IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i21p11804-d664827.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exergy-Based Life Cycle Assessment Model for Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Bridge: Principle and Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Mingjun Ma

    (School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    No. 3 Construction Corporation Limited of Chongqing Construction Engineering Group, Chongqing 401122, China)

  • Ziqiao Li

    (School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Kai Xue

    (School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Meng Liu

    (School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings, Ministry of Science and Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

Abstract

The construction of bridge is a complex process and involves diverse energy emission-intensive materials. The evaluation of environmental impacts on the basis of life cycle assessment (LCA) is a recognised technique to find the scope of impact mitigation and save resources. However, the studies on the LCA of bridges are rare and lack assessment on the impact of public transportation during bridge construction. The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated exergy-based LCA model for assessing the environmental sustainability of bridges by investigating their environmental impacts and exergy footprint. The proposed exergy-based LCA model consists of three principal assessment models, namely, the environmental impact of energy consumption, pollutant discharge, and resource consumption. The proposed model was then exemplified with a highway bridge as a case study. The results found that the environmental impact in the raw material production and processing stage was the largest, followed by the construction stage and the operation and maintenance stage at second and third place, respectively. The findings of this study can contribute to mitigating the environmental impacts of bridge construction, and the assessment approach can be adopted to guide the environmental impact evaluation for other types of civil constructions globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Mingjun Ma & Ziqiao Li & Kai Xue & Meng Liu, 2021. "Exergy-Based Life Cycle Assessment Model for Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Bridge: Principle and Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11804-:d:664827
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11804/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11804/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Szargut, Jan, 1989. "Chemical exergies of the elements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 269-286.
    2. Jindao Chen & Yuhong Wang & Qian Shi & Xu Peng & Juhuan Zheng, 2021. "An international comparison analysis of CO2 emissions in the construction industry," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 754-767, July.
    3. Onat, Nuri Cihat & Kucukvar, Murat, 2020. "Carbon footprint of construction industry: A global review and supply chain analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    4. Ayres, Robert U. & Ayres, Leslie W. & Martinás, Katalin, 1998. "Exergy, waste accounting, and life-cycle analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 355-363.
    5. Zhang, Yang & Yan, Da & Hu, Shan & Guo, Siyue, 2019. "Modelling of energy consumption and carbon emission from the building construction sector in China, a process-based LCA approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    6. Sakdirat Kaewunruen & Jessada Sresakoolchai & Zhihao Zhou, 2020. "Sustainability-Based Lifecycle Management for Bridge Infrastructure Using 6D BIM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, March.
    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. Ahmad Jrade & Farnaz Jalaei & Jieying Jane Zhang & Saeed Jalilzadeh Eirdmousa & Farzad Jalaei, 2023. "Potential Integration of Bridge Information Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment/Life Cycle Costing Tools for Infrastructure Projects within Construction 4.0: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-25, October.
    2. Mingjun Ma & Meng Liu & Ziqiao Li, 2023. "Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Vehicle Emissions Due to Traffic Diversion Plans for Road Infrastructure Construction Projects: A Case Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.

    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. Chen, B. & Chen, G.Q., 2007. "Modified ecological footprint accounting and analysis based on embodied exergy--a case study of the Chinese society 1981-2001," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 355-376, March.
    2. Hao, Xiaoqing & An, Haizhong & Qi, Hai & Gao, Xiangyun, 2016. "Evolution of the exergy flow network embodied in the global fossil energy trade: Based on complex network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1515-1522.
    3. Chen, G.Q. & Qi, Z.H., 2007. "Systems account of societal exergy utilization: China 2003," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 208(2), pages 102-118.
    4. Fang, Zigeng & Yan, Jiayi & Lu, Qiuchen & Chen, Long & Yang, Pu & Tang, Junqing & Jiang, Feng & Broyd, Tim & Hong, Jingke, 2023. "A systematic literature review of carbon footprint decision-making approaches for infrastructure and building projects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    5. Chen, B. & Chen, G.Q., 2006. "Exergy analysis for resource conversion of the Chinese Society 1993 under the material product system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 1115-1150.
    6. Jamali-Zghal, N. & Lacarrière, B. & Le Corre, O., 2015. "Metallurgical recycling processes: Sustainability ratios and environmental performance assessment," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 66-75.
    7. Chen, G.Q. & Chen, B., 2007. "Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy--Part 1: Fossil fuels and energy minerals," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2038-2050, April.
    8. Olusegun David Samuel & Peter A. Aigba & Thien Khanh Tran & H. Fayaz & Carlo Pastore & Oguzhan Der & Ali Erçetin & Christopher C. Enweremadu & Ahmad Mustafa, 2023. "Comparison of the Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Hydrodynamic Cavitation and Mechanical Stirring Reactors for the Production of Sustainable Hevea brasiliensis Ethyl Ester," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-27, November.
    9. Stanek, Wojciech & Czarnowska, Lucyna, 2018. "Thermo-ecological cost – Szargut's proposal on exergy and ecology connection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 1050-1059.
    10. Peralta-Ruiz, Y. & González-Delgado, A.-D. & Kafarov, V., 2013. "Evaluation of alternatives for microalgae oil extraction based on exergy analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-236.
    11. Agnieszka Leśniak & Monika Górka & Izabela Skrzypczak, 2021. "Barriers to BIM Implementation in Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Projects—The Polish Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, April.
    12. Yanyan Ke & Lu Zhou & Minglei Zhu & Yan Yang & Rui Fan & Xianrui Ma, 2023. "Scenario Prediction of Carbon Emission Peak of Urban Residential Buildings in China’s Coastal Region: A Case of Fujian Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Khalili-Garakani, Amirhossein & Ivakpour, Javad & Kasiri, Norollah, 2016. "Evolutionary synthesis of optimum light ends recovery unit with exergy analysis application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 507-522.
    14. Maryam Ghodrat & Bijan Samali & Muhammad Akbar Rhamdhani & Geoffrey Brooks, 2019. "Thermodynamic-Based Exergy Analysis of Precious Metal Recovery out of Waste Printed Circuit Board through Black Copper Smelting Process," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, April.
    15. Jianmin You & Xiqiang Chen & Jindao Chen, 2021. "Decomposition of Industrial Electricity Efficiency and Electricity-Saving Potential of Special Economic Zones in China Considering the Heterogeneity of Administrative Hierarchy and Regional Location," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, September.
    16. Xuejing Zheng & Boxiao Xu & Shijun You & Huan Zhang & Yaran Wang & Leizhai Sun, 2020. "Energy Consumption and CO 2 Emissions of Coach Stations in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    17. Dincer, Ibrahim & Rosen, Marc A., 2005. "Thermodynamic aspects of renewables and sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, April.
    18. Asma Majeed & Syeda Adila Batool & Muhammad Nawaz Chaudhry, 2018. "Environmental Quantification of the Existing Waste Management System in a Developing World Municipality Using EaseTech: The Case of Bahawalpur, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, July.
    19. Nguyen, Tuong-Van & Fülöp, Tamás Gábor & Breuhaus, Peter & Elmegaard, Brian, 2014. "Life performance of oil and gas platforms: Site integration and thermodynamic evaluation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 282-301.
    20. Kalina Grzesiuk & Dorota Jegorow & Monika Wawer & Anna Głowacz, 2023. "Energy-Efficient City Transportation Solutions in the Context of Energy-Conserving and Mobility Behaviours of Generation Z," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-28, August.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11804-:d:664827. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.