Life Cycle Assessment: Analysis of the Contribution of Partial Portland Cement Replacement with RCCCV in Reducing GHG Emissions

ABSTRACT Several studies have focused on alternative cementitious materials to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The aim of this study was to analyze the contribution of the partial substitution of Portland cement by red ceramic construction waste (RCCW) in the reduction of GHGs, through the life cycle assessment (LCA). The impacts were analyzed by varying the levels of substitution of cement by RCCW at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40% and compressive strengths of 30 (C30) and 45 (C45) MPa. The system boundary adopted was "cradle to gate," and the inventory data were processed in OpenLCA 1.10.3 software and Ecoinvent 3.7.1 database, using the "CML-IA baseline" method with midpoint approach, for the global warming potential and ozone depletion categories, and the "cumulative energy demand" method for calculating embodied energy. The results showed a 26% reduction in environmental impacts in all categories analyzed with an increasing substitution content and, the variation was of approximately 3% between the C30 and C45 concretes with 40% substitution. The manufacturing of raw materials and transportation (processes analyzed together) showed a greater influence on GHG emissions.