Help with Modeling Module D

Question

Hello,

I’m modeling Module D (avoided impacts) for an incineration process that involves paper, wood, and PE film. This process generates electricity and heat, and I am trying to account for the avoided impacts from displacing grid electricity and natural gas heat.

I have set the inputs as electricity and heat from municipal waste incineration, and my outputs are set as electricity and heat (natural gas) with negative values to represent the avoided impacts. However, I am getting 0 as the result for avoided impacts.

My Questions:

1. How can I correctly combine the electricity and heat outputs from these three materials into a single process for Module D?

2. Should I sum the electricity and heat outputs and set them as negative values to represent the avoided impacts?

3. Are the datasets I am using for electricity and heat from municipal waste incineration correct, or do I need to adjust something to reflect the energy displacement accurately?

Any help or guidance on resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hello Lina Rojas,

To model module D, you need to consider only the avoided impacts. The input required to avoid those impacts are located in module C3 or C4, not in D.

To model avoided impacts you need to know how much heat, and how much electricity is generated from incinerating 1 kg of each of the three materials. If you use the EcoInvent dataset, this is usually described in the process description.

When you have the factors for each material, you multiply with the amount of each material.

This should give you an output of electricity, and an output of heat for each material. Then sum across heat, and across electricity. This should give you a total amount of displaced electricity, and displaced heat.

Select representative processes for which energy is replaced (In Denmark i use natural gas for heat, and residual electricity for electricity, but this depends on your geography).

Input the total displaced heat energy in the heat process, and select avoided impact. Do the same for electricity.

Calculate the product system, and this should give you negative impacts for the two processes.

Good luck