Quantification and comparison of carbon emissions for flexible underground pipelines

The life cycle assessment of underground gravity and pressured pipeline networks are studied to quantitatively calculate the carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) emissions. The life cycle of a pipeline can be classified into four phases that are fabrication, transportation, installation, and operation. Three typical flexible underground pipe materials, namely, steel, ductile iron (DI), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have been considered. The most dominant phase of the life cycle is pipe manufacturing and fabrication process, resulting in large amounts of C[O.sub.2] emissions. The results indicate that PVC provides the best environmental savings compared to steel and DI pipes in terms of C[O.sub.2] emission and emission mitigation cost. This methodology in estimating life cycle carbon footprint and cost could be used as managerial decision support tool for management of any underground pipeline networks. Key words: carbon footprint, buried pipelines, carbon pricing, energy consumption, embodied carbon. Dans le present article, on etudie et evalue le cycle de vie de reseaux de conduites souterraines libres ou sous pression afin de calculer les emissions de dioxyde de carbone (C[O.sub.2]). Le cycle de vie d'une conduite peut etre divise en quatre phases, soit la fabrication, le transport, l'installation et la mise en service. On s'est interesse a trois materiaux qui composent habituellement les conduites souterraines flexibles: l'acier, la fonte ductile (FD) et le polychlorure de vinyle (PVC). La phase la plus importante du cycle de vie est la fabrication ou la production, dont le procede entraine l'emission de grandes quantites de C[O.sub.2]. Les resultats montrent que le PVC est le materiau le plus ecologique, en termes d'emissions de C[O.sub.2] et de cout de reduction des emissions, si on le compare a l'acier et a la fonte ductile. Cette methode d'evaluation de l'empreinte carbone et du cout du carbone tout au long du cycle de vie des conduites pourrait servir d'outil d'aide a la decision aux personnes responsables de la gestion de n'importe quel reseau de conduites souterraines. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: empreinte carbone, conduites souterraines, determination du cout du carbone, consommation d'energie, carbone intrinseque.
1. Introduction The term carbon footprint is commonly used to describe the total amount of carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) and other greenhouse gas emissions in a year caused by an organization, [...]