LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENT CONSIDERING SERVICE LIFE AND LIFE CYCLE COST

• Published in: Cement Science and Concrete Technology Vol. 77; no. 1; pp. 541 - 549
• Main Authors: SHINMI, Tatsuo, KIRINO, Yusuke, YOSHIMOTO, Toru, KAWAI, Kenji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japan Cement Association 29.03.2024
• Subjects: Asphalt pavement; Concrete pavement; Life cycle cost; Life cycle impact assessment; Service life
• ISSN: 0916-3182; 2187-3313
• DOI: 10.14250/cement.77.541

Concrete is usually considered to be a high environmental impact material because of a lot of CO2 emissions in cement production, while the cement industry uses a lot of industrial wastes as alternative raw materials and thermal energies. Recently, concrete pavement has been focused on because of its high durability, sustainability, and local production for local consumption. In this study, a life cycle impact assessment for concrete pavement was carried out in terms of not only global warming but also waste use, resource consumption, and others. Besides, the assessment results for concrete pavement were compared with those for asphalt pavement considering service life and life cycle cost. As a result, the environmental impact of concrete pavement is largely due to global warming while that of asphalt pavement is largely due to resource consumption. Comparing only negative environmental impacts between concrete pavement and asphalt pavement, the concrete pavement has less environmental impact than asphalt pavement, depending on repair conditions. In addition, the results considering both life cycle assessment and life cycle cost showed that concrete pavement is more advantageous than asphalt pavement when the service life of concrete is long.