Desempenho ambiental do tijolo de solo-cimento: uma revisão sistemática de literatura

Abstract

The civil construction sector is responsible for significant environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, intensive consumption of natural resources, and waste generation. Consequently, the industry has been seeking to minimize its impact and develop new technologies to improve construction processes. One example is the soil-cement brick, often considered an "ecological", whose main environmental advantage lies in the absence of a firing process during its production. Furthermore, its construction system reduces mortar consumption and optimizes building execution. However, unlike the conventional ceramic block, it contains cement in its composition, a material with high CO2 emissions that can significantly increase its carbon footprint. In this context, the present study aimed to diagnose, within the scope of Brazilian scientific literature, the environmental aspects of the soil-cement brick, their construction system, and their relationship with sustainability. To achieve this, a systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, with searches limited to publications up to May and restricted to the Portuguese language. Six studies were selected from a total of six hundred and ten identified, all of which analyzed CO2 emissions and environmental impacts related to brick production, using methodologies such as the Energy Life Cycle Analysis (ELCA) and the QE-CO2 Method. The results indicated that soil-cement bricks present better environmental performance compared to conventional materials. Nevertheless, a lack of methodological standardization and consolidated national data was observed. Thus, the soil-cement brick proves to be an environmentally viable alternative aligned with sustainability, but it still requires additional studies to consolidate itself as an alternative to the conventional ceramic block and to expand the existing database.