Carbon emission modeling of excavation and non-excavation techniques in overall repair of drainage pipelines

Abstract

Due to the rising levels of CO2 emissions in China, the calculation of carbon emissions and the evaluation of the environmental advantages associated with pipeline maintenance have become significant concerns. This research determined the total carbon emissions formula by breaking down the process of repair into three distinct stages: the production of the material, transportation of the material, and installation of the material. With the use of this calculation, the total carbon emissions of two different pipeline repair methods that did not include excavation and excavation were compared. When compared to the excavation method and the FIPP technique, the CIPP approach produced the greatest total carbon emissions for a pipe with a diameter of DN400. The CIPP technique produced 2.6 times the amount of carbon emissions as the excavation technique. This work offers a complete carbon emission model for both non-extraction methods and excavation in the general drainage pipeline maintenance. Applied to a case study of a drainage pipeline repair project in an urban location, the non-extraction methodology employing trenchless cured-in-place pipes (CIPPs) lowers carbon emissions by 87 % relative to conventional excavation methods. The non-extraction method's carbon emissions, specifically, are 12.5 kg CO2e/m; the excavation method's emissions are 102.1 kg CO2e/m. The non-extraction method also lowers water use by 90 % and energy use by 75 %. The findings of this research offer infrastructure managers and legislators important new perspectives to guide their decisions on drainage pipe repair techniques with lowest environmental effect. This study can help pipeline repair firms are provided with a scientific method for measuring carbon emissions and evaluating environmental benefits, which offers substantial support for the companies' efforts to establish themselves as sustainable.

Keywords

• UV cured-in-place pipe
• Formed-in-place pipe
• Carbon emissions
• Carbon emissions formula model
• Environmental benefits