Issue with Flows without Providers in openLCA using Free Database

Question

Hello everyone,

I'm facing an issue while setting up a life cycle model in openLCA version 2.2.0, using a free database.

I'm modeling a chemical process that includes common flows such as energy, water, and ethanol. However, when selecting these flows, I noticed that many of them do not have providers assigned, resulting in zero values in the impact analysis (I'm using the ReCiPe Midpoint H method).

I've reviewed the process and the flows, but the problem persists. Has anyone experienced a similar situation? How can I resolve this? Is there any specific configuration needed to ensure that these flows are correctly linked to the available providers in the database?

I appreciate any help you can provide!

Answer 1

You do not write which database you are using, could be that your supply chains are incomplete because they are not contained in the database (thus the database does not have processes that can provde products that are used in the database) or it could be that the database does not fit for the ReCiPe method you are using. The latter you can check quite easily by looking at the LCIA checks page in the results, there all flows, per impact category, are listed that are not considered in the LCIA method. Good luck!