Valorization of Treated Dredged Sediments in Light of Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Nowadays, most researches focus on using alternative materials with growing demand for natural resources and especially in the civil engineering area. One of the alternative materials we can cite the dredged sediments, which are considered as waste according to the European wastes classification directive. In France, the dredging industry generates around 50 million m³ of marine sediments each year. Thus, it becomes an attractive topic to assess its relevance as an alternative material in the civil engineering field. The question, which could be raised is what advantages it can provide as a practical solution in reducing environmental impacts on humans and the environment. So the aim of this study is to assess the valorization life cycle system in order to quantify the environmental impacts, energy usage, and natural resource consumption, and to indicate which material or process contributes to high impacts in order to reduce the valorization system damages improving its efficiency. This paper will summarize the valorization life cycle stages, which will provide an overview for future work and assessment.