Comparative environmental evaluation of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes in Italy

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 798; p. 149250
• Main Authors: Colangelo, Francesco, Petrillo, Antonella, Farina, Ilenia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-12-2021
• Subjects: C&DW; LCA; Natural aggregate; Recycled aggregate; SDGs; C&D; RCA; Recycled aggregate; C&DW; LCA; SDGs; Natural aggregate; LCC
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149250

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns requires urgent actions to combat climate change and its impacts as established by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, this study demonstrates the feasibility to produce structural concrete using recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste in Italy. More specifically, the present research aims to analyze the environmental impacts caused by five mixtures of concrete, with similar mechanical properties and workability, but with a different amount of recycled coarse aggregate and natural coarse aggregate (0% - 30% - 50% - 70% - 100%). Fixed plant and a mobile plant treatments are investigated as two different modes of production of recycled aggregates. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is applied to achieve this goal. The main results demonstrate that mixtures formed by recycled coarse aggregates have a better environmental impacts than the only one formed exclusively by natural coarse aggregates and results improve when the amount of recycled coarse aggregate is higher.
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•Environmental evaluation of recycled aggregates from C&DW in Italy.•From an environmental point of view, it is preferable to use recycled aggregates.•CRCA100 mixture has a lower mechanical performance than the others.•CRCA30, CRCA50, CRCA70 mixtures are certainly more performing.•Further efforts are necessary to quantify the effect of transportation distances.