Life Cycle Impact Assessment of masonry system as inner walls: A case study in Brazil

•Life cycle impacts of masonry inner walls are assessed.•A method to estimate building materials demand and waste generation is established.•The life cycle phase of use present higher impacts than construction and demolition.•Lime is the highest contributor to radiation, greenhouse and smog.•Impacts of waste are larger than impact of materials during wall lifespan.

The Life Cycle Assessment enables us to determine environmental loads associated to products, processes or activities. This paper uses this methodology to evaluate the impact of inner walls, considering as case study a traditional house in Brazil, made by: ceramic bricks masonry and sand and cement mortar. The impacts are assessed with the CML2001 method for a lifespan of the building of 50 years. Results show which phase has the greatest influence over life cycle impacts, the most impactful material-component, the waste behavior and other peculiarities of life cycle impacts derived from masonry walls. In addition, we created a method for estimating the demand for materials, waste generation and distance traveled in the transportation of materials and waste. This method can assist not only, in environmental assessment, but also in construction and waste management, and policy development.