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Literature review of the carbon footprint of geosynthetics based on life cycle assessment
Xu Chao1,2, Liu Xiaoxiao1, Yang Yang1,2, Meng Ya1
2026, 45(9):
1-13.
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-0696.2026.09.01
eosynthetics, due to their advantages such as lightweight and multifunctionality, have become an important alternative material for reducing carbon emissions in civil engineering. Based on the life cycle assessment method, the research progress on the carbon footprint of geosynthetics was systematically reviewed from both product and project levels. Existing studies indicate that, at the product level, a cradle-to-gate boundary is typically adopted, with per unit area or mass as the functional unit, and the carbon footprint is mainly concentrated in the raw material acquisition and manufacturing stages, where the contribution of polymer raw materials can reach 60% ~ 96%. At the project level, a cradle-to-completion or cradle-to-grave boundary is mostly adopted, with per unit length or area of the project as the functional unit. The carbon footprint is highly sensitive to transportation conditions. The production stage is often the main emission source, but under scenarios of long-distance transportation or large-scale earthwork construction, emissions from transportation and construction stages may become major sources. In engineering applications, geosynthetics achieve significant carbon emission reductions through pathways such as substituting high-carbon building materials, reducing transportation and construction activities as well as promoting ecological carbon sequestration. The emission reduction effect is significantly influenced by factors such as transportation conditions, material configuration, benchmark schemes, and service scenarios. Current research still faces challenges such as a lack of localized data, inconsistent functional units, imperfect recycling allocation rules, and insufficient coupling between service performance and carbon emissions. Future efforts should focus on developing localized embodied carbon databases and environmental product declaration systems, establishing a standardized evaluation framework for engineering functions, and incorporating durability and reliability into life cycle assessment, so as to further support material selection and scheme optimization for low-carbon geotechnical engineering.
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