ABSTRACT

In this study a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted according to a ‘cradle-to-laid’ approach to evaluate the potential environmental impacts related to the use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) as a partial replacement of coarse natural aggregates in the production of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Specifically, three percentages of RCA replacements were analyzed: 15, 30 and 45%. Primary data collected mainly through surveys performed in Colombian contractors from the region of Barranquila were used to model the foreground system. The SimaPro 8.4.0 software was used for modelling the processes analyzed in the case study and all the life cycle inputs and outputs related to the functional unit were characterised during life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase into potential impacts according to the TRACI v.2.1 impact assessment methodology. The results of the case study showed that the mixtures incorporating 15 and 30% of RCA can be considered as eco-friendly alternatives to the conventional mixture (i.e. no RCA content), as both allow reductions in all impact categories scores. On the contrary, the mixture that contains 45% of RCA denoted a lower environmental performance than that of the conventional mixture.

摘要

在这项研究中，根据“从摇篮到铺设”的方法进行了比较生命周期评估 (LCA)，以评估与使用再生混凝土骨料 (RCA) 作为粗天然骨料的部分替代品相关的潜在环境影响。热拌沥青（HMA）的生产。具体来说，分析了三个百分比的 RCA 替代：15%、30% 和 45%。主要通过对来自巴兰基拉地区的哥伦比亚承包商进行的调查收集的主要数据用于模拟前景系统。SimaPro 8.4.0 软件用于对案例研究中分析的过程进行建模，并且与功能单元相关的所有生命周期输入和输出在生命周期影响评估 (LCIA) 阶段根据 TRACI v. 2. 1 影响评估方法。案例研究的结果表明，含有 15% 和 30% RCA 的混合物可以被视为传统混合物（即不含 RCA）的环保替代品，因为两者都可以降低所有影响类别的分数。相反，含有 45% RCA 的混合物表现出比传统混合物更低的环境性能。