COMPARISON OF THE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS BETWEEN HDD AND OPEN CUT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ONE MILE OF WATER MAIN AND ITS NCILLARY STRUCTURES

摘要

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, human activities such as the combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation have greatly increased the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere, which caused the observed increase in the average global temperature. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, CO2 is the reference gas against which other greenhouse gases are measured to determine their contributions to greenhouse effect that contribute to climate changes. At present, many industries and governments recognize the importance of sustainability and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to improve the quality of life for their customers and citizens. This paper focuses on comparing the CO2 emissions of two pipeline construction methodologies: open-cut and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) in the construction of one mile of water main and the ancillary structures needed for this water main. The two construction methodologies were compared on a project that has the same parameters in an urban residential street in the Midwest of the US. For this study, the prime CO2 emission sources are fuel consumption of construction machinery and trucks.