Life cycle assessment of civil engineering projects

The thesis investigates the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to civil engineering projects, providing a critical evaluation of LCA methodology. In this context two particular aspects of civil engineering are studied: roads and wastewater treatment projects. The thesis demonstrates that LCA is generally applicable to civil engineering projects in these two areas, providing a useful environment evaluation tool. However, the degree to which the application of LCA is successful depends on the type of application. Notably, comparative based LCAs were more problematic than informative, attribution based LCAs, with problems with the applicability spanning all the stages of LCA from Goal Scope and Definition to Interpretation. As well as testing the applicability of the LCA tool, the thesis, through the utilisation of the LCA methodology, quantified the environmental impacts from a road and wastewater treatment projects and identified where these impacts occurred over their whole life i.e. construction, operation, maintenance, and demolition. This provided valuable insights into the complex environmental interactions over the whole life of roads and wastewater treatment projects.