A Review on Life Cycle Assessment of Pavements in Brazil: Evaluating Environmental Impacts and Pavement Performance Integrating the International Roughness Index

Abstract

This article addresses the limited understanding of the landscape regarding Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Brazilian pavement infrastructure. It provides an overview of LCA’s application in assessing the environmental effects of pavements while exploring the use of the International Roughness Index (IRI) as a performance criterion to assess environmental consequences and pavement performance. A comprehensive search for relevant quantitative LCA studies, published from 2013 to 2023, was conducted across several bibliographic databases, following ISO 14040 standards. A total of fourteen case studies were analyzed, providing insight into frequently used software, databases, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, and functional units. Furthermore, global warming or greenhouse gases (GHG) were the most frequently used environmental indicators, while materials, transportation, and construction were the most inventoried life cycle phases. However, the search also highlighted limitations, including the availability of Brazilian data and scope definition. Nevertheless, a quantitative comparison between conventional pavements showed a low standard deviation. The scenarios studied demonstrated that using recycled materials in pavement construction and employing high-strength materials in layers and subgrade can reduce environmental impacts. In conclusion, these findings contribute to the development of sustainable pavement practices in Brazil and highlight the need for further research to validate current findings and address existing gaps.