Open source linking framework for life cycle assessment (Ocelot)
The Ocelot project is a joint effort by the Paul Scherrer Institut and the ecoinvent centre to build an open source library for applying system models in life cycle assessment. System models are a set of linking rules and assumptions, including how to handle activities that produce multiple outputs, how to construct markets in time and space, what products are substitutable, and who gets credit for the production of recyclable materials. The Ocelot project aims to provide a new approach to this problem through an open-source implementation of a system model linking framework. Initially, we will implement the cut-off and long-term consequential system models in ecoinvent 3.2. Due to the structure of Ocelot, however, users will also be able to make minor modifications on existing models or, with larger efforts, even create their own system models. Providing more transparent and easily modifiable linking algorithms will allow the Ocelot team and the research community to carry out the systematic tests needed to examine the robustness of the various system models, including isolating the effects of individual choices; the effects of different assumptions; and how appropriate certain assumptions are for various sectors of the economy.