Environmental Benefits of Repurposed Tubular Steel Sourced from Pipe Mill Secondary and Oil Field Surplus-PPT Presentation

PPT Presentation

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The presentation reports a life cycle assessment (LCA) of repurposed steel tubulars—downgraded pipe-mill stock and unused oil-field surplus—used as driven pipe piles. The study assessed impacts from raw material allocation through installation, using 2022 operating data and a functional unit of one tonne of pipe. It followed ISO and EN standards, and its resulting Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) was independently verified and published in 2024.<br /><br />Repurposed pipe was not treated as burden-free: it received 13.2% of the original material’s carbon burden, based on its average purchase price relative to new steel. The assessment found emissions of 455 kg CO₂e per tonne for stages A1–A3 (cradle to gate) and 694 kg CO₂e for A1–A5 (cradle to installation). Raw material allocation, delivery to the project, and inbound transport were the main emissions sources.<br /><br />Compared with new-mill tubular steel, repurposed pipe reduced A1–A3 emissions by 77–83%. Across the full cradle-to-install comparison, the presentation reports savings of 68–75%. A southeastern U.S. battery plant project used 1,012 metric tonnes of repurposed pipe and reportedly avoided 2,132 tonnes of CO₂e compared with new prime-mill steel.<br /><br />The findings quantify the environmental benefits of reusing surplus tubular steel and support its role in reducing construction emissions and advancing a circular economy.

Keywords

life cycle assessment

repurposed steel tubulars

driven pipe piles

environmental product declaration

carbon burden allocation

cradle to gate

cradle to installation

CO2e emissions

circular economy

construction emissions