Comparative analysis of carbon emission and energy demand of pavement recycling technologies based on primary data

This study aims to quantify and probabilistically assess the environmental advantages of hot in-place recycling (HIPR) and hot in-plant recycling (HIR) technologies over traditional milling and filling (M&F) in the context of asphalt pavement recycling with the collected primary data. The study's primary dataset served as the foundation for modeling the life cycle inventory (LCI) across various stages of pavement recycling, which is collected in the geographical context of China in 2024. Subsequently, an uncertainty analysis was conducted to evaluate the data quality of each inventory phase. The comparative analysis of environmental impacts, focusing on carbon emissions and energy demand, revealed that HIPR and HIR technologies offer substantial environmental benefits. Notably, M&F technology exhibited a wider uncertainty range, which is attributed to its greater reliance on secondary data sourced from public databases. In contrast, the HIR technology demonstrated the lowest uncertainty, suggesting a more reliable environmental impact assessment. The findings underscore the importance of considering uncertainty in LCA studies.