ABSTRACT

Applying life cycle assessment (LCA) to water distribution networks (WDNs) usually requires considerable reliable data, and neglecting specific parts could significantly affect the reliability of results. In this paper, a comprehensive life cycle inventory dataset was collected to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the construction and renovation stages of WDNs. The aim is to explore the effects of the availability of primary and secondary data on the LCA results based on analysis of uncertainties. The results indicate the importance of considering road construction processes, especially for small-to-medium-sized plastic pipes. Although recovering energy from the incineration of plastic pipes partially compensates for the impacts at the end of life, these incineration processes significantly affect the global warming potential. Finally, this study demonstrates that without considering all known information (e.g., network data), reliable LCA for WDNs can be performed, providing suggestions on which data to focus on in data collection process.

摘要

将生命周期评估（LCA）应用于水分配网络（WDN）通常需要大量可靠的数据，而忽略特定部分可能会严重影响结果的可靠性。在本文中，收集了一个完整的生命周期清单数据集，以评估与WDN的建造和翻新阶段相关的环境负担。目的是基于不确定性分析，探讨主要和辅助数据的可用性对LCA结果的影响。结果表明考虑道路施工过程的重要性，特别是对于中小型塑料管道。尽管通过焚化塑料管回收能量可以部分补偿使用寿命终止时的影响，但这些焚化过程会显着影响全球变暖的可能性。