Environmental and Economic Life Cycle Assessment of Recycled Aggregates Concrete in the United Arab Emirates

This paper studies the potential environmental and economic impact of replacing natural aggregates (NA) with recycled aggregates (RA) in the production of different sustainable concrete mixes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out according to the methodology proposed by the international standards of the series ISO 14040. The performance of concrete mixes having a similar design compressive strength was evaluated. Results showed that the inclusion of steel fibers (SF) led to an increase in the global warming potential (GWP), whereas mixes with cement replacement by fly ash, slag, or microsilica recorded a reduction in GWP. Furthermore, SF-reinforced mixes created with 100% RA were at least three times more expensive than the NA-based control mix, while the cost of those with cement replacement by mineral additives was generally similar to that of the control. Material transportation was found to be a main contributor to the environmental and economic impacts, only second to cement, and its contribution increased with longer distances and steel fiber incorporation and decreased with RA replacement. To integrate these individual measures and select optimum mixes for various applications, multifunctional performance indices were developed. Research findings highlight the possibility to fully replace NA with RA (100%) while maintaining the performance and improving the economic and environmental impacts of concrete produced in the UAE.

Automated summary

The study explores the environmental and economic impact of using recycled aggregates instead of natural aggregates in producing various sustainable concrete mixes in UAE. It found that including steel fibers in the mix can increase global warming potential (GWP), while replacing cement with fly ash, slag, or microsilica can reduce GWP. Material transportation was identified as a major contributor to both environmental and economic impacts.