Abstract
This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), abiotic depletion (ADP), ozone depletion (ODP), and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP), using the life a cycle assessment (LCA) method. To achieve this, this study proposed an LCA method specifically applicable to the Korean concrete industry by adapting the ISO standards to suit the Korean situations. The proposed LCA method involves a system that performs environmental impact assessment on the basis of input information on concrete mix design, transport distance, and energy consumption in a batch plant. The Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System (CLAS) thus developed provides user-friendly support for environmental impact assessment with specialized database for concrete mix materials and energy sources. In the case analysis using the CLAS, among the substances discharged from the production of 24 MPa concrete, those contributing to GWP, AP, EP, ADP, ODP, and POCP were assessed to amount to 309 kg-CO2 eq/m3, 28.7 kg-SO2 eq/m3, 5.21 kg-PO43− eq/m3, 0.000049 kg-CFC11 eq/m3, 34 kg/m3, and 21 kg-Ethylene eq/m3, respectively. Of these six environmental impact categories selected for the LCA in this study, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was found to contribute most intensely to GWP and POCP, and aggregates, to AP, EP, ODP, and ADP. It was also found that the mix design with increased prop proportion of recycled aggregate was found to contribute to reducing the impact in all other categories.
Highlights
The ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) portion of concrete has reduced global warming potential (GWP), but it continues to have similar or even increased impact on other environmental impact categories
The newly developed Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System was applied to a cases analysis of 1 m3 concrete of 24 MPa strength level stemming from a batch plant located in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
This study evaluates the environmental impact of mixing recycled aggregate and ground This study theon environmental impact of mixing recycled aggregate and ground granulated blastevaluates furnace slag concrete
Summary
The ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) portion of concrete has reduced global warming potential (GWP), but it continues to have similar or even increased impact on other environmental impact categories. While GWP increased as the recycled aggregate mix ratio increased, the mix design with increased GWP is still one of the key materials in the construction industry. It releases a large amount of environmentally hazardous substances into the atmosphere throughout its life cycle from production to construction, maintenance/management, and demolition/waste management. Technologies to assess and reduce its environmental impact should be developed by studying its impact under the life cycle aspect. Public Health 2016, 13, 1074; doi:10.3390/ijerph13111074 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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