industrial by product MCA 2025

Description

This study maps and evaluates industrial by‑products as reclaimed materials and building components (RMBs) for Means‑oriented Design (MoD), providing a practical method and local evidence base to support circular construction. Industrial by‑products represent a significant but underused resource for building design, yet a systematic, regulation‑aligned framework for assessing their suitability, safety, and performance for reuse in AECO‑FM remains limited. To address this gap, the study combines snowball sampling, Harvest Mapping, and a regulation‑anchored Multi‑Criteria Analysis (MCA) to evaluate 32 industrial by‑product streams within a close‑circuit region in northern Sweden. Researchers visited seven companies, gathering detailed information on by‑products, their origins, and current handling practices. These data were consolidated into an inventory following the procedure below. The MCA establishes a basis for weighing and scoring industrial by‑products suitable for reuse in building construction. Each criterion (i) receives a weight (Wi) from 1 to 4 reflecting its relevance to Sweden’s construction regulations (BBR), as shown in Table 1. Quantitative scoring incorporates mechanical and physical performance to reduce perceptual bias, using shared performance boundaries across materials. Suitable materials receive higher scores (Ri). The combination of weights (Wi) and scores (Ri) yields a rating that identifies industrial by‑products with potential for reuse as RMBs. A linear additive weighted sum produces the suitability coefficient (Q), where each criterion has a normalized weight and a score based on reference values. Q = Suitability coefficient; N = number of criteria; i = criterion; W = weighted score; R = material score.

Steps to reproduce

The data collection and analysis proceeded in two stages. In the first stage, snowball sampling identified companies managing industrial by‑products and enabled site visits that supplied the operational knowledge needed for assessment [51–53] . Following an abductive logic, technical data (e.g., sound‑absorption, thermal performance, regulatory datasheets) were contrasted with field observations to define MCA criteria. In the second stage, Harvest Mapping and a regulation‑anchored MCA were applied to inventory local by‑product flows and produce the shortlist of materials suitable for AECO‑FM reuse [44,54,55] . 4.1. Assigning criteria for MCA. Upon collection of information through site visits, MCA provides elements for weighing and scoring industrial byproducts that can be deemed suitable for reuse in specific cases of building construction. Criteria ( i ) is weighed by assigning a numerical value ranging from 1 to 4 to each criterion (Wi ), which will reflect its relevance when contrasted against Sweden’s construction regulations (BBR) as a normalized weight. Table 1 presents the most important criteria for assessing industrial byproducts, along with a justification for using each criterion based on BBR’s requirements for building construction materials [56]. The scoring process will add quantitative elements based on mechanical or physical performance for classifying materials, which will help prevent bias associated to perception or interpretation. Then, the scoring will be performed based on performance boundaries common to each of the assessed materials. In such a case, the most suitable materials will receive a higher score on the scale (Ri). The combination of weights (Wi ) and scores (Ri) will yield a rating to identify industrial by-products with potential for reuse in building construction as RMBs. The scoring process uses a linear additive weighted sum in which each criterion (i) has a normalized qualitative weight (Wi) according to the index in Table 1 and receives a score (Ri) based on the reference values for quantitative scoring (Table 2). The sum of the product of both, Weights (Wi) and total number (N) of Scores (Ri) per criterion, provides the by-product’s suitability coefficient (Q) that assesses its potential for use in MoD. Q = Suitability coefficient; N= Number of criteria; i= Criterion; W= Criterion weighted score; R= By-product score based on reference values. Weighing Criteria For this MCA, Sweden’s Boverket (BBR) rules define the requirements materials must meet for use in construction, setting the boundaries for assessment. Using Ashby’s material‑selection method, each criterion is weighted and scored by distinguishing requirements from goals. Criteria are rated on a 1–4 scale, where 4 indicates high priority. This scale helps differentiate material suitability for reuse.

Institutions

• Luleå University of Technology

  Norrbotten, Luleå

Categories

Funders

• Stiftelsen Actum

  Grant ID: Grammar for the TRÄnsition , 2025
• Baltiska fonden

  Grant ID: Grammar for the TRÄnsition, 2025

Licence