Estimating the Carbon Emission of Construction Waste Recycling Using Grey Model and Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study of Shanghai

Ting Wang, Yang Yang, Dong Wu

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Great efforts have been exerted in reducing carbon emissions in design, construction and operation stages. However, little attention is paid to the quantification of carbon emissions in construction waste recycling at the end-of-life stage. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the carbon emission of construction waste in Shanghai City, PR China. A grey model is used to forecast the generation amount of construction waste, and a life cycle assessment is performed to estimate the carbon emission of construction waste. In this study, both the carbon emission of recycling activities (environmental costs), and the equivalent amount of carbon generated from alternative materials (environmental benefit) are considered. Here, recycling 1 ton (t) of construction waste in Shanghai can save 100.4 kg CO 2−e. The total carbon-emission-saving potential can be increased from 0.31 million t CO 2−e (2022) to 0.35 million t CO 2−e (2031). The carbon emission of recycling concrete, brick, steel, wood and mortar, identified as the key components of construction waste, is investigated. This research can help to reduce carbon emissions and further achieve carbon neutrality for Shanghai City. The proposed methods can also be applied to other regions, especially when the data for construction waste are insufficient.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8507
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume19
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2022

Keywords

  • China
  • construction waste management
  • emission abatement
  • generation amount
  • resource recycling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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