US-EI Database

The US-EI dataset was created to provide an interim American database to the LCA practioners. This data can be used in studies involving U.S. based processes for production, transport, use or disposal. The US-EI dataset bridges the current gap in the US LCI database and applies U.S. electrical conditions to the ecoinvent database.  The dataset includes modified processes for the 423 processes contained in the US LCI database (version 1.6) and for the 3,974 unit processes contained in the ecoinvent database (version 2.2).  

Specifically, for the US LCI Database 144 of the 178 dummy processes were replaced with ecoinvent proxies using US electricity. Some of the dummy processes were not replaced if they were not available in the ecoinvent dataset.   For the ecoinvent dataset, all processes using electricity from Switzerland or one of the European regions (RER, UCTE, CENTREL or NORDEL) were indirectly adapted to instead use U.S. electricity.  This was done by rerouting electricity production/ distribution to U.S. electricity production/ distribution in the following processes 

Electricity, medium voltage, production UCTE, at grid/UCTE U
Electricity, low voltage, at grid/CH U
Electricity, low voltage, production UCTE, at grid/UCTE U
Electricity, medium voltage, at grid/CH U
Electricity, medium voltage, production NORDEL, at grid/NORDEL U
Electricity, high voltage, production UCTE, at grid/UCTE U
Electricity, production mix UCTE/UCTE U
Electricity, low voltage, production RER, at grid/RER U
Electricity, medium voltage, production CENTREL, at grid/CENTREL U
Electricity, low voltage, production CH, at grid/CH U
Electricity, medium voltage, production CH, at grid/CH U

No other modifications were made to adapt the ecoinvent database, and because of geographic differences other than used electricity, there is no guarantee that the resulting inventory is closer to the U.S. conditions than the original ecoinvent dataset.

 This library was created in 2009 by Sylvatica on behalf of EarthShift, info@earthshift.com, (802) 434-3326. For additional information on the original processes, see the ecoinvent and the USLCI System Descriptions.

The following two diagrams illustrate the Ecoinvent modifications:

The following three diagrams illustrate the USLCI modifications: