What can be entered?


Basic Data

On the basis of the crop, the SQCB tool chooses a production pathway, at this time biodiesel or bioethanol (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Basic Data

The user has to choose between different types of processing where available (e.g. cold pressing / hexane extraction for the milling step in biodiesel production) and should select the country where the feedstock is cultivated.

The user must then enter overall delivery of biomass for each of his providers. The tool collects specific cultivation data for each provider, as it is assumed that farmers delivering biomass to a plant can have different environmental profiles. With this procedure, the tool allows comparing different providers.


Cultivation Data

The main material and energy inputs in an LCA inventory of cultivation are summarized in Table 2. The most relevant ones with regard to the LCA results are asked for in the SQCB questionnaire. For inputs judged of low relevance for the SQCB tool, like machine use, default data is used.

Table 1: Main material and energy inputs in an LCA inventory of cultivation and their modeling in the SQCB tool.

Input type

Default value

User’s total value

User’s specific value

Comment

Fertilizer (mineral and organic)

x

x

x

For the total values, the split of different fertilizers from reference data set

Pesticides

x

x

x

For the total values, the split of different pesticides from reference data set

Machine use

x

Irrigation

x

x

Transports

x

Grain drying

x


The data entry for the cultivation is divided in 4 steps (land use, mineral fertilizer, organic fertilizer and pesticides. These pages are explained in the following chapters.


Land use

Figure 4 shows the structure of the land use page.

Figure 4: Cultivation data, Land use

This page is used to answer the following questions:

  • What is the crop yield?
  • In which ecological and geographical context is the crop cultivated?
  • How is the cultivation practice?
  • What land use changes are induced by this crop production?

The user gets more detailed information when using the help buttons.


Mineral fertilizer

Figure 5 shows the structure of the mineral fertilizer page.

Figure 5: Cultivation data, Mineral Fertilizer. The bottom of the page with the detailed entry for K-fertilizer is cut off.

On this page, the user can choose between:

  • no mineral fertilizer use
  • only total use
  • entering specific data of mineral fertilizer

When choosing 1., the user comes to the next page.

When choosing 2., the user enters the total quantity of the specific nutrients. The SQCB tool uses the proportion of the specific fertilizer types of the ecoinvent reference data to calculate the inputs of specific fertilizers.

When choosing 3., the user can enter specific data and choose between 10 N-, 6 P- and 4 K-fertilizers (see Table 2).


Table 2: Fertilizers in the SQCB tool

Fertilizers

Country

unit

nutrient

ammonium nitrate phosphate, as N

RER

kg

N

ammonium nitrate, as N

RER

kg

N

ammonium sulphate, as N

RER

kg

N

calcium ammonium nitrate, as N

RER

kg

N

calcium nitrate, as N

RER

kg

N

diammonium phosphate, as N

RER

kg

N

monoammonium phosphate, as N

RER

kg

N

potassium nitrate, as N

RER

kg

N

urea ammonium nitrate, as N

RER

kg

N

urea, as N

RER

kg

N

ammonium nitrate phosphate, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

diammonium phosphate, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

monoammonium phosphate, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

thomas meal, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

triple superphosphate, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

single superphosphate, as P2O5

RER

kg

P

potassium chloride, as K2O

RER

kg

K

potassium nitrate, as K2O

RER

kg

K

potassium sulphate, as K2O

RER

kg

K


If the specific fertilizer of the user does not exist in the tool, the user is advised to choose a fertilizer with similar nutrients composition.


Table 3: Composition of the multi-nutrient fertilizers (Nemecek and Kägi 2007)

Fertilizer type

N

P2O5

K2O

Ca

ammonium nitrate

35%

calcium ammonium nitrate

27%

urea

46%

urea ammonium nitrate

32%

calcium nitrate

16%

single superphosphate

21%

triple superphosphate

48%

Thomas meal

17%

32%

potassium sulphate

50%

potassium chloride

60%

ammonium nitrate phosphate

8% 

52%

potassium nitrate

14%

44%

monoammonium phosphate

11% 

52%

diammonium phosphate,

18%

46%


Organic Fertilizer

Figure 6 shows the structure of the organic fertilizer page.

Figure 6: Cultivation, Organic fertilizer. The bottom of the page with the detailed entry for liquid fertilizer is cut of.

On this page, the user can choose between

  • no organic fertilizer use
  • only total use
  • entering specific data of organic fertilizer

When choosing 1., the user comes to the next page

When choosing 2., the user enters the total quantity of liquid or solid manure. The SQCB tool uses an average nutrient composition for the liquid resp. solid manure.

When choosing 3., the user can enter specific data and choose between liquid manure from pig or cattle resp. solid manure from pig, cattle or poultry. Dilution water is entered separately.


Pesticide

Figure 7 shows the structure of the pesticide page.

Figure 7: Cultivation, Pesticide.

On this page, the user can choose between

  • no pesticide use
  • only total use
  • entering specific data for pesticide

When choosing 1.,the user comes to the next page.

When choosing 2., the user enters the total quantity of pesticides. The SQCB tool uses the proportion of the specific pesticides of the ecoinvent reference data to calculate the inputs of specific pesticides.

When choosing 3., the user can enter specific data and choose between about 200 pesticide types.


Processing data

On this page, the user can choose between using default values from the ecoinvent reference data set or enter specific data. By ticking the latter choice, the processing step divides then in two steps, production of the raw fuel and fuel refining. For biodiesel, these two steps are milling and esterification, for ethanol, distillation and dehydration (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Processing, Fuel production. The bottom of the page with the detailed entry for fuel refining is cut off.

For each step, the user can enter energy use, chemical use and raw material requirements of his production process. He has also to enter the prices of his product and by-products as well as the relative production of by-products so as to allow the calculation of the allocation factors.


Transport and fuel use

No data entries of the user are possible with respect to the transportation of the fuel to the gauging station and the use of the passenger car. The required LCIs are automatically supplemented on the basis of background data, which is the ecoinvent database.


Social Criteria

Aim of this page is to increase the awareness of the user as regards to the fact that the production of biofuels must fulfil minimum social criteria. The page requires entry for the main social aspects that are covered by the Swiss legislation, which are

  • Guarantee of free association and protection of the right to organize
  • Interdiction of forced labour
  • Interdiction of child work
  • Interdiction of discrimination

The user can tick yes or no by these points.

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