Life Cycle Assessment for adopting recycled aggregates in concrete

It is well documented that concrete has a significant impact on the environment. When cement, aggregate, and raw materials are transported to the concrete manufacturing plant for processing to produce concrete, 16 harmful substances are generated and released into the atmosphere, resulting in air, water, and soil pollution. The extent of environmental problems caused by concrete and the extent to which environmental problems can be alleviated through recycling can be assessed by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. By using life cycle assessment technology, this chapter establishes the calculation method for the environmental impact assessment of the stages of raw material production, transportation, preparation, use, demolition, and waste of recycled concrete. The results show that the impact of the whole life cycle of recycled concrete on the environment decreases with the replacement of conventional raw materials by recycled coarse and fine aggregate and powder. Compared with ordinary concrete, recycled concrete has better environmental value in energy conservation and emission reduction in the whole life cycle.