Application of LCA in Expressway Energy Consumption Analysis in South China

Abstract

In order to quantify the life cycle energy consumption of highways, life cycle assessment method is adopted to quantitatively analyze the energy consumption of a bridge-based expressway in South China. The total life cycle energy consumption was 1343967 tce, while the energy consumption per functional unit was 18733.86 tce/km. In addition, the proportion of the life cycle energy consumption for raw material production, construction and transportation was 71.90%, 13.64% and 14.47%, respectively. As data analysis shown, cement and steel bars have the greatest impact on energy consumption, the energy-saving measures during the construction phase should focus mainly on electricity and diesel, while during the operation phase should focus on controlling the power consumption. Based on the results, a series of energy-saving measures are proposed from the perspective of material-saving, energy-saving and management-strengthen.