DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2004.04.154
Goal, Scope and Background. Due to the limited spatial possibilities for the extraction of coarse sand available from land sources, and the abundant availability of finer sands in land and marine sources, the Dutch government aims to allow for the use of finer sand used in the Netherlands. The application of finer sand in concrete requires adaptations in the concrete composition (additional cement, additional superplasticiser, or other aggregates) to maintain workability. In order to examine if these adaptations result in shifts from (the expected) land use effects to other environmental effects, an LCA of finer sand in concrete was carried out.
Methods. Besides the common CML-method, an experimental characterisation method for land use, was applied.
Results and Discussion, Conclusion. The results show that the application of finer sand indeed results in lower land use effects. Compositions with additional cement and other aggregates result in somewhat higher scores on the usual CML impact categories. Compositions with extra superplasticiser result in roughly similar environmental effects as the current compositions.
Recommendation and Perspective. The conclusions were used to formulate recommendations for the national policy on fine sand in concrete. Due to a change in priorities, it is not sure if and which organisation will use the conclusions. |
