Ανάπτυξη γενικού πλαισίου κυκλικής οικονομίας: πιλοτική εφαρμογή για χρήση ανακυκλωμένων ελαστικών στην κατασκευαστική βιομηχανία

Abstract

Global economy has traditionally followed a linear “take-make-dispose” model. That led to environmental degradation, due to the excessive use of resources and uncontrolled disposal of waste. Recycling and reuse of waste is the way out of environmental degradation, but to fully resolve this problem recycling must be incorporated into a model of circular economy. End-of-life tyres are part of the waste that the economy must manage and exploit in a circular economy model. Although end-of-life tyres are fully recyclable, their efficiency as a resource for reuse is low when compared to other recyclable materials. This dissertation presents the development of a general framework for Circular Economy, which is applied for the production of rubberized asphalt that contains recycled rubber from end-of-life tyres. This circular economy framework has been developed by considering the relevant theoretical background and undertaking a literature review. The proposed framework comprises of three parts: a Life Cycle Assessment, definition of Key Performance Indicators and development of Industrial Symbiosis. The pilot demonstration of the proposed framework is carried out by comparing three scenarios for the production of asphalt mix used in road pavements. This included a conventional asphalt mix, an asphalt mix with recycled rubber additives and an asphalt mix where recycled crumb rubber was used for aggregate replacements. The demonstration of the general framework shows that by adding rubber in asphalt products, CO2 emissions and gross energy requirement are reduced. Moreover, the performance of end-of-life tyres is acceptable, since the rubberized asphalt application contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, to the use of recyclable resources, to the improvement of the environmental quality and the development of investment opportunities. To improve the resource efficiency of end-of-life tyres, an Industrial Symbiosis model is also proposed to exchange material resources and energy. This model determines the participating industries that can work together to maximize resource efficiency, which is expected to lead to socio-economic and environmental benefits.