Effects of cementitious stabilisers on performance and life cycle impacts of full-depth reclamation

ABSTRACT

Approximately 5% of the global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are generated from cement manufacturing. Partial substitution of the clinker in the portland cement with supplementary cementingmaterials (SCM) is a solution to reduce the CO2 emission associated with cement production. Binders containing SCM, specifically designed for road applications, are called hydraulic road binders (HRB). A comparative life cycleassessment (LCA) was conducted to assess the effects of different HRB on the environmental impacts of the full-depth reclamation process. Three different types of HRB and general use cement were used to stabilise reclaimedpavement material containing 60% RAP. The pavement design and performance prediction were done using AASHTOWare Pavement ME. The life cycle impact assessment was performed with Athena software. The results of theanalysis indicated that using HRB, with low clinker content, in the full-depth reclamation implementation could reduce global warming potential by up to 27%.

KEYWORDS:

• Life cycle assessment
• hydraulic road binders
• full-depth reclamation
• stabilisation
• cold in-place recycling
• hydraulic binder

Acknowledgements

The authors of this paper would like to acknowledge NSERC and Lafarge Canada for supporting this research and Rotomill Inc, Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Hall and Stabilisation Canada for their contribution to the field work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [funding reference number: ALLRP #516083-2017].