Proposal of Environmental Impact Assessment Method for Concrete in South Korea: An Application in LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

Tae Hyoung Kim and Sung Ho Tae
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Tae Hyoung Kim: Building and Urban Research Institute, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Daehwa-dong 283, Goyandae-Ro, ILsanseo-Gu, Goyang-Si 10223, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea
Sung Ho Tae: School of Architecture & Architectural Engineering, Hanyang University, 1271 Sa 3-dong, Sangrok-Gu, Ansan-Si 15588, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), abiotic depletion (ADP), ozone depletion (ODP), and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP), using the life a cycle assessment (LCA) method. To achieve this, this study proposed an LCA method specifically applicable to the Korean concrete industry by adapting the ISO standards to suit the Korean situations. The proposed LCA method involves a system that performs environmental impact assessment on the basis of input information on concrete mix design, transport distance, and energy consumption in a batch plant. The Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System (CLAS) thus developed provides user-friendly support for environmental impact assessment with specialized database for concrete mix materials and energy sources. In the case analysis using the CLAS, among the substances discharged from the production of 24 MPa concrete, those contributing to GWP, AP, EP, ADP, ODP, and POCP were assessed to amount to 309 kg-CO 2 eq/m 3 , 28.7 kg-SO 2 eq/m 3 , 5.21 kg-PO 4 3? eq/m 3 , 0.000049 kg-CFC 11 eq/m 3 , 34 kg/m 3 , and 21 kg-Ethylene eq/m 3 , respectively. Of these six environmental impact categories selected for the LCA in this study, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was found to contribute most intensely to GWP and POCP, and aggregates, to AP, EP, ODP, and ADP. It was also found that the mix design with increased prop proportion of recycled aggregate was found to contribute to reducing the impact in all other categories.

Keywords: concrete; life cycle assessment; environmental impact; South Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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