Life cycle assessment on using recycled materials for rehabilitating asphalt pavements

Chui-Te Chiu, Tseng-Hsing Hsu and Wan-Fa Yang

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2008, vol. 52, issue 3, 545-556

Abstract: This research performed life cycle inventory using proposed recycled material formulas and service records and incorporating the database provided by Eco-indicator 99 in order to study the eco-burden presented by using recycled materials to rehabilitate asphalt pavements. Three recycled materials (recycled hot mix asphalt, asphalt rubber, and Glassphalt) and the traditional hot-mixed asphalt are compared. Assuming that the thickness of the asphalt is 5cm and the service life is 6 years, the eco-burden presented by the traditional hot-mixed asphalt is 3.45kPt. per lane-kilometer. Using recycled hot mixed asphalt can reduce the eco-burden by 23% under the same conditions. Using asphalt rubber increases the eco-burden by 16%, while the eco-burden remains essentially the same (reduced by less than 1%) using Glassphalt. Taking into account the difference in service life between different materials, this research also uses a 40-year time span to evaluate the eco-burden for each material. The results show that the traditional hot mixed asphalt has an eco-burden of 23.03kPt. for that time span. Both recycled hot mixed asphalt and asphalt rubber can reduce the eco-burden by 23% in the same period. On the contrary, Glassphalt increases the eco-burden by 19%. This research also identified the sources of the eco-burden for these asphalts. The results show that a large percentage of the eco-burden comes from two sources, the asphalt binder used (39–48%) and the heat sources required to process these paving materials (42–50%). This suggests that the most effective way to lower the eco-burden may be to reduce the heat requirement during the manufacturing process.

Keywords: Asphalt rubber; Recycled hot mix asphalt; Glassphalt; Life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:52:y:2008:i:3:p:545-556

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2007.07.001

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