Life Cycle Inventory of Brazilian Natural Stones

Abstract

Brazil is one of the main producers and exporters of natural stones in the world. Aiming to contribute to environmental improvements, the life cycle inventory of Brazilian natural stones – LCI Stones was elaborated. This paper presents the results obtained along the LCI Stones project. The project was carried out according to the Brazilian methodology for the elaboration of inventories and to the 14040 and 14044 ISO standards. The study consists of two product systems: quarrying and processing (which is divided in two other subsystems: sawing and polishing), being the last one the main system of this study. The product considered is the polished slab. The data were collected within producing companies, comprising a representative time period for the inventory validation. All inputs and outputs of mass, water and energy as well as products and emissions, within the boundaries, were identified and quantified. The main difficulty found in the data collection was the lack of data control by the companies, mainly the water and energy consumption and polishing inputs. The results of the study showed that, among the stone production processes, gang saw cutting was the one with the most relevant impacts. On account of the rapid technological improvements during the last years, the LCI-Stones is being updated by CETEM.