ABSTRACT
Mass production of fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials in the last decades resulted in increased amounts of accompanying excess materials from manufacturing lines and end-of-life products. The negative environmental impact of disposal in landfills or incineration necessitates the development of scalable reuse applications for these highly durable materials. In a series of studies, the authors investigated the reuse of excess carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) from the aerospace industry in pervious concrete (PC). By a mechanical refining, CFRP scrap pieces were processed into fibrous elements and used as a discrete reinforcement in PC. Results indicated that reinforced PC (rPC) demonstrated comparable or enhanced hydraulic, mechanical, and durability performance compared to a plain PC. This study extends previous efforts by evaluating the environmental footprint of rPC versus plain PC pavement using life cycle assessment (LCA). The chosen scope of LCA was cradle-to-site, assuming that the construction, use, maintenance, and end-of-life phases would produce comparable impacts for both options. PC pavement thickness was determined per a mechanistic design procedure, using mechanical properties established experimentally in previous studies. The results of LCA indicate that rPC sections have comparable or lower environmental impacts relative to the corresponding PC slabs. The improvement of environmental profile of rPC can be achieved primarily through slab thickness reduction, which is the effect of enhanced mechanical properties due to CFRP reinforcement addition. Increasing CFRP processing efficiency can also result in environmental benefits, however to a lesser extent than the slab thickness reduction.
