Hello,
While reviewing the country-specific characterization factors (CFs) for terrestrial acidification in openLCA LCIA Methods 2.8.0 (ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint H), I found what appears to be a systematic column swap between NH₃ and NOₓ values across all countries where regionalized flows exist.
When comparing the values in openLCA against the official sources — RIVM Report 2016-0104 (Table S3.1) and the supplementary file ReCiPe2016_Country factors_v1.1, available at https://www.rivm.nl/en/life-cycle-assessment-lca/downloads — the following pattern emerges consistently:
- The CF assigned to "Ammonia, XX" in openLCA matches the official NOx value for that country (not the NH₃ value).
- The CF assigned to "Nitrogen oxides, XX" in openLCA matches the official NH₃ value for that country (not the NOx value).
Some examples to illustrate:
Ammonia:
| Country | Official NH₃ CF | openLCA "Ammonia" CF | Official NOx CF |
| Chile | 2.41 | 0.31 | 0.31 |
| USA | 5.36 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Brazil | 1.67 | 0.29 | 0.29 |
| Canada | 6.39 | 0.85 | 0.85 |
| Japan | 1.62 | 0.29 | 0.29 |
All values are in kg SO₂ eq/kg.
The pattern is perfectly consistent: the NH₃ and NOx columns appear to have been swapped during data loading. Sulfur dioxide values, on the other hand, appear to be correctly implemented.
Before reporting this as a confirmed bug, I would like to ask: is there a methodological justification for these values in openLCA LCIA Methods 2.8.0, or is this indeed an implementation error?
Thank you in advance.
