Hello all,
This is my first post here. I am using openLCA for my diploma thesis and I have some questions. I am trying to calculate the environmental impact of some products (in this case a refrigerator). I need to calculate (separately) this for the three phases of a product lifecycle; namely the production phase the use phase and end-of-life phase. In the figure (attached) you can see the first idea of input and output flows.
At first, i need this to be as simple as possible so I will consider an amount for the values of electricity (let`s say 500MJ production 5GJ use phase etc) and I will set the values of the materials according to the composition of a refrigerator (f.e 40kg steel, 10kg copper etc).
What I need to know is:
1. can I calculate the impact for each phase separately?
2. can I ignore the transportation? or should I add them too?
3. is the consideration I made regarding electricity legit or is it a total failure?
4. regarding End-of-life phase what are some possible flows? and is there something I need to know about that phase? can I add the recycled materials on the first phase (for a second product I need to use recycled materials)?
5. Is it possible to set a specific lifespan for the product (let`s say that a refrigerator will work for 15 years)?
Appreciate your help and looking forward to your answer.
I hope this isn`t too much :)
Thanks,
Dem.Pet
