Scholarlink

<p>Concrete waste recycling is increasingly recognized as a strategy for reducing the environmental burdens associated with end-of-life construction materials, landfilling, and virgin material extraction. Within the transition to a circular economy, recycled concrete aggregate has gained growing attention as a secondary aggregate resource for concrete production. However, before recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) can be widely promoted as an environmentally preferable alternative, its environmental performance must be evaluated through rigorous, transparent, and standardized life cycle assessments (LCAs). This paper presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review of 37 RAC LCA studies and conducts an ISO-informed methodological audit across the four phases of the ISO 14040/44 framework. The review identifies recurring limitations: 82% of system boundary instances were limited to cradle-to-gate, constraining full life cycle evaluation; 50% of functional unit instances adopted a volumetric unit of 1&#xa0;m³ of concrete, which may not fully capture functional equivalence; and 65% of studies did not report how allocation and multifunctionality were handled, limiting transparency and reproducibility. Additional gaps were observed in inventory data representativeness, impact assessment method reporting and justification, interpretation practices, and data quality analysis. By linking identified limitations to ISO-aligned recommendations, this review provides practical guidance for improving the robustness, transparency, comparability, and credibility of future RAC LCA studies and circularity claims.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

An ISO-Informed Methodological Audit of Life Cycle Assessment Practices in Recycled Aggregate Concrete

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月13日

查看全文
  • Namila Hewage,
  • Yulin Patrisia,
  • Chamila Gunasekara,
  • David W. Law,
  • Sujeeva Setunge

摘要

Concrete waste recycling is increasingly recognized as a strategy for reducing the environmental burdens associated with end-of-life construction materials, landfilling, and virgin material extraction. Within the transition to a circular economy, recycled concrete aggregate has gained growing attention as a secondary aggregate resource for concrete production. However, before recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) can be widely promoted as an environmentally preferable alternative, its environmental performance must be evaluated through rigorous, transparent, and standardized life cycle assessments (LCAs). This paper presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review of 37 RAC LCA studies and conducts an ISO-informed methodological audit across the four phases of the ISO 14040/44 framework. The review identifies recurring limitations: 82% of system boundary instances were limited to cradle-to-gate, constraining full life cycle evaluation; 50% of functional unit instances adopted a volumetric unit of 1 m³ of concrete, which may not fully capture functional equivalence; and 65% of studies did not report how allocation and multifunctionality were handled, limiting transparency and reproducibility. Additional gaps were observed in inventory data representativeness, impact assessment method reporting and justification, interpretation practices, and data quality analysis. By linking identified limitations to ISO-aligned recommendations, this review provides practical guidance for improving the robustness, transparency, comparability, and credibility of future RAC LCA studies and circularity claims.