A case study of the life cycle impact of limestone quarrying on the environment

In this paper, a life cycle assessment (LCA) model from 'cradle-to-gate' of one ton of aggregate was achieved to evaluate the environmental impact of limestone quarrying, by counting material and energy flows throughout the extraction and processing of limestone. Life cycle analysis was accomplished using SimaPro 8.5 software and ecoinvent database 3.4. Primary data collection was carried out in five different limestone quarries located in Algeria. The analysis was conducted according to the LCA standards ISO 14040-44. The results show that: global warming potential (GWP) varies from 4,689 to 50,875 kg CO2-eq./ton and it is remarkably dominated by CO2 and N2O emissions, primary energy use varies from 0.38 to 218.50 megajoules per ton. Other impacts are also mentioned in this study such as ecotoxicity and eutrophication which range from 2.17E-15 to 1.54E-11 and from 2.72E-17 to 1.61E-11 species.yr, respectively.