The release of version 3.7 of the ecoinvent database included more than 900 new and 1,000 updated datasets, including more than 100 new products. This update expands the coverage of the database in various sectors such as metals, fertilisers, forestry and wood, packaging materials, waste/recycling, and biogas supply chains, while the electricity market mixes are also updated. ecoinvent 3.7 included an error in the iron sinter production dataset.
ecoinvent 3.7.1 was released in December 2020 to
- correct the iron sinter production dataset; in ecoinvent 3.7, this dataset includes an error in the order of magnitude of the estimated emissions for dioxins and particulate matter (PM). This error distorts the results of the ecoinvent database calculated using human health and ecotoxicity indicators from most methods.
- update the zinc mining dataset; the International Zinc Association shared an improvement on the modelling of this dataset after the release of ecoinvent 3.7, which significantly improves the results of the ecoinvent database. This improvement affects the results of the ecoinvent database calculated using mineral resource indicators.
The release of ecoinvent 3.7.1 affects the results given by ecoinvent 3.7 calculated using mineral resource or human health and ecotoxicity indicators depending on the methods used. Research and projects based on all other impact categories, including climate change, water depletion, cumulative energy demand, land use and land use change, fossil depletion, acidification, eutrophication, ionising radiation, renewable resources, stratospheric ozone depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, radioactive substances, and ozone layer depletion, remain completely unaffected by the additional release.
A detailed report of the affected impact categories is available here.
Metals
The Metals sector has been updated with new and updated data on copper, nickel, iron and steel, and scarce metals such as cobalt, rare earths, tungsten, and beryllium. Data contributors included EMPA (sponsored by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, BAFU), the Cobalt Institute and TU Graz. The datasets for aluminium in North America have also been revised with data contributed by the Aluminium Association of Canada.
Fertilisers
Data for fertilisers are included in the sectors for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Chemicals. ecoinvent 3.7.1 includes new and updated data on mineral fertiliser production from Yara International ASA and Fertilizers Europe, submitted in collaboration with Quantis (WFLDB). Further, the markets and market mixes for the fertilisers sector have been generally restructured and updated, separating now the provision of organic and mineral fertilisers for nutrient supply.
Energy
ecoinvent version 3.7.1 also introduces new data on biogas production and supply chains for Switzerland, obtained from a collaboration with Carbotech. Further, attributional electricity market mixes are updated to represent the situation in 2017 for most countries. In the case of US and Canada, the reference year is 2018. Data creation and review was done in collaboration with ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI).
Wood
Following the release of ecoinvent 3.7.1, most of the datasets related to forestry activities and wood processing in the Forestry and Wood sector are updated. Further, new wood-based products have been added, such as cross-laminated timber, structural timber, three and five layered board, and tubular particleboard. This update was done jointly with Werner Umwelt & Entwicklung and was made possible due to a collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU).
Paper & Pulp
Version 3.7.1 introduces updates in data related to packaging material. Specifically, it includes updated data from the industry associations Pro-Carton, ECMA European Carton Makers Association, Eurosac and CEPI Eurokraft on cartonboard, kraft paper and paper sacks. RISE, Research Institutes of Sweden, made possible the transfer of the data between the associations and ecoinvent.
Waste Management & Recycling
With version 3.7.1, the Waste Treatment and Recycling sector has been enhanced with new data on recycling activities of packaging materials, namely a range of new regional data for Europe and Switzerland on the recycling of beverage cans and paperboard. This update uses literature data from case studies published by ETH Zurich and Carbotech.
Building and Construction
ecoinvent 3.7.1 includes an updated version of glass wool mat datasets from ISOVER Saint Gobain; the data submission was done by Werner Umwelt & Entwicklung. This branded glass wool mat is now modelled with two alternative adhesives in the database.
Improved Supply Chain Representation
The existing supply chains in the database are continuously reviewed. As a result, links between demanding and supplying activities have been updated, and new, regional market datasets have been introduced. With this improvement, supply chains better reflect the current reality of global and regional product flows.
Properties
All products and elementary exchanges in ecoinvent version 3 come with at least six properties including dry mass, wet mass, water in wet mass, water content, carbon content fossil and non fossil. Additionally, all products in the database include a price, which, among other things, can be used for economic allocation.
System Models
The ecoinvent database supports three system models: Allocation cut-off by classification,
Allocation at the Point of Substitution, and Consequential. In addition, users of version 3 who prefer to have access to unlinked unit processes, can access them through ecoQuery.