LAPSE:2020.1046
Published Article
LAPSE:2020.1046
Is Recycling Always the Best Option? Environmental Assessment of Recycling of Seashell as Aggregates in Noise Barriers
Begoña Peceño, Carlos Leiva, Bernabé Alonso-Fariñas, Alejandro Gallego-Schmid
October 26, 2020
Waste recycling is an essential part of waste management. The concrete industry allows the use of large quantities of waste as a substitute for a conventional raw material without sacrificing the technical properties of the product. From a circular economy point of view, this is an excellent opportunity for waste recycling. Nevertheless, in some cases, the recycling process can be undesirable because it does not involve a net saving in resource consumption or other environmental impacts when compared to the conventional production process. In this study, the environmental performance of conventional absorption porous barriers, composed of 86 wt % of natural aggregates and 14 wt % cement, was compared with barriers composed of 80 wt % seashell waste and 20 wt % cement through an attributional cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment. The results show that, for the 11 environmental impact categories considered, the substitution of the natural aggregates with seashell waste involves higher environmental impacts, between 32% and 267%. These results are justified by the high contribution to these impacts of the seashell waste pre-treatment and the higher cement consumption. Therefore, the recycling of seashells in noise barrier manufacturing is not justified from an environmental standpoint with the current conditions. In this sense, it could be concluded that life cycle assessments should be carried out simultaneously with the technical development of the recycling process to ensure a sustainable solution.
Keywords
circular economy, construction, environmental sustainability, life cycle assessment, mollusk shell, porous concrete
Suggested Citation
Peceño B, Leiva C, Alonso-Fariñas B, Gallego-Schmid A. Is Recycling Always the Best Option? Environmental Assessment of Recycling of Seashell as Aggregates in Noise Barriers. (2020). LAPSE:2020.1046
Author Affiliations
Peceño B: Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Escuela de Prevención de Riesgos y Medioambiente, Universidad Católica del Norte, Larrondo 1281, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile [ORCID]
Leiva C: Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
Alonso-Fariñas B: Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain [ORCID]
Gallego-Schmid A: Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, Pariser Building, Sackville Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
7
Article Number
E776
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-07-02
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
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PII: pr8070776, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2020.1046
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doi:10.3390/pr8070776
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Oct 26, 2020
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Oct 26, 2020
 
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Calvin Tsay
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