With version 3.6 of the ecoinvent data landscape includes 2,200 new and 2,500 updated datasets, 247 more products, and greatly expands its geographical coverage on numerous countries and regions, such as Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Peru and South Africa.
These many data updates and additions come as the result of the ecoinvent association’s participation in various projects and collaborations. Specifically, many of the data updates and newly available tools are the result of the association’s participation in the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) project. Version 3.6 further integrates updated and disaggregated data on plastics production from PlasticsEurope.
Agriculture
Version 3.6 introduced updates in the Agriculture sector related to data on a variety of crops produced in different countries and regions. The database now includes: data on the production of sugarcane, soybean, maize, and energy wood from Eucalyptus in Brazil, regionalised per state; data on the production of mango in Brazil; data on different types of rice, cashew, aubergine, cabbage, coriander, pepper, chili and chickpea in India; and data on oranges, mandarins, maize, pear and apple in South Africa.
Version 3.6 also includes updated data on animal husbandry and, specifically, cattle breeding and raising in Brazil and South Africa. Different practices now represented in the ecoinvent database are feedlot, pasture – including Pantanal, a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical area – and mixed practices.
Building & Construction Materials
The Building and Construction Materials sector was greatly updated in version 3.6 with regards to the data and geographical coverage. Specifically, the sector now incorporates new data on bulk construction materials, such as sand and gravel, gypsum, plaster, mortar, bricks, cement, clinker, concrete. At the same time, more countries are now represented, including Brazil, Peru, Colombia, South Africa and India.
Chemicals
Following the version 3.6 release, the ecoinvent database now accommodates new data on the production of solar salts. Additionally, updated and disaggregated data from PlasticsEurope on vinyl chloride, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, purified terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate, are incorporated.
Electricity
With version 3.6 the database includes new data on electricity production in Brazil, reflecting each of the country’s five grids, and new data on electricity generation in Argentina, Colombia, Peru and South Africa.
Further, all regional electricity consumption mixes were updated. As a result, the ecoinvent database now reflects the situation in 2016 for all countries, except for Switzerland, where electricity consumption mixes have been updated to reflect the situation in 2017.
Fishing
Following the version 3.6 release, the database now offers new data on fish supply from Spain and Namibia and updated regional data on European fish supply.
Metals
The Metals sector has been updated with newly collected data on mining and processing of a number of metals in Peru, India and South Africa. Supply chains for European aluminium have also been revised to better reflect the current situation. Additionally, version 3.6 includes new metal-specific, regionalised data on the disposal of sulfidic tailings from mining and beneficiation activities in seventeen countries.
Petroleum refineries & products
With version 3.6, the Petroleum Refining sector has been greatly expanded, with new data on coal liquefaction in South Africa and 100 new datasets on the production of a wide range of refined petroleum products in India, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, South Africa and Europe. Among the products covered are diesel; low-sulfur diesel; heavy fuel oil; kerosene; light fuel oil; liquefied petroleum gas; naphtha; and unleaded petrol.
Textiles
The Textiles sector saw a major overhaul in version 3.6, with a large amount of regional data added on a variety of products. Much of this data came from the association’s participation in the SRI project. Further, the sector has been updated with primary data from Cotton Inc. to represent global activities.
The database now offers new data on the production of an expanded range of natural and synthetic fibres, such as organic cotton, silk, linen and polyester. Specifically, the sector now includes datasets that cover the following: production of cotton, linen, jute, kenaf, and mulberry data; silkworm rearing (sericulture); yarn manufacturing of all types of fibre; weaving and knitting of textiles; and dyeing and finishing processes.
Tourist Accommodation
The ecoinvent database includes, for the first time, data on a wide range of tourist accommodation types. Based on primary data collected in each country, the database now includes datasets on the construction and operation of hostels, budget hotels and luxury hotels in Brazil and Peru and upmarket hotels in Peru, as well as various consumer goods required for the operation of facilities, including furniture and electronic devices.
Transport
Version 3.6 introduced a substantial update of the Transport sector: fully updated datasets on sea and air transport; specific datasets for bulk and container transport, with the addition of ship types; new data on air transport of passengers and freight, bringing increased resolution of aircraft types and haul distances; and new data on freight road and rail transport in South Africa, and freight rail transport in India.
Waste Treatment and Recycling
With version 3.6, the Waste Treatment and Recycling sector has been enhanced with newly collected data on informal recycling practices in Ghana and India. Specifically, the sector now offers a range of new datasets on: open burning of cables, tyres and electronic appliances, such as refrigerators, to extract metals; and formal and informal recycling of plastics from e-waste in India.
Water Supply
The restructured Water Supply sector now covers a wider geographical range, with updates and new data in both previously examined and newly added regions. New and updated data on tap water supply are now provided for Brazil, Colombia, India, Peru and South Africa, while data on industrial water supply are now available for fourteen new geographies.
Additionally, the ecoinvent database now distinguishes among three different irrigation technologies, drip, sprinkler and surface irrigation, and hosts new data on irrigation in countries not previously covered, such as Colombia, Morocco, Peru and South Africa.
Improved Supply Chain Representation
The existing supply chains in the database are continuously reviewed. As a result, over a thousand links between demanding and supplying activities have been updated, and hundreds of new, regional market datasets have been introduced with version 3.6. 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.