Title: A case study of the life cycle impact of limestone quarrying on the environment

Authors: Sabrina Bendouma; Tayeb Serradj; Hüseyin Vapur

Addresses: Department of Mining Engineering, Institute of Natural and Applied Science, Cukurova University, Adana, Adana 01000, Turkey ' Department of Mining Engineering, Institute of Natural and Applied Science, Cukurova University, Adana, Adana 01000, Turkey ' Department of Mining Engineering, Institute of Natural and Applied Science, Cukurova University, Adana, Adana 01000, Turkey

Abstract: In this paper, a life cycle assessment (LCA) model from 'cradle-to-gate' of one ton of aggregate was achieved to evaluate the environmental impact of limestone quarrying, by counting material and energy flows throughout the extraction and processing of limestone. Life cycle analysis was accomplished using SimaPro 8.5 software and ecoinvent database 3.4. Primary data collection was carried out in five different limestone quarries located in Algeria. The analysis was conducted according to the LCA standards ISO 14040-44. The results show that: global warming potential (GWP) varies from 4,689 to 50,875 kg CO₂-eq./ton and it is remarkably dominated by CO₂ and N₂O emissions, primary energy use varies from 0.38 to 218.50 megajoules per ton. Other impacts are also mentioned in this study such as ecotoxicity and eutrophication which range from 2.17E-15 to 1.54E-11 and from 2.72E-17 to 1.61E-11 species.yr, respectively.

Keywords: limestone quarrying; life cycle assessment; LCA; global warming; SimaPro; Algeria; aggregates; environment; life cycle impact.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2020.111518

International Journal of Global Warming, 2020 Vol.22 No.4, pp.432 - 447

Received: 26 Sep 2019
Accepted: 03 Jun 2020
Published online: 30 Nov 2020 *

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