Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Comparative life cycle assessment of railway subballast layer with natural and coal overburden aggregates in India

  • LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT
  • Published:
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Coal mine overburden is a term typically used to refer to the waste rocks and the soil materials generated from the open cast method of coal extraction. Previous investigations have found that recycled aggregates from coal overburden are suitable as subballast material in railway trackbed. But no study has been reported yet that analyzes the environmental consequences of this option using the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique. To ensure sustainability, it is vital to examine the environmental consequences of alternatives which is performed in this study.

Method

The present study compares the environmental impacts of processed aggregates from coal mine overburden with that of natural subballast material. The study also investigates the environmental sustainability of using geocell-reinforced overburden aggregates (GOBA) in the subballast layer. The database used for this LCA study is Ecoinvent 3 database and the impact assessment method adopted is IMPACT 2002 + method. The effects on 15 midpoint indicators and four endpoint indicators along with the contribution of each of the processes involved in the production toward the categories are presented in this study.

Results

According to the findings, when compared to natural aggregates, processed aggregates from overburden lower the potential for climate change by 35% and the demand for non-renewable energy by 33%. Furthermore, the production of geocell-reinforced OB aggregates reduces the potential for climate change by 16%.

Conclusions

Based on the IMPACT 2002 + method used in this study, the use of OB aggregates in the track bed's subballast layer significantly lowers the negative effects on human health, climate change, ecosystem quality, and resources and reduces the impacts on all midpoint category indicators. Lastly, the obtained results can be a major support in advancing the resourceful management of coal overburden and the conservation of natural aggregate sources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig.7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Abbreviations

LCI:

Life cycle inventory

LCIA:

Life cycle impact assessment

NA:

Natural aggregates

OBA:

Overburden aggregates

GOBA:

Geocell-reinforced overburden aggregates

DALY:

Disability adjusted life year

TEG:

Tri-ethylene glycol

PM:

Particulate matter

PP:

Polypropylene

References

  • Bauer C, Moreno-Ruiz E, Reinhard J, Steubing B, Weidema B, Wenet G (2016) The ecoinvent database version 3 (part I): overview and methodology. Int J Life Cycle Ass 21:1218–1230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee L, Chawla S, Dash SK (2020) Performance evaluation of coal mine overburden as a potential subballast material in railways with additional improvement using geocell. J Mater Civ Eng 32(8):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dash SK, Shivadas AS (2012) Performance improvement of railway ballast using geocells. Indian Geotech J 42(3):186–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhane G, Kumar D, Priyadarshee A (2003) Geocell: An emerging Technique of soil reinforcement in civil engineering field. IOSR J Mech Civ 2278–1684

  • Dixon N, Raja J, Fowmes G, Frost M (2016) Sustainability aspects of using geotextiles. Loughborough University. Chapter. https://hdl.handle.net/2134/21122

  • Estanqueiro B, Dinis Silvestre J, de Brito J, Duarte Pinheiro M (2016) Environmental life cycle assessment of coarse natural and recycled aggregates for concrete. Eur J Environ Civ 22(4):429–449

    Google Scholar 

  • Coal Directory of India (2016-17): Coal statistics. Coal Controller's Organization, Kolkata, India.

  • Gayana BC, Chandar KR (2018) A study on suitability of iron ore overburden waste rock for partial replacement of coarse aggregates in concrete pavements. Proc IOP Conf Ser: Mater Sci Eng 431(10):102–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossain MU, Poon CS, Lo IMC, Cheng JCP (2016) Comparative environmental evaluation of aggregate production from recycled waste materials and virgin sources by LCA. Resour Conserv Recycl 109:67–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ISO 14040 (2006a) Environmental management-life cycle assessment, Principles and Guidelines. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva

  • ISO 14044 (2006b) Environmental management-life cycle assessment, life cycle impact assessment. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva

  • Mohammed SM (2017) “Recycled aggregates in concrete production: engineering properties and environmental impact”. MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 107, 05021, SICEST.  https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201710105021

  • Morata M, Saborido C, Fontserè V (2016) Slag aggregates for railway track bed layers: monitoring and maintenance. WIT CONFERENCE, vol 162, 1–12. WIT press

  • Mukherjee S, Pahari D (2019) Underground and open coal mining methods in india: a comparative assessment. Space Cult India 7(1):39–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngo, N, Indraratna, B, Biabani, M. (2017). Performance assessment of geocell-reinforced subballast: modeling and design implications. In Brandon T. L, Valentine R. J. (eds.), geotechnical frontiers 2017: Transportation facilities, structures, and site investigation, ASCE, Reston, United States, pp. 374–383

  • Pradhan S, Tiwari BR, Kumar S, Barai SV (2019) Comparative LCA of recycled and natural aggregate concrete using Particle Packing Method and conventional method of design mix. J Clean Prod 228:679–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raja J, Dixon N, Fowmes G, Frost M, Assinder P (2015) Obtaining reliable embodied carbon values for geosynthetics. Geosynth Int 22(5):393–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rathore AS, Pradhan M, Deo SV (2020) Evaluation of coal mine overburden clay for assessing its suitability for brick making. Int J Appl Environ Sci 15(1):63–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolboushkin AY, Ivanov AI, Storozhenko GI, Syromyasov VA, Akst DV (2017) Use of overburden rocks from open-pit coal mines and waste coals of Western Siberia for ceramic brick production with a defect-free structure. Proc IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 84(1):012045. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/84/1/012045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stripple H, Uppenberg S (2010) Life cycle assessment of railways and rail transports -Application in environmental product declarations (EPDs) for the Bothnia Line. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

  • Stucki M, Büsser S, Itten R, Frischknecht R. and Wallbaum H. (2011) Comparative life cycle assessment of geosynthetics versus conventional construction materials. European Association for Geosynthetic Manufacturers (EAGM), 5, 1–5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281504618_Comparative_life_cycle_assessment_of_geosynthetics_versus_conventional_construction_materials. Accessed 17 December 2020

  • Suluh MIA, Sutanto H, Iskandar I (2019) Life cycle assessment of construction phase of MRT Jakarta track structure. Int J Appl Eng Res 14(15):3406–3408, ISSN 0973–4562

  • Yazdanbakhsh A, Bank LC, Baez T, Wernick I (2018) Comparative LCA of concrete with natural and recycled coarse aggregate in the New York City area. Int J Life Cycle Ass 23(6):1163–1173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India

    Dhanasree Suresh & Sowmiya Chawla

Authors
  1. Dhanasree Suresh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sowmiya Chawla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sowmiya Chawla.

Ethics declarations

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Communicated by Omer Tatari

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Suresh, D., Chawla, S. Comparative life cycle assessment of railway subballast layer with natural and coal overburden aggregates in India. Int J Life Cycle Assess 27, 704–718 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02060-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02060-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation