Interpreting Life Cycle Assessment results of bio-asphalt pavements for more informed decision-making

Abstract

Due to emerging climate challenges, engineers are looking to replace the conventional asphalt pavements by utilizing bio-materials combined with Reclaimed Asphalt (RA). However, there is insufficient record in the literature assessing their environmental performance. This study addresses the analysis of the results obtained from a life cycle assessment exercise of asphalt pavements containing bio-materials and RA within their binder courses, developed within the BioRePavation project. The aim is to analyze the environmental benefits achieved, by means of hotspot mapping and sensitivity analysis of the most impactful factors of their lifecycles. Two alternatives are compared to a conventional asphalt pavement and recommendations on how to improve the current practices are provided. Results rank the raw material acquisition and replacement as the most impactful stages, while through sensitivity analysis, linear relationships between the impact category indicator values and the RA% used, are detected.