但很少有研究关注拆除行业的碳足迹。建筑业之前的气候变化研究主要集中在施工阶段的碳排放最小化，而拆除阶段基本上没有探索。为了充分了解和减轻拆除作业对气候变化的影响，对拆除作业的碳足迹进行实证研究至关重要。该项目旨在通过组织研讨会和实地考察，与拆除承包商和HBCU研究人员建立合作，填补这一知识空白。将对拆除项目进行个案研究，以表明可持续拆除做法的必要性，并为讲习班期间的讨论提供便利。总的来说，该项目将确定关键的研究问题，重点是设备活动，燃料消耗和可回收材料，以了解拆除过程和碳生成之间的关系，并建立采矿业-工业伙伴关系，以支持解决这些问题的研究。此外，与HBCUs和拆除承包商的合作将促进STEM研究的多样性和包容性，并有助于在拆除行业中建立更加多样化和包容性的劳动力。技术描述：建筑和拆除行业是全球碳排放的主要贡献者，其中拆除行业由于其能源密集型活动（如重型机械的使用）而尤为重要。此外，超过90%的建筑和拆卸废物是在拆卸阶段产生的，妥善管理这些废物是通过回收和再利用减少碳排放的重要机会。这个HBCU EiR规划补助金提案旨在开发拆除承包商和历史上黑人学院和大学（HBCU）的研究人员之间的合作网络，以确定与可持续拆除实践相关的研究问题，为HBCU EiR提案做准备，我们将提出一种创新的拆除规划方法，以最大限度地减少其碳足迹。该规划补助金的拟议活动包括：1）开发拆除项目的案例研究，以促进合作者之间的讨论，其中记录了项目的设备活动和由此产生的可回收/可再利用材料数量的碳足迹;（二）举办为期两天的学术研讨会-我们将邀请当地拆除承包商和HBCU研究人员评估对碳生成和材料回收至关重要的拆除活动，确定研究问题和潜在的研究领域;以及3）访问潜在合作者的拆除现场，以更好地了解他们的操作方法，并与拆除承包商和HBCU研究人员为计划中的HBCU EiR项目制定合作计划。通过这些活动，该团队将确定可持续拆除实践中存在的基本知识差距，并提出一项建议，以最大限度地减少拆除行业应对气候变化的碳排放。该项目具有重要的智力价值，因为它促进了制药业与工业界的合作，以进行有影响力的研究（即，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical description: The building and demolition industry is a major contributor to energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, accounting for 38% of global carbon emissions in 2019. Of particular concern is the demolition sector, which contributes significantly to these emissions due to energy-intensive activities that involve heavy machinery, consuming substantial amounts of diesel fuel. This reliance on machinery results in significant emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the demolition phase generates more than 90% of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, including materials like concrete and steel with a high carbon footprint. When disposed of in landfills, these materials emit substantial embodied carbon emissions. However, proper management can recover around 90% of demolition waste, presenting a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions through recycling and reuse. Despite the potential for significant carbon savings, little research has focused on the carbon footprint of the demolition industry. Prior climate change research in the construction industry has mainly centered on minimizing carbon emissions during the construction phase, leaving the demolition phase largely unexplored. To fully understand and mitigate the impact of demolition operations on climate change, empirical studies on the carbon footprint of demolition are crucial. This project aims to fill this knowledge gap by organizing a workshop and site visits to build collaboration with demolition contractors and HBCU researchers. Case studies of demolition projects will be developed to demonstrate the need for sustainable demolition practices and facilitate discussions during the workshop. Overall, this project will identify critical research questions, focusing on equipment activities, fuel consumption, and recyclable materials, to understand the relationship between demolition processes and carbon generation and yield academia-industry partnerships to support research addressing them. Furthermore, collaborations with HBCUs and demolition contractors will promote diversity and inclusivity in STEM research and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive workforce in the demolition industry.Technical description: The building and demolition industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, with the demolition sector being particularly significant due to its energy-intensive activities, such as heavy machinery use. In addition, more than 90% of construction and demolition waste is generated during the demolition phase, and proper management of this waste presents a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions through recycling and reuse. This HBCU EiR Planning Grant proposal aims to develop a collaborative network between demolition contractors and researchers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to identify research questions related to sustainable demolition practices in preparation for an HBCU EiR proposal where we will propose an innovative demolition planning method to minimize its carbon footprint. The proposed activities of this planning grant include 1) developing case studies of demolition projects to facilitate discussion among collaborators, where the carbon footprint of the projects is captured with respect to equipment activities and resulting amounts of recyclable/reusable materials; 2) organizing a two-day academia-industry workshop where we will invite local demolition contractors and HBCU researchers to evaluate demolition activities critical to carbon generation and material recycling and identify research questions and potential research areas; and 3) visiting potential collaborators' demolition sites to better understand their operational practices and develop a collaboration plan with demolition contractors and HBCU researchers for the planned HBCU EiR project. Through these activities, the team will identify fundamental knowledge gaps present in sustainable demolition practices and generate a proposal to minimize carbon emissions in the demolition industry against climate change. This project holds significant intellectual merit as it fosters academia-industry collaborations for impactful research (i.e., supported with empirical case studies available from such collaborations) in sustainable demolition practices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.