Impact of Fuel Consumption by Traffic on the CO₂ Balance of Pavements

Pavement–vehicle interaction affects vehicle fuel consumption, and reducing fuel consumption lowers CO2 emissions. Therefore, replacing asphalt pavements, which result in greater vehicle fuel consumption, with concrete or composite pavements when repairing pavement may reduce CO2 emissions for vehicle driving. This paper proposes a calculation method for CO2 emissions considering fuel consumption reduction by pavement–vehicle interaction and evaluate the difference in environmental impact among pavement types. We consider the reduction in CO2 emissions from cars as an environmental contribution by concrete or composite pavement, and we propose an evaluation method to introduce the reduction into the calculation of CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the pavement. We also introduce the effect of environmental temperature on CO2 emission reductions into the evaluation method. The results show that concrete and composite pavements have higher CO2 emissions than asphalt pavements throughout the life cycle of the pavement. Nevertheless, the reduction in CO2 emissions owing to the lesser fuel consumption by cars in concrete and composite pavements is significant, and CO2 emissions of concrete and composite pavements, including the effect of reduced fuel consumption, may be less than CO2 emissions of asphalt pavements, especially in cold areas.