Phrommarat, B and Arromdee, P (2022) A life cycle assessment study of pre-stressed concrete poles in Thailand. International Journal of Construction Management, 22(6), pp. 1053-1064. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
In recent years, global societies are increasingly concerning about environmental quality and seeking ways to mitigate environmental impacts. As such, the complete environmental profile of products is required to make the products more environmentally friendly. This study undertook a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of pre-stressed concrete pole production to identify the environmental impacts from these production processes. The methodology used in this case study of a concrete pole manufacturer in Thailand was based on the environmental aspects and the impacts of processes, guided by ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 frameworks, before comparing the results with those for other types of utility poles in other studies. The results showed that the most significant impact of the pre-stressed concrete pole in this case study, when comparing life cycle stages, originated from transportation. After transportation, raw materials, particularly cement and steel, played important roles in contributing the most to environmental impacts. Other phases, such as installation, in-plant processing, and disposal, showed a rather limited impact in the overall results. The current study is the primary stage of a life cycle assessment (LCA) study on utility poles in Thailand. It could be beneficial in supplementing information on the environmental impacts of utility poles.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | environmental planning; impact assessment; life cycle assessment; pre-stressed concrete poles; sustainability |
| Index terms: | environmental quality, Thailand, life cycle, case study, environmentally friendly, impact assessment, environmental impact, methodology, production process, life cycle assessment, society, ISO, manufacturer |
| Subjects: | manufacturing engineering, sustainability assessment, research methods, Geography, sustainable design, communities and social development, data collection methods, environmental impact, value management, practitioner, standards development |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here