Investigating the impacts of data sourcing in LCA using uncertainty-sensitivity analysis with a case study of soil remediation

Abstract

Acquiring life cycle inventory (LCI) data has been a major challenge for life cycle assessment (LCA), which not only affects results accuracy, but also consumes significant time and effort. LCI data can be classified into primary and secondary data. There is broad consensus that secondary data are more readily obtainable than primary data, albeit with higher inherent uncertainty. This study employs soil washing technology as a case system to examine the substitutability of secondary for primary data across seven LCI data categories. Data substitutability determinations were made based on comprehensive uncertainty-sensitivity profiling. Across all three impact categories, water data demonstrated strong substitutability, eliminating the need for on-site collection, whereas concrete showed limited substitutability. This study provides new insights into harmonizing the use of primary and secondary data to achieve a balance between data collection costs and the accuracy of LCA results, thereby maximizing the efficiency of LCA.