Life Cycle GHG Assessment of Mixed Construction and Demolition Waste Treatment for End of Life Recovery Facility Design: A Sydney, Australia Case Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahli Moore ◽  
Hao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Industrial Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
New South ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sydney Australia

Abstract Historically in Australia, mixed Construction and Demolition waste, and Commercial and Industrial waste has been traditionally landfilled. As environmental impacts of landfilling is becoming more evident New South Wales policy makers and innovators have begun exploring an incineration strategy to use such waste to generate electricity. The objective of this study is to utilise life cycle assessment to evaluate GHG emissions from this waste treatment strategy and the environmental impact of a case study facility, in Sydney Australia. The system boundary includes the thermal treatment of waste through incineration, the electricity generation from the steam turbine and air pollution control processes involved within. The functional unit is based on 1 tonne of input mixed Construction and Demolition waste and Commercial and Industrial waste. GHG emissions are calculated and the result shows that the facility generates 0.994 MWh/tonne waste and 1.16 tCO2e/MWh electricity. This emission is lower than a brown coal fired powerplant emission factor 1.31 tCO2e/MWh. The results from this study assists understanding and policy making for the future of Energy-from-Waste as part of the generation mix in New South Wales, Australia.

scholarly journals From Buildings’ End of Life to Aggregate Recycling under a Circular Economic Perspective: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9625
Author(s):  
Ambroise Lachat ◽  
Konstantinos Mantalovas ◽  
Tiffany Desbois ◽  
Oumaya Yazoghli-Marzouk ◽  
Anne-Sophie Colas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Demolition Waste

The demolition of buildings, apart from being energy intensive and disruptive, inevitably produces construction and demolition waste (C&Dw). Unfortunately, even today, the majority of this waste ends up underexploited and not considered as valuable resources to be re-circulated into a closed/open loop process under the umbrella of circular economy (CE). Considering the amount of virgin aggregates needed in civil engineering applications, C&Dw can act as sustainable catalyst towards the preservation of natural resources and the shift towards a CE. This study completes current research by presenting a life cycle inventory compilation and life cycle assessment case study of two buildings in France. The quantification of the end-of-life environmental impacts of the two buildings and subsequently the environmental impacts of recycled aggregates production from C&Dw was realized using the framework of life cycle assessment (LCA). The results indicate that the transport of waste, its treatment, and especially asbestos’ treatment are the most impactful phases. For example, in the case study of the first building, transport and treatment of waste reached 35% of the total impact for global warming. Careful, proactive, and strategic treatment, geolocation, and transport planning is recommended for the involved stakeholders and decision makers in order to ensure minimal sustainability implications during the implementation of CE approaches for C&Dw.

Environmental and economic advantages of adopting reverse logistics for recycling construction and demolition waste: A case study of Brazilian construction and recycling companies

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldo C Oliveira Neto ◽  
José MF Correia
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Reverse Logistics ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Solid Waste Treatment

The aim of this study was to assess the economic and environmental advantages of implementing reverse logistics to recycle solid waste from construction companies. The adopted research method was based on a systematic literature review and two case studies. For the economic assessment, the return on investment, the internal rate of return, and the discounted payback factors were considered, while the material intensity factor was used for the environmental impact assessment. This study shows that there are economic and environmental advantages associated with the use of reverse logistics for solid waste treatment and recycling. In 2016, the purchase of recycled blocks resulted in a profit of over US$45,000 for one company, and another company earned almost US$250,000 in the same year by recycling solid waste from manufacturing blocks and selling iron, wood, paper, and plastics. Furthermore, the environmental impact was reduced. This paper contributes to the dissemination of knowledge regarding the advantages of adopting reverse logistics for recycling construction and demolition waste, and creates new opportunities for companies.

Improving construction and demolition waste collection service in an urban area using a simheuristic approach: A case study in Sydney, Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 280 ◽  
pp. 124138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maziar Yazdani ◽  
Kamyar Kabirifar ◽  
Boadu Elijah Frimpong ◽  
Mahdi Shariati ◽  
Mirpouya Mirmozaffari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Waste Collection ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Sydney Australia

A life cycle assessment approach to quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change for beef production in eastern Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley K. Henry ◽  
D. Butler ◽  
S. G. Wiedemann
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
New South ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Direct Land Use Change

In life cycle assessment studies, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from direct land-use change have been estimated to make a significant contribution to the global warming potential of agricultural products. However, these estimates have a high uncertainty due to the complexity of data requirements and difficulty in attribution of land-use change. This paper presents estimates of GHG emissions from direct land-use change from native woodland to grazing land for two beef production regions in eastern Australia, which were the subject of a multi-impact life cycle assessment study for premium beef production. Spatially- and temporally consistent datasets were derived for areas of forest cover and biomass carbon stocks using published remotely sensed tree-cover data and regionally applicable allometric equations consistent with Australia’s national GHG inventory report. Standard life cycle assessment methodology was used to estimate GHG emissions and removals from direct land-use change attributed to beef production. For the northern-central New South Wales region of Australia estimates ranged from a net emission of 0.03 t CO2-e ha–1 year–1 to net removal of 0.12 t CO2-e ha–1 year–1 using low and high scenarios, respectively, for sequestration in regrowing forests. For the same period (1990–2010), the study region in southern-central Queensland was estimated to have net emissions from land-use change in the range of 0.45–0.25 t CO2-e ha–1 year–1. The difference between regions reflects continuation of higher rates of deforestation in Queensland until strict regulation in 2006 whereas native vegetation protection laws were introduced earlier in New South Wales. On the basis of liveweight produced at the farm-gate, emissions from direct land-use change for 1990–2010 were comparable in magnitude to those from other on-farm sources, which were dominated by enteric methane. However, calculation of land-use change impacts for the Queensland region for a period starting 2006, gave a range from net emissions of 0.11 t CO2-e ha–1 year–1 to net removals of 0.07 t CO2-e ha–1 year–1. This study demonstrated a method for deriving spatially- and temporally consistent datasets to improve estimates for direct land-use change impacts in life cycle assessment. It identified areas of uncertainty, including rates of sequestration in woody regrowth and impacts of land-use change on soil carbon stocks in grazed woodlands, but also showed the potential for direct land-use change to represent a net sink for GHG.

Analysis of incombustibles in the feedstock to incineration facilities in South Korea for optimum sorting and management

2020 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2096710
Author(s):  
Kyuyeon Kim ◽  
Suyoung Lee ◽  
Wonseok Yang ◽  
Gyunggoo Choi ◽  
Wonseok Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Waste Incineration ◽  
Proximate Analysis ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Institutional Management ◽  
Treatment Facilities ◽  
To Receive

Korea’s Ministry of Environment has implemented the Framework Act on Resource Recirculation to activate waste resource recovery. However, industrial waste treatment facilities have some problems related to diversity of waste received for proper management of wastes. Waste incineration facilities are required to receive and process combustible waste and are forbidden to re-consign waste to other waste treatment facilities without any processing. In reality, a large amount of incombustibles is injected into the incinerator because it is impossible to completely separate the incombustible materials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop additional management criteria for optimal operation of the incineration facility. This study was conducted to improve institutional management of incineration facilities in Korea. Through a literature review and statistics study, incombustible waste management trends were investigated. The characteristics of waste entering incineration facilities were surveyed. Physical composition and proximate analysis of incoming waste were conducted, and properties of the incombustibles mixed in feedstocks to waste incineration facilities were examined. As a result of this study, incombustibles mainly consisting of the construction and demolition waste, such as soil, glass, and metals, should be separated from feed sent to incinerators. A mechanical screening technique that sorts particles of 30–40 mm in size can be used to separate the incombustibles. Also, management criteria could be proposed to sort and re-consign the incombustibles.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF REFURBISHMENT VERSUS DEMOLITION AND RECONSTRUCTION: A COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF AN ITALIAN CASE STUDY

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Francesco Pittau ◽  
Dayana Giacomel ◽  
Giuliana Iannaccone ◽  
Laura Malighetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Italian Case

ABSTRACT In the building sector, new standards for energy efficiency are reducing the energy consumption and the carbon emissions for building operation to nearly zero. As a result, the greenhouse gas emissions and related environmental impacts from materials production, and especially insulation, are becoming key factors. In the near future, most of the building stock is expected to be refurbished and a great amount of construction materials will be consequently required. A relevant share of waste is generated from building construction and demolition and limiting the volume is a priority of the EU community. In this work the renovation of industrial buildings in a dismissed area located in Lecco, Italy, was considered as a case study. Five alternative construction systems (EPS, WOOD, ROCK, PU, HEMP) for renovating the building envelopes were assumed, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) adopted in order to measure the environmental impact of each alternative. The results were compared with a scenario which included demolition and reconstruction of a similar building with the same net volume and thermal resistance. The results showed that timber and concrete are the most environmentally friendly materials to rebuild the structures in case of demolition, contrary to steel which leads generally to higher environmental impacts, except land use. In general, EPS, WOOD and HEMP technological alternatives accounted for the highest scores, both in terms of burdens on the ecosystems and on depletion of resources, while ROCK accounted for the lowest scores. Finally, refurbishment scenarios generally accounted for a lower global warming potential (GWP) even if demolition, waste treatment and the benefit from recycling/reuse are taken into account.

scholarly journals Environmental and Economic Life Cycle Assessment of Recycled Coarse Aggregates: A Portuguese Case Study

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5452
Author(s):  
Adriana B. Dias ◽  
João N. Pacheco ◽  
José D. Silvestre ◽  
Isabel M. Martins ◽  
Jorge de Brito
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Coarse Aggregates ◽  
Natural Aggregates ◽  
Ready Mix Concrete

The incorporation of recycled aggregates in concrete not only reduces the extraction of natural resources, but also decreases landfill disposal of construction and demolition waste. Hence, environmental impacts and costs are reduced, promoting the use of recycled aggregates and circular economy. However, the impacts of transport depend on the distance between facilities and longer distances may result in recycled aggregates being more costly and having larger environmental impact than natural aggregates. This paper discusses this topic, presents a review on the use of life cycle assessment methodology on natural and recycled aggregates for concrete, and applies this methodology in a real context pertaining the procurement of coarse aggregates to ready-mix concrete plants. A case study of two Portuguese regions, Coimbra and Lisbon, is presented. For each region, a quarry, a construction and demolition waste plant, and a ready-mix concrete plant are chosen and a comparative life cycle assessment is made. Different scenarios for the supply of natural and recycled aggregates are studied and the scenarios for recycled aggregates procurement include different hypotheses for the installation (construction and demolition waste plant or quarry) processing the construction and demolition waste into recycled aggregates. For this case study and both regions, it was found that the supply of recycled aggregates produced at the construction and demolition waste plant has lower environmental impact and cost than all other scenarios, including the provision of natural aggregates, except when it is assumed that the quarry is licensed and equipped for receiving unsorted construction and demolition waste and processing it into recycled aggregates. The paper shows that transport distance is a determining factor in the comparison of the impacts of the procurement of natural and recycled aggregates. Moreover, in the Portuguese context, the environmental impacts of the procurement of recycled aggregates may be smaller than those of natural aggregates, but cost may be larger for recycled aggregates, preventing that the most sustainable option is chosen.

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