How to create a database to add to OpenLCA or add data to an existing database?

Question

Hello. I am currently trying to assess the environmental impacts of a project that I am currently working with a team on. However, the data is highly specialized, and I don't believe fits within any existing database the openLCA nexus has. Is there a way that I may be able to create a database and enter it into OpenLCA or modify existing data to be congruent with the materials and processes the project I am working on will entail? If so, how?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I'm assuming that you're looking for solutions that don't involve manually entering processes. There are a couple options that might allow for some automation or at least easier data entry.

1. Excel imports - you can try getting some example processes from lcacommons.gov or some other free source. Pick a process to export, and export it to Excel to see how it would need to be formatted. In general though, openLCA doesn't do a great job of checking the data as it's imported, so if there are duplicate UUIDs or you're missing some piece of the data required for a valid database, openLCA might import it and not give any error messages, etc.
2. If your group has any python experience, you could try using the olca-ipc, which has some modules that would allow you to create everything from scratch. I think the learning curve here might be pretty steep depending on your experience, but this would at least allow you to interact with a database directly and hopefully prevent some of the errors associated with excel imports. 
3. Importing other formats - if you have the data available in ecospold (or ILCD etc.) or have a way to more easily enter data in those formats, you could always use the converter.

Comments

But sometimes, maybe also entering processes manually works - if you copy rows e.g. then it is not too tedious also for quite some processes.