Recycled concrete containing EAF slag: environmental assessment through LCA

A significant number of "green concrete" are being developed to meet the growing request of reducing construction industry impacts, saving raw materials and preventing industrial by-products discard. Between these, black/oxidising electric arc furnace (EAF) slag has been found to be suitable for structural concrete applications when used as replacement of traditional coarse aggregate. This work presents an environmental impacts assessment related to the production of concrete containing EAF slag compared to a traditional one, through Life Cycle Analysis framework using a cradle-to-gate approach. Inventory data are mainly collected from experiments and refer to the considered materials, and the functional unit used to compare both concretes is representative of the same strength and durability/service life characteristics of the material. Results of this specific study show that concrete containing EAF slag as recycled aggregate is responsible of lower emissions production when compared with those related to concrete made with traditional aggregates.