Environmental and economic impacts of combining backfill materials for novel circular narrow trenches
Josa, Irene (University College London. Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering)
Petit-Boix, Anna (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Casanovas-Rubio, M. M. (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Gestió)
Pujadas Álvarez, Pablo (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria de Projectes i de la Construcció)
Fuente Antequera, Albert de la (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria Civil i Ambiental)

Data:	2023
Resum:	Over the last few years, several policies and new technological solutions have targeted the construction sector with the aim of reducing the sector's impacts on the environment. Among the different technological advances proposed, the reuse of materials in construction has been reported as a promising solution for an increase in sustainability and circularity. In particular, a type of cities' undergrounds assets for which materials' reuse is being explored are trenches for protecting services (i. e. , water and gas transport pipelines, and optic fibre and other telecommunications services). Nonetheless, the economic and environmental benefits and impact of this type of system is still insufficiently quantified. In this research study, the economic and environmental impacts of four scenarios of trenches were assessed by using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The four alternatives analysed consisted of: (1) the classical solution; (2) the classical solution with the reuse of soil; (3) thecontrol low-strength material, and (4) the eco-trench. The results allowed concluding that in the eco-trench system, for which all material is reused, the environmental and economic impacts could be reduced by more than 80% and 50%, respectively. A parametric study for which the dimensions of the trenches were varied, permitted to reinforce these results and to quantify the impact's change along with the width and depth of the trench. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive view of the high-impact potential of reusing material for the construction of trenches in cities. The outcomes allow also remarking that the eco-trench system could be an attractive and advantageous solution for urban infrastructure stakeholders, both from an economic and environmental perspective.
Ajuts:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00734 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00341
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Trench ; Pipe ; LCA ; LCC ; Circular economy
Publicat a:	Journal of environmental management, Vol. 341 (September 2023) , art. 118020, ISSN 1095-8630

DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118020

11 p, 7.3 MB

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Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Sostenibilitat i Prevenció Ambiental (Sostenipra)
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