Ecoinvent database version 3 – the practical implications of the choice of system model
Weidema B P (2011)
Publication info
Presentation for the Life Cycle Management (LCM 2011) conference, Berlin, 2011.08.28-31.
Abstract
In the new version 3 of the ecoinvent LCI database, the user can choose between different system models that reflect different LCI modelling algorithms applied to the same underlying unit process data. The system models reflect different consequential and attributional models, i.e. linking of inputs to either average or unconstrained suppliers, and arriving at single-product systems either by partitioning (allocation) according to different allocation properties or by substitution (system expansion). New approaches, such as the ILCD handbook’s recommendation of system expansion with average flows, can also be accommodated by the new, flexible database structure. The presentation explains the new linking structure of the database that allows this flexibility and the structure of the workflow in database management. The practical implications for the end users of the different system models are highlighted.