Lesson 1Assessing data quality: temporal, geographic, technological representativeness and uncertaintyThis part shows data quality checks for life cycle inventory, covering time, place, and technology match, completeness, accuracy, and uncertainty. It explains how to score and record quality for bottle system data sets.
Temporal representativeness and data ageGeographic coverage and regional relevanceTechnological representativeness of processesCompleteness and precision of inventory flowsQualitative scoring and uncertainty flagsLesson 2Transport modeling: modal choices, typical distances for North America and Europe, fuel and load factorsThis part explains how to model transport for bottle systems, choosing transport types, guessing usual distances in regions, and setting real fuel use, load factors, and return trip ideas for North America and Europe.
Selecting relevant freight transport modesTypical road, rail, sea distances by regionEstimating fuel consumption and emission factorsModeling load factors and empty backhaulsAllocating transport to functional unitLesson 3Identifying required inventory flows: materials, energy, transport, water, wasteThis part introduces how to find all needed inventory flows for bottle life cycle inventories, including materials, energy, transport, water, emissions, and waste. It shows how to make sure everything is complete and matches the functional unit.
Linking flows to the functional unitListing material inputs and auxiliary materialsIdentifying energy carriers and utilitiesCapturing transport, water, and emissionsChecking completeness and avoiding double countingLesson 4Using secondary datasets: ecoinvent, US LCI, ELCD, GaBi proxies — how to search and select matching processesThis part focuses on picking and using secondary life cycle inventory data from places like ecoinvent, US LCI, ELCD, and GaBi, including search tips, proxy picks, metadata checks, and changing data to fit bottle system needs.
Searching databases for matching processesInterpreting metadata and system boundariesChoosing and justifying proxy processesAdapting datasets to regional conditionsHandling cutoffs and allocation in datasetsLesson 5Documenting sources and citing datasets, papers, calculators, and government statisticsThis part explains how to clearly record all life cycle inventory sources, like databases, checked papers, industry reports, calculators, and government stats, and how to cite them the same way for repeatable bottle studies.
Creating a structured LCI data logReferencing LCI databases and versionsCiting peer‑reviewed and industry studiesUsing and documenting online calculatorsReferencing government and statistical dataLesson 6Modeling manufacturing processes: steel production, injection/stretch blow molding for PET, forming and finishingThis part covers modeling making processes for PET and stainless steel bottles, including steel making paths, PET resin making, injection and stretch blow molding, forming, trimming, finishing, and adding scrap and yield losses.
Steelmaking routes and alloy specificationsPET resin production and drying stepsInjection and stretch blow molding parametersForming, trimming, and surface finishingModeling scrap rates and material yield lossesLesson 7End-of-life pathways: recycling rates, mechanical recycling processes for PET and stainless steel, landfill, incineration with energy recoveryThis part explains how to model end-of-life for PET and stainless steel bottles, including area recycling rates, mechanical recycling steps, landfill and burning with energy recovery, and sharing recycling benefits and loads.
Collecting regional recycling and disposal ratesModeling PET mechanical recycling processesModeling stainless steel recycling routesLandfill and incineration with energy recoveryAllocation approaches for recycling creditsLesson 8Estimating material composition and mass flows for stainless steel and PET bottlesThis part describes how to guess material makeup and mass flows for PET and stainless steel bottles, including wall thickness, caps, labels, extra parts, and turning drawings or material lists into life cycle inventory inputs.
Interpreting drawings and specificationsEstimating PET and steel wall thicknessesAccounting for caps, labels, and coatingsConverting volumes to masses and densitiesBuilding mass balance tables for the LCILesson 9Use-phase modeling for reusable bottles: washing scenarios (hand vs. dishwasher), frequency of reuse, cleaning agents and hot water energyThis part details how to model the use stage of reusable bottles, including washing times, hand vs. machine cleaning, hot water energy need, soap use, and user habits that greatly affect overall life cycle inventory results.
Defining realistic reuse frequency scenariosHand washing water, energy, and detergent useDishwasher cycles, loading, and energy profilesModeling hot water generation and fuel mixesSensitivity analysis on user behavior patterns
