Life cycle assessment of completely recyclable concrete

Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth. s raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC) is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete

Bioassays with terrestrial and aquatic species as monitoring tools of hydrocarbon degradation

In this study chemical analyses and ecotoxicity tests were applied for the assessment of a heavily hydrocarbon-contaminated soil prior and after the application of a remediation procedure that consisted in the stimulation of soil autochthonous populations of hydrocarbon degraders in static-ventilated biopiles. Terrestrial bioassays were applied in mixtures of test soils and artificial control soil and studied the survival and reproduction of Eisenia fetida and the avoidance response of E. fetida and Folsomia candida. Effects on aquatic organisms were studied by means of acute tests with Vibrio fischeri, Raphidocelis subcapitata, and Daphnia magna performed on aqueous elutriates from test soils. The bioremediation procedure led to a significant reduction in the concentration of hydrocarbons (from 34264 to 3074 mg kg-1, i.e., 91 % decrease) and toxicity although bioassays were not able to report a percentage decrease of toxicity as high as the percentage reduction. Sublethal tests proved the most sensitive terrestrial bioassays and avoidance tests with earthworms and springtails showed potential as monitoring tools of hydrocarbon remediation due to their high sensitivity and short duration. The concentrations of hydrocarbons in water extracts from test soils were 130 and 100 µg L-1 before and after remediation, respectively. Similarly to terrestrial tests, most aquatic bioassays detected a significant reduction in toxicity, which was almost negligible at the end of the treatment. D. magna survival was the most affected by soil elutriates although toxicity to the crustacean was associated to the salinity of the samples rather than to the concentration of hydrocarbons. Ecotoxicity tests with aqueous soil elutriates proved less relevant in the assessment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils due to the low hydrosolubility of hydrocarbons and the influence of the physicochemical parameters of the aquatic mediumPostprint (author's final draft

The recycling of OMC's carbon reinforcement by solvolysing thermoset matrix. A way of sustainability for composites.

Originally developed for high-tech applications, carbon fibre/thermoset matrix composites have been increasingly used in leisure and sports industries, for several years. But the carbon reinforcement is the most expensive constituent, and also the most environmentally impacting in the elaboration of a composite part. To this day, no end-of-life solution or recycling process efficiently exists. This paper aims at demonstrating that recovering the carbon reinforcement is possible, technically and economically speaking. Moreover, it is particularly the basis for a life cycle analysis that assesses benefits and environmental challenges of this recycling loop based on the reinforcement recovery by a solvolysis of the organic matrix. Lastly, the lack of data to consider the better end-of-life option (reuse, recycling, energy recovery and material valorisation) will be underlined

Transportation Life Cycle Assessment Synthesis: Life Cycle Assessment Learning Module Series

The Life Cycle Assessment Learning Module Series is a set of narrated, self-advancing slideshows on various topics related to environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). This research project produced the first 27 of such modules, which are freely available for download on the CESTiCC website http://cem.uaf.edu/cesticc/publications/lca.aspx. Each module is roughly 15- 20 minutes in length and is intended for various uses such as course components, as the main lecture material in a dedicated LCA course, or for independent learning in support of research projects. The series is organized into four overall topical areas, each of which contain a group of overview modules and a group of detailed modules. The A and α groups cover the international standards that define LCA. The B and β groups focus on environmental impact categories. The G and γ groups identify software tools for LCA and provide some tutorials for their use. The T and τ groups introduce topics of interest in the field of transportation LCA. This includes overviews of how LCA is frequently applied in that sector, literature reviews, specific considerations, and software tutorials. Future modules in this category will feature methodological developments and case studies specific to the transportation sector

EURO-ECOLE: Assessment of the Bioavailability and Potential Ecological Effects of Copper in European Surface Waters ; subproject 4: Evaluation and improvement of the ecological relevance of laboratory generated toxicity data

This report summarizes the acute and chronic toxicity of copper to algae, Daphnia and a few other freshwater species in standard laboratory test water and a wide range of natural surface waters (collected across Europe), with a wide range of pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and hardness. These data can be used for validation of bioavailability models such as the biotic ligand model (BLM)

The initial tolerance to sub-lethal Cd exposure is the same among ten naïve pond populations of Daphnia magna, but their micro-evolutionary potential to develop resistance is very different

A

Estimation of environmental impact of conversion to organic agriculture in Hamburg using the Life-Cycle-Assessment method

Commissioned by the Ministry of Environment of Hamburg, Germany, an environmental impact assessment using the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was carried out during 1995 and 1996. In a scenario, the effect of a complete transition from conventional to organic agriculture of about 5,674 ha and 4,669 livestock units in a rural part of Hamburg was investigated using 9 impact categories. The study was based on the analysis of 15 farms representative of the farms in the region, mainly dairy and beef cattle farms with some cash crops, in close cooperation with local advisers and other experts. Several workshops were held to integrate the local public, in particular the experts and administrative staff related to farming and nature protection. It was estimated for the study area for the year 1995 that through the conversion to organic agriculture, the eutrophication potential could be lowered by reducing the nitrogen (N) surplus by 75% (from 311 t to 77 t) and turning the phosphate (P) surplus of 47 t into a deficit of 19 t. The ammonia emission decreased to 69% of the conventional level (from 238 t to 165 t) resulting in a similar reduction of the acidification potential (from 474 t to 328 t SO2-equivalents). Compared to conventional farming, 55% of the primary energy was saved by organic agriculture (38,540 instead of 84,760 GJ), which also lowered the global warming potential by 31% from 26,365 t to 18,271 t CO2-equivalents. No pesticides were used, thus saving about 22.7 t of chemical agents. This would lead to positive effects in the impact categories drinking water quality, human toxicity and ecotoxicity, especially as most pesti¬cides were applied illegally and not in compliance with the regulations regarding minimum distance to surface water. The biodiversity impact assessed by evaluating several indicators during field visits showed a clear improvement for arable land, permanent grassland and landscape structures (such as ditches and field boundaries). No differences were determined for the categories soil protection and landscape image due to specific site conditions and cropping system effects. The study confirmed the suitability of the LCA approach for com¬paring different farming systems. However, the results led to strong reactions from some experts and particularly farmers and their representatives