LCA Recycled Concrete

Abstract

As the world population grows and the demand for construction increases, the consumption of concrete is always on the rise. In this thesis, two recycling methods were analysed, the traditional one and the one with carbonization. Both the methodology and the environmental impact of the different steps of the two recycling technologies were analysed. In addition, the environmental impact of the two concrete mix designs using the two different technologies and their physical properties were analysed too.

These reveal that Neustark and Zirkulit, which use cabonization, have a lower impact than the traditional recycling method, which is only crushing. An important factor is transport, which greatly influences the effectiveness of carbonisation. In fact, if there are too many emissions due to the transport of liquefied CO2, the effects provided by this process are cancelled out. Looking at the emissions of the two mixes, the component that weighs most heavily on the balance sheet is cement.

One can draw the conclusion that using these methods can reduce CO2 emissions and conserve natural resources, which are limited. It must be emphasised, however, that these alone do not eliminate the problem of CO2 emissions, but in combination with other methods they can be effective.