How much should I include in my LCIA?

Question

I am writing up a comparison of 4 production systems of ammonia. My boundary is cradle to gate (ammonia at the plant). The LCI for each process has hundred of inputs and outputs. Is it appropriate to generate tables from this data and include all inputs and outputs listed in under the inventory tab? I ask because the other papers I have read that are similar only have max 20 inputs and I have over 100.

Answer 1

Hello, you did not mean LCIA but LCI, i.e. the inputs and outputs of a process, right? That is up to you, but over time, inventories of processes became typically more detailed, for the same products. I would rather assess this by a), is it realistic, and b) are these flows understood by LCIA methods (for the elementary flows).

Best wishes,

Andreas

Comments

good points thank you. Yes I did mean LCI.