Environmental Impact Assessment of Trenchless Spray-Applied Pipe Linings (SAPLs) Renewal Method in Culverts and Drainage Structures: Fid-Bau Portal

Environmental Impact Assessment of Trenchless Spray-Applied Pipe Linings (SAPLs) Renewal Method in Culverts and Drainage Structures

Serajiantehrani, Ramtin / Najafi, Mohammad / Kaushal, Vinayak / Mohammadi, Mohammadreza Malek

Abstract

Renewal of old underground culverts and drainage structures is a major challenge of municipalities in the U.S. Trenchless rehabilitation technologies are innovative methods. Spray applied pipe linings (SAPLs) are among trenchless technology renewal solutions for water pipelines to prevent further deterioration and to provide structural enhancement culverts and drainage structures. The liner material is cementitious or polymer and by using handheld or spin-caster, it is sprayed with a specific thickness inside the host pipe. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an analytical method for evaluating the environmental impacts associated with the rehabilitation of water pipelines. The information about the materials, manufacturing, processes, transportation, and disposal are used to analyze the emissions and other ecological impacts associated with the trenchless SAPLs renewal project. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the environmental impacts of cementitious SAPLs renewal method for culverts and drainage structures and to identify influencing factors impacting the environment. The EIA was carried using the tool for reduction and assessment of chemicals and other environmental impacts (TRACI) method in SimaPro software. SimaPro software allows comparison of environmental impact categories, which divides the calculated outputs for the individual impact categories by the averaged impact values for each impact category. Results show that carbon dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide are the major emissions in SAPLs renewal process that can lead to global warming, smog, and acidification, respectively. It can be concluded that the EIA of cementitious SAPLs renewal method is an important component when considering sustainable culverts and drainage structures rehabilitation. This study can be useful for analyzing the environmental impacts and associated costs of SAPLs renewal for culverts with different project conditions.