ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Cities
Sec. Sustainable Infrastructure
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsc.2025.1648885
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of High-Density Polyethylene and Glass Reinforced Epoxy Pipes in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Provisionally accepted
Ibrahim Abu Laila1Anoushah Siddique1Mazhd Shaban1Ahmad El Masri1
Md Maruf Mortula1,2*
SERTER ATABAY1,2- 1American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- 2Energy, Water and Sustainable Environment Research Center, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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This study addresses the environmental impacts of a critical infrastructure, water distribution pipelines. In Sharjah's expanding urban areas, selecting appropriate pipe materials is crucial for sustainable resource usage, as the impacts these resource-intensive pipelines have on the environment are significant during the entire pipe life cycle from manufacturing to disposal. This paper presents a comparative lifecycle assessment (LCA) of Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes by utilizing SimaPro software and Ecoinvent V3 database to evaluate the selected pipes' environmental impacts across their entire lifecycle. The results show that the production phase of both pipes has the highest overall environmental impact, and reducing pipe diameters may significantly decrease these impacts. Results from HDPE pipes show higher impacts in climate change and fossil depletion categories, whereas GRP pipes show higher impacts in human toxicity and ozone depletion. However, overall, GRP pipes have a lower impact on human health, ecosystems, and resources. These insights can be used to aid decision-makers and governmental bodies, such as the Sharjah Electrical and Water Authority (SEWA), in making well-informed and strategic choices aligned with the 11th UN Sustainable Development Goal of fostering sustainable cities and communities, thus ultimately contributing towards reducing the harmful environmental impacts of water distribution systems. This LCA-based study contributes towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to water distribution system planning and management, with the ultimate aim of ensuring the longevity and health of urban infrastructures.
Keywords: Water distribution system, Life Cycle Assessment, sustainability, pipeline, High-density polyethylene, Glass reinforced epoxy
Received: 17 Jun 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abu Laila, Siddique, Shaban, Masri, Mortula and ATABAY. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Md Maruf Mortula, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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