IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v122y2017icp227-250.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life cycle water inventory in concrete production—A review

Author

Listed:
  • Mack-Vergara, Yazmin L.
  • John, Vanderley M.

Abstract

High water consumption and wastewater generation in the concrete industry have become very important environmental issues; however, water inventory data for concrete production and its raw materials are limited and inconsistent. The water use for different components (aggregates and cement) and processes in concrete production cradle-to-gate were identified along with water inventory figures. A large dispersion was found. The aim of this paper is to review the various water inventory methodologies and understand their implications on the water inventory figures in concrete’s life cycle to understand the wide dispersion of the inventory data that was found in the literature. The implications of the various methodologies on water inventory figures were tested in a hypothetical concrete production scenario. Our case scenario shows that methodology can give results that differed by a factor of approximately 3–4. Available data on water consumption should be use very carefully by LCA practitioners and the industry decision makers. This study concludes that there is a need for unification of the water inventory methodologies in order to have data that is actually comparable. Understanding the water inventory methodologies will result in more detailed and clarified water inventory and consequently a more thorough impact assessment will be possible. The results are of interest to the research community as well as to the stakeholders of the cement and concrete industries who seek sustainability in their products.

Suggested Citation

  • Mack-Vergara, Yazmin L. & John, Vanderley M., 2017. "Life cycle water inventory in concrete production—A review," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 227-250.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:227-250
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.01.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344917300150
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.01.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qadir, M. & Sharma, B.R. & Bruggeman, A. & Choukr-Allah, R. & Karajeh, F., 2007. "Non-conventional water resources and opportunities for water augmentation to achieve food security in water scarce countries," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 2-22, January.
    2. Hu, Zhineng & Chen, Yazhen & Yao, Liming & Wei, Changting & Li, Chaozhi, 2016. "Optimal allocation of regional water resources: From a perspective of equity–efficiency tradeoff," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 102-113.
    3. González-Bravo, Ramón & Nápoles-Rivera, Fabricio & Ponce-Ortega, José María & El-Halwagi, Mahmoud M., 2015. "Involving integrated seawater desalination-power plants in the optimal design of water distribution networks," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA), pages 181-193.
    4. Ivan Amato, 2013. "Green cement: Concrete solutions," Nature, Nature, vol. 494(7437), pages 300-301, February.
    5. Henry, Michael & Kato, Yoshitaka, 2014. "Understanding the regional context of sustainable concrete in Asia: Case studies in Mongolia and Singapore," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 86-93.
    6. Hasanbeigi, Ali & Price, Lynn & Lin, Elina, 2012. "Emerging energy-efficiency and CO2 emission-reduction technologies for cement and concrete production: A technical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6220-6238.
    7. Chen, C. & Habert, G. & Bouzidi, Y. & Jullien, A. & Ventura, A., 2010. "LCA allocation procedure used as an incitative method for waste recycling: An application to mineral additions in concrete," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(12), pages 1231-1240.
    8. Hendrik G. van Oss & Amy C. Padovani, 2003. "Cement Manufacture and the Environment Part II: Environmental Challenges and Opportunities," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 7(1), pages 93-126, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elshkaki, Ayman, 2023. "The implications of material and energy efficiencies for the climate change mitigation potential of global energy transition scenarios," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Xuewei & Yuan, Zengwei & Xu, Yuan & Jiang, Songyan, 2017. "Greening cement in China: A cost-effective roadmap," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 233-244.
    2. Heidarpour, M. & Mostafazadeh-Fard, B. & Abedi Koupai, J. & Malekian, R., 2007. "The effects of treated wastewater on soil chemical properties using subsurface and surface irrigation methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 87-94, May.
    3. Saade, Marcella Ruschi Mendes & Silva, Maristela Gomes da & Gomes, Vanessa, 2015. "Appropriateness of environmental impact distribution methods to model blast furnace slag recycling in cement making," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 40-47.
    4. Sanna, Aimaro & Dri, Marco & Hall, Matthew R. & Maroto-Valer, Mercedes, 2012. "Waste materials for carbon capture and storage by mineralisation (CCSM) – A UK perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 545-554.
    5. Zvi Baum & Ruslana Rachel Palatnik & Iddo Kan & Mickey Rapaport-Rom, 2016. "Economic Impacts of Water Scarcity Under Diverse Water Salinities," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Lin, Boqiang, 2015. "An analysis of the driving forces of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in China’s industrial sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 838-849.
    7. Meredith Fowlie & Mar Reguant & Stephen P. Ryan, 2016. "Market-Based Emissions Regulation and Industry Dynamics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 249-302.
    8. Hache, Emmanuel & Simoën, Marine & Seck, Gondia Sokhna & Bonnet, Clément & Jabberi, Aymen & Carcanague, Samuel, 2020. "The impact of future power generation on cement demand: An international and regional assessment based on climate scenarios," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 114-133.
    9. Navia, R. & Rivela, B. & Lorber, K.E. & Méndez, R., 2006. "Recycling contaminated soil as alternative raw material in cement facilities: Life cycle assessment," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 339-356.
    10. Xiangzhao FENG & Oleg LUGOVOY & Sheng YAN & Hu QIN, 2016. "Co-Benefits of CO2 and NOx Emission Control in China’s Cement Industry," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(04), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Calzadilla, Alvaro & Rehdanz, Katrin & Tol, Richard S.J., 2008. "Water scarcity and the impact of improved irrigation management: A CGE analysis," Conference papers 331788, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    12. Shen, Xiaobo & Lin, Boqiang, 2017. "The shadow prices and demand elasticities of agricultural water in China: A StoNED-based analysis," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 21-28.
    13. Arianne Provost‐Savard & Guillaume Majeau‐Bettez, 2024. "Substitution modeling can coherently be used in attributional life cycle assessments," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(3), pages 410-425, June.
    14. Zijie Sang & Ge Zhang & Haiqing Wang & Wangyang Zhang & Yuxiu Chen & Mingyang Han & Ke Yang, 2023. "Effective Solutions to Ecological and Water Environment Problems in the Sanjiang Plain: Utilization of Farmland Drainage Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-14, November.
    15. Michele Fioretti, 2022. "Caring or Pretending to Care? Social Impact, Firms' Objectives, and Welfare (former title: Social Responsibility and Firm's Objectives)," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393065, HAL.
    16. Konstantin Pugin & Yakov Vaysman & Aleksandr Potapov & Dmitriy Oreshkin, 2015. "Development of the Technology of a Simultaneous Untilization of Heterogenous Industrial Wastes for a Construction Materials Production," Modern Applied Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(1), pages 1-51, January.
    17. Huang, Yun-Hsun & Chang, Yi-Lin & Fleiter, Tobias, 2016. "A critical analysis of energy efficiency improvement potentials in Taiwan's cement industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 14-26.
    18. Nasvi, M.C.M. & Ranjith, P.G. & Sanjayan, J., 2014. "Effect of different mix compositions on apparent carbon dioxide (CO2) permeability of geopolymer: Suitability as well cement for CO2 sequestration wells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 939-948.
    19. Alessandra Cantini & Leonardo Leoni & Filippo De Carlo & Marcello Salvio & Chiara Martini & Fabrizio Martini, 2021. "Technological Energy Efficiency Improvements in Cement Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, March.
    20. Allacker, K. & Mathieux, F. & Manfredi, S. & Pelletier, N. & De Camillis, C. & Ardente, F. & Pant, R., 2014. "Allocation solutions for secondary material production and end of life recovery: Proposals for product policy initiatives," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1-12.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:227-250. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.