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Process Data set: [CicloData] gravel production, extraction from river bed | gravel, crushed | Cutoff, U (en) en

Key Data Set Information
Location CL
Geographical representativeness description This dataset represents production of sand representative for Brazil. Data were collected from Brazilian literature; some data come from primary data collection in Brazil.;Some values were taken from the dataset sand quarry operation, extraction from open pit mine/BR (accessed 20170828)
Reference year 2015
Name
[CicloData] gravel production, extraction from river bed | gravel, crushed | Cutoff, U
Classification
Class name : Hierarchy level
  • ILCD: #ECOED / #CICLODATA / Áridos
General comment on data set ecoQuery: https://ecoquery.ecoinvent.org/3.10/cutoff/dataset/20138/documentation This dataset describes mining of natural sand from riverbed deposits and its processing. Mining of sand from riverbed deposits represents 70% of Brazilian production of sand for construction (MME, 2009), being the other 30% extracted from open pits. Pumps dredge the slurry, which consists of sand, water, clay, silt, and gravel, from the river bed. The sand is separated from the slurry and transported by a vessel to the loading ports, where the sand is washed to clean fines and transported to the storage piles and loaded in trucks for delivery (does not the delivery itself). The sand’s coproducts (clay, silt, and gravel) return to the river during the process not being recovered for economic purposes, furthermore they don’t receive any allocation. Sand is not sorted by grain size in this dataset.;The dataset includes the sand extraction and processing, as well as equipment maintenance. Machinery is taken into account within the dataset "diesel, burned in building machine", as all machinery runs on diesel. Administration buildings and the quarry’s end of life are not taken into account. Data were collected from literature and some additional data were measured in one quarry located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with current technology.;The representativeness of the dataset on a national scale is low ( >1%). From the extraction of sand from the river bed by dredging. The activities end with the sand in storage piles at the loading port. Includes the dredging of the slurry (a mix of sand, water, clay, silt, and gravel). The sand is separated from the slurry and transported by a vessel to the loading ports, where the sand is washed to clean fines and transported to the storage piles and loaded in trucks for delivery (does not include the delivery itself). The dataset also includes the land use for sand processing (at river bank). Machinery is considered within the dataset "diesel burned in building machine". Occupation of the river is not considered since mining occurs in a barge. Recultivation of closed mines is not taken into account due to lack of data. Administration buildings not included. No dust included because it is a wet process. Sand sorting by grain size is not included.
Copyright Yes
Quantitative reference
Reference flow(s)
Time representativeness
Data set valid until 2023
Time representativeness description The time period is set to the year 2015 as the data were collected in the year 2015
Technological representativeness
Technology description including background system Typical technology for sand dredging in Brazil.;The technology involves two steps: extraction and processing. Sand is the only product from this process, even though gravel can be extracted, it is not recovered. Suction Hopper Dredger (autonomous vessels that perform all stages of sand mining, i.e., extraction, loading, transport, and unloading) is considered. Extraction and loading stages are executed by centrifugal pumps powered by diesel engines. The pumps dredge the sand from the riverbed, along with water, clay, silt, and gravel, are extracted, forming the slurry. This fluid is pumped through the pipeline up to the vessel top where it is poured into steel sieves. Coarse materials (gravel, leaves, and sticks) are retained by the sieves and are returned to the river. The rest of the slurry (sand, water, and mud) falls into big chambers inside the vessel. Sand decants faster from the slurry, due its density and size, and deposits at the chamber’s bottom. Most of the water overflows from the vessel to the river, carrying a great amount of the mud (silt and clay). Auxiliary suction pumps drain water surplus of the sand to lower the cargo weight.;After completing the extraction and loading stages, the same vessel transports the dredged sand until loading ports. The pulp is then pumped to the loading port by pipelines to semi-closed chambers at the loading port. Sand deposits at the bottom of the port’s chambers, water returns to the river carrying part of the fines. Some companies may sort the sand by grain size in this stage. In the end, Sand is washed to clean the fines and is transported by heavy equipment to storage piles.;Dredged sand from alluvial deposits can generate several local environmental issues. Problems related with changes in the natural sedimentation process, erosion of margins, changes in the stream bed conditions, changes in the suspended sediments of river water and even problems related with local and regional sand availability. “Continued and indiscriminate sand mining not only changes the physical characteristics of the river basin environments, but also disturbs its closely linked flora, fauna, and human life” (PADMALAL; MAYA, 2014);None of these problems were assessed in this dataset due the lack of data, but they should be taken in consideration.;For further information, please refer to Padmalal, D. & Maya, K., 2014. Sand Mining, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Available at: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-94-017-9144-1.;;Image source: Bernardo Jardim Ribeiro https://goo.gl/EcJiNy
Mathematical model
Variable / parameter Formula Mean value Minimum value Maximum value Uncertainty distribution type Relative StdDev in % General comment
p_0 1.5E-4*1000 0.15 %
LCI method and allocation
Type of data set Unit process, black box
LCI Method Principle Other
Data sources, treatment and representativeness
Data treatment and extrapolations principles Data from a specific state (Rio Grande do Sul) and a small sample (one quarry) is extrapolated to represent the production in the whole country (Brazil). The representativeness of the dataset on a national scale is low (<1%). Pedigree scores for completeness have been adjusted accordingly.
Sampling procedure Data collection is mainly based on literature review. Estimate of diesel consumption was based on the annual production of sand from river bed deposits in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and on fuel consumption data gathered from dredge specifications. Complementary primary data were collected from one company's loading port, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), thus with limited representativeness on a national scale. Data regarding building infrastructure and maintenance of rubber and steel parts were approximated from data for sand extraction from open pits in Brazil. Uncertainty was estimated using default basic uncertainty values, and additional uncertainty was estimated using Pedigree scores.
Completeness
Completeness of product model No statement
Data generator
Data set generator / modeller
Data entry by
Time stamp (last saved) 2025-01-28T16:17:42.386000-03:00
Data set format(s)
Data entry by
Publication and ownership
UUID 0e293bf0-66ef-4375-a333-ebc5204404de
Date of last revision 2024-12-03T10:12:27.966000-03:00
Data set version 00.00.012
Unchanged re-publication of
Copyright Yes

Inputs

Type of flow Classification Flow Variable Location Mean amount Resulting amount Minimum amount Maximum amount
Product flow
F:Construction / 41:Construction of buildings / 410:Construction of buildings / 4100:Construction of buildings GLO 1.13E-7 m21.13E-7 m2
General comment Approximation,administrative infrastructure is considered to be equal to the dataset sand quarry operation, extraction from open pit mine/BR (accessed 20170828).
Product flow
F:Construction / 43:Specialized construction activities / 431:Demolition and site preparation / 4312:Site preparation GLO 0.049910792 MJ0.049910792 MJ
General comment Calculated Value, see parameters, based on annual production of river sand from Rio Grande do Sul state. “diesel, burned in building machine” is a proxy for Diesel consumption with pumps for dredging, internal transport from the river mine area to the port, and port processing operations.
Product flow
D:Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply / 35:Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply / 351:Electric power generation, transmission and distribution / 3510:Electric power generation, transmission and distribution CL 4.68E-4 MJ4.68E-4 MJ
General comment *Modifiqué Dataset CL Measured Value, electricity for administrative purposes, based on nonverified measurements of one industry.
Product flow
C:Manufacturing / 24:Manufacture of basic metals / 241:Manufacture of basic iron and steel / 2410:Manufacture of basic iron and steel GLO 1.8E-5 kg1.8E-5 kg
General comment Approximation, maintenance of equipment is considered to be equal to the dataset sand quarry operation, extraction from open pit mine/BR (accessed 20170828).
Product flow
C:Manufacturing / 20:Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products / 201:Manufacture of basic chemicals, fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, plastics / 2013:Manufacture of plastics and synthetic rubber in primary forms GLO 3.44E-6 kg3.44E-6 kg
General comment Approximation, maintenance of equipment is considered to be equal to the dataset sand quarry operation, extraction from open pit mine/BR (accessed 20170828).
Elementary flow
Land use / Land occupation CL 0.015476 m2*a0.015476 m2*a
General comment Measured Value, occupation x service life estimation (100y) of the loading port. No occupation of the river considered since mining occurs in a barge.
Elementary flow
Land use / Land transformation CL 7.74E-5 m27.74E-5 m2
General comment Measured Value, loading ports installation occur on the margin of rivers with special permissions. According to local environmental law, constructions on the riverside should protect at least 30 m of distance for riparian forest recovery. (Brazilian Law Nº 12.651, from 2012), in this case, the transformation, from the forest, considered as 50% of the original area. Transformation of the river is not considered.
Elementary flow
Land use / Land transformation CL 7.74E-5 m27.74E-5 m2
General comment Measured Value, loading ports installation occur on the margin of rivers with special permissions. According to local environmental law, constructions on the riverside should protect at least 30 m of distance for riparian forest recovery. (Brazilian Law Nº 12.651, from 2012), in this case, the transformation, from the wetland, considered as 50% of the original area. Transformation of the river is not considered.
Elementary flow
Land use / Land transformation CL 1.55E-4 m21.55E-4 m2
General comment Measured Value, occupation and production estimate of one company with 5 different loading ports, based on aerial images. The total area of the ports is 2.69E+5 m2, while the production of sand is1.03E+09 kg. Transformation of the river is not considered.
Elementary flow Resources / Resources from water / Renewable material resources from water CL 2.0E-4 m32.0E-4 m3
Elementary flow
Resources / Resources from water / Renewable material resources from water CL 0.008 m30.008 m3
General comment Measured Value, water used to wash the sand in the port. Value based on nonverified measurement of one industry. A system with recirculation uses 80 liters of water per ton of sand. The system recovers 90% of the water, only 8 L are spent.
Elementary flow
Resources / Resources from ground / Non-renewable material resources from ground CL 1.0 kg1.0 kg
General comment *Modifiqué Sand, unspecified por Gravel. No se consideró humedad como en el caso de la arena.
Product flow C:Manufacturing / 28:Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. / 282:Manufacture of special-purpose machinery / 2824:Manufacture of machinery for mining, quarrying and construction 1.0 kg1.0 kg

Outputs

Type of flow Classification Flow Variable Location Mean amount Resulting amount Minimum amount Maximum amount
Waste flow
C:Manufacturing / 23:Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products / 239:Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products n.e.c. / 2394:Manufacture of cement, lime and plaster RoW 1.8E-5 kg1.8E-5 kg
General comment Estimation. Same amount as the input.
Waste flow
E:Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities / 38:Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery / 382:Waste treatment and disposal / 3821:Treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste RoW 3.44E-6 kg3.44E-6 kg
General comment Estimation. Same amount as the input.
Elementary flow
Elementary flows / Emission to air / unspecified p_0 1.0 kg0.15 kg
General comment Estimation. Water that evaporates in the process.
Elementary flow
Emissions / Emissions to water / Emissions to water, unspecified 0.008 m30.008 m3
General comment Measured Value, water used to wash the sand in the port. Value based on nonverified measurement of one industry. A system with recirculation uses 80 liters of water per ton of sand. The system recovers 90% of the water, only 8 L are spent. The water discharged in the river is considered not polluted.
Product flow
B:Mining and quarrying / 08:Other mining and quarrying / 081:Quarrying of stone, sand and clay / 0810:Quarrying of stone, sand and clay 1.0 kg1.0 kg
General comment *Modifiqué Sand por Gravel, crushed The American construction industry distinguishes between gravel (a natural material) and crushed stone (produced artificially by mechanical crushing of rock.) "The complete guide to crushed stone and gravel". Gra-Rock. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2024. https://www.gra-rock.com/post/2019/11/11/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-crushed-stone-and-gravel