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openLCA Excel format for process data sets

This repository contains the openLCA import and export logic for process data sets stored in Excel files. It can be also used as a stand-alone module (see this example).

Principles

Data linking

Each process data set is stored in a separate file, an Excel workbook. Within a workbook, things are identified by name. Reference data are listed in separate sheets of the workbook where then an ID (UUID) is assigned to the respective name. This ID is then used to link these data sets in an import. For example, a process could link to the location Aruba in the General information sheet. Then, in the Locations sheet of the workbook there would be a row for this location that also contains the ID. When the data set is imported, the import first checks if there is a location with this ID in the database and links it when this is the case. Otherwise, it will create that location with the information available in the Locations sheet.

For flows, it is the same principle, but they are identified by name and category; except for product and waste flows in the Allocation tab where these flows are referenced by name. Also, locations and currencies can be linked by their respective codes alternatively.

This principle - internal by name and external by ID - makes the workbook readable and the import reliable, but it requires that two things cannot have the same name (except for flows) within a workbook (which is in general a useful rule but maybe does not work in every use case).

Format

In a workbook the data is stored in several sheets where each sheet has a name that identifies the content of the sheet. There are two types of sheets: sheets that contain sections and sheets that contain a single table. A table sheet contains multiple entities of the same type. The first row of such a table contains the field names of these entities. The order of the columns is not important but the field names are. For example, the exchanges of a process are stored in the table sheets Inputs and Outputs, also the reference data sheets Flows, Units, Locations etc. are table sheets. A table sheet should not contain empty rows between filled rows.

In a sheet with sections, a section always starts with a section header in the first column that is the identifier of the section in the sheet. It can be followed by a set of field-value pairs or a table just like in a table sheet. In case of field-value pairs, the field identifiers are located in the first and the values in the second column of the sheet. The section ends with the first empty row after the section header. For example, the Time section in the General information sheet is a field-value section with the fields Valid from, Valid until, and Description. The section Input parameters in the sheet Parameters is a table section with the fields Name, Value, Uncertainty, etc.

Below the possible sheets, sections, and fields are listed:

  • Sheet General information:

    • Section General information
      • Field UUID: the unique ID of the process, string
      • Field Name: the name of the process, string
      • Field Category:
      • Field Description:
      • Field Version:
      • Field Last change:
      • Field Tags:
    • Section Time
    • Field Valid from:
    • Field Valid until:
    • Field Description:
    • Section Geography
      • Field Location:
      • Field Description:
    • Section Technology
      • Field Description:
    • Section Data quality
      • Field Flow schema:
      • Field Data quality entry:
      • Field Process schema:
      • Field Social schema:

  • Sheet Documentation

    • Section LCI method
      • Field Process type:
      • Field LCI method:
      • Field Modeling constants:
    • Section Data source information
      • Field Data completeness:
      • Field Data selection:
      • Field Data treatment:
      • Field Data collection period:
      • Field Sampling procedure:
      • Field Use advice:
    • Section Completeness: flow completeness aspects
      • each row under this section contains the aspect in the first column and the completeness value in the second column
    • Section Sources
    • Section Administrative information
      • Field Intended application:
      • Field Data set owner:
      • Field Data set generator:
      • Field Data set documentor:
      • Field Publication:
      • Field Access and use restrictions:
      • Field Project:
      • Field Creation date:
      • Field Copyright: true, if there is a copyright on the data set

  • Sheet Inputs | Outputs: inputs and outputs of the process

    • Field Is reference?: true | yes | x, if this is the reference flow of the process
    • Field Flow:
    • Field Category:
    • Field Amount:
    • Field Unit:
    • Field Costs/Revenues:
    • Field Currency:
    • Field Uncertainty:
    • Field (G)Mean | Mode:
    • Field SD | GSD:
    • Field Minimum:
    • Field Maximum:
    • Field Is avoided?:
    • Field Provider:
    • Field Data quality entry:
    • Field Location:
    • Field Description:

  • Sheet Allocation

    • Field Default allocation method: default allocation method as field-value pair: possible values are none, physical, economic, causal
    • Section Physical & economic allocation
      • Field Product: name of the co-/product
      • Field Category: category of the co-/product
      • Field Physical: physical allocation factor of that co-/product
      • Field Economic: economic allocation factor of that co-/product
    • Section Causal allocation
      • Field Flow: the name of the allocated flows
      • Field Category: the category of the allocated flow
      • Field Direction: the direction of the flow in the process
      • Field Amount: amount of the allocated flow in the process (just for information)
      • product column i: the respective allocation factors for the flow related to the co-/product i

  • Sheet Parameters

    • Section Global input parameters
      • Field Name: the parameter name (must be a valid name that can appear in formulas)
      • Field Value: the parameter value
      • Field Uncertainty: uncertainty distribution of the parameter; same format as for inputs and outputs above
      • Field (G)Mean | Mode
      • Field SD | GSD
      • Field Minimum
      • Field Maximum
      • Field Description
    • Section Global calculated parameters
      • Field Name
      • Field Formula:
      • Field Description
    • Section Input parameters: input parameters of the process; same fields as for global input parameters
    • Section Calculated parameters: calculated / dependent parameters of the process; same fields as for global calculated parameters above

  • Sheet Flows

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Type:
    • Field CAS:
    • Field Formula:
    • Field Location:
    • Field Reference flow property:

  • Sheet Flow properties

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Type:
    • Field Unit group:

  • Sheet Flow property factors: this sheet is only required when there are multiple flow properties of a flow

    • Field Flow
    • Field Category
    • Field Flow property
    • Field Conversion factor:

  • Sheet Unit groups

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Reference unit:
    • Field Default flow property:

  • Sheet Units

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Description
    • Field Unit group:
    • Field Synonyms:
    • Field Conversion factor:

  • Sheet Locations

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Code:
    • Field Latitude:
    • Field Longitude:

  • Sheet Actors

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Address:
    • Field City:
    • Field Zip code:
    • Field Country:
    • Field E-Mail:
    • Field Telefax:
    • Field Telephone:
    • Field Website:

  • Sheet Sources

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Description
    • Field Version
    • Field Last change
    • Field Tags
    • Field Text reference:
    • Field URL:
    • Field Year:

  • Sheet Providers

    • Field UUID
    • Field Name
    • Field Category
    • Field Location