2022

Author(s): Al-Gheethi AA, Memon ZA, Balasbaneh AT, Al-Kutti WA, Mokhtar N, Othman N, Juki MI, Noman EA, Algaifi HA

The purpose of this study is to study the life cycle assessment of biocementitious materials production in comparison to traditional cement materials production. The environmental impact of production processes over the life cycle was evaluated on the basis of global warming and ozone depletion, human health, land, freshwater, marine ecotoxicity, and natural water system eutrophication. LCA uses endpoint methods (ECO indicators) and SimaPro 8 software to assess the health and environmental impact of raw materials used in the production process, including cement, Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O, urea, molasses, and electricity. The results showed that cement materials made 82.88% of the world's warming in all raw materials used in production processes, 87.24% of the world's health, 89.54% of the deforestation of freshwater, and 30.48% to marine eutrophication. Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O contributes by 58.88% to ozone depletion, 15.37 to human carcinogenic toxicity, 3.19% to freshwater eutrophication, and 11.76% to marine eutrophication. In contrast, urea contributes 38.15% to marine eutrophication and 5.25% to freshwater eutrophication. Molasses contribute by 13.77% to marine eutrophication. Cement contributes 74.27% to human health damage, 79.36% to ecosystem damage; Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O contributes 13.54% to human health damage and 9.99% to ecosystem damage; while urea contributes 6.5% to human health damage and 5.91% to ecosystem damage. Bio-cementitious wastewater should undergo a treatment process to remove urea and molasses residues, as well as nitrates, before final disposal into the environment.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14031920