Volume 25 Issue 5
Oct.  2025
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RAN Mao-ping, DENG Xu-hong, GUAN Jia-xi, XIAO Shen-qing, JIANG Rui-qie, ZHOU Xing-lin. Review on road infrastructure carbon emission accounting and low-carbon reduction technologies based on LCA[J]. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, 2025, 25(5): 23-37. doi: 10.19818/j.cnki.1671-1637.2025.05.002
Citation: RAN Mao-ping, DENG Xu-hong, GUAN Jia-xi, XIAO Shen-qing, JIANG Rui-qie, ZHOU Xing-lin. Review on road infrastructure carbon emission accounting and low-carbon reduction technologies based on LCA[J]. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, 2025, 25(5): 23-37. doi: 10.19818/j.cnki.1671-1637.2025.05.002
shu

Review on road infrastructure carbon emission accounting and low-carbon reduction technologies based on LCA

doi: 10.19818/j.cnki.1671-1637.2025.05.002
  • 1.

    School of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, Hubei, China

  • 2.

    Hubei Institute of Measurement and Testing Technology, Wuhan 430223, Hubei, China

  • 3.

    School of Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China

Funds:

National Natural Science Foundation of China 52172392

Key R&D Program of Hubei Province 2023BAB091

More Information
  • Corresponding author: ZHOU Xing-lin (1965-), male, professor, PhD, zxl65@163.com
  • Received Date: 2024-06-21
  • Accepted Date: 2024-12-23
  • Rev Recd Date: 2024-09-23
  • Publish Date: 2025-10-28
    Abstract
  • To clarify the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) in carbon emission accounting methods for road infrastructure and the development status of existing emission reduction technologies, the current research hotspots on carbon emissions from road transportation systems were identified through quantitative analysis of existing literature. The carbon emission accounting analysis framework for road infrastructure LCA was summarized, and the characteristics of carbon emission accounting methods and evaluation tools for different types of LCA were comparatively analyzed. According to the five life stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, construction, operation and use, maintenance and repair, and scrapping and recycling, the carbon emission contribution levels, influencing factors, and main emission reduction measures of road infrastructure at each stage were summarized respectively. The research results show that during the entire life cycle of road infrastructure, the material production and use stages contribute the most to carbon emissions. The main factors affecting carbon emissions during the stages of material production, construction, use, and maintenance are derived from materials and their production and processing plans, road surface types and structures, construction machinery, vehicle emissions, maintenance techniques, and the resulting traffic delays. Correspondingly, the primary emission reduction measures throughout the entire life cycle of road infrastructure include optimizing material production processes, using clean production technologies and recycling materials, shortening material transportation distances, and selecting environmentally friendly restoration technologies. Some future studies, such as establishing on-site accounting databases, building standardized carbon accounting system frameworks, and developing standardized evaluation methods, could be carried out for road infrastructure LCA, to provide technical support for the low-carbon and sustainable development of road infrastructure.

     

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