Ecodesign: Approaches for sugarcane bagasse ash mortars a Brazilian context

Beyond the environmental impacts, the sustainability of mortars should consider its technological aspect. An ecodesign method, which considers both environmental and technical performance, was performed to assess the use of sugarcane bagasse ash mortars in the Brazilian context. Four percentages of SCBA replacing partially Portland cement (0%, 15%, 30%, and 50%, in mass), two economic-oriented Brazilian scenarios, and eleven life cycle impact categories related to the sugarcane industry and Portland cement production were considered in this analysis. The LCA was employed as an environmental performance tool and, when associated with the compressive strength of mortars (technological aspect), allows to create an eco-efficiency indicator associated with a heuristic diagram which gives interesting approaches related to the use of SCBA mortars in the Brazilian context. Although the obtained results indicate a slight “Trade-off on mechanical performance” eco-efficiency situation for SCBA-15 and SCBA-30, these mortars achieved the established preset technical function and high impact mitigation potential.