Sustainability Assessment of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

This thesis presents a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of concrete produced with recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) derived from construction and demolition waste. The aim of the study is to evaluate both the mechanical performance and the environmental impacts of replacing natural aggregates with RCA in concrete designed for low to medium strength applications, with particular attention to potential uses in road construction. The experimental program involved the physical and chemical characterization of different RCA fractions. Standard laboratory tests were carried out on each fraction, and concrete mixes were prepared at laboratory scale. Cubes of 150 × 150 × 150 mm were cast and tested at 28 days following established procedures to assess their mechanical properties. The LCA was conducted in line with ISO 14040/44 standards, using Ecoinvent datasets supplemented with laboratory-generated data. The functional unit was defined as 1 m³ of concrete produced and tested under laboratory conditions. Key environmental indicators included global warming potential, energy consumption, and resource depletion. Data processing and analysis were performed using the KNIME platform. The results indicate that RCA concretes can satisfy the requirements for the target applications while also reducing environmental impacts compared to natural aggregate concretes.