Location: RER - Europe
This dataset represents the service of transport in a passenger car for a journey length of 1vkm and is valid for Europe. Fuel consumption and emissions are for average vehicle use and not representative of a specific driving cycle. The dataset is parametrized with respect to vehicle size, fuel consumption and vehicle lifetime.
Datasets for three different passenger car categories are available in ecoinvent in view of size: small, medium and large.
The category “small” includes passenger cars with engine size up to 1.4 liters. The average weight of this category is estimated to be 1200 kg.
The category “medium” includes passenger cars with engine size between 1.4 and 2.0 liters. The average weight of this category is estimated to be 1600 kg.
The category “large” includes passenger cars with engine size larger than 2.0 liters. The average weight of this category is estimated to be 2000 kg.
The passenger car size influences the amount of both exhaust and non-exhaust emissions. The exhaust emissions caused by the burning of fuel are divided into two groups: fuel dependent emissions (dependent on fuel type and quantity) and Euro class dependent emissions which reflect the emission standards which the vehicle complies with. Three classes of Euro engine type are considered: Euro 3, Euro 4 and Euro 5. The higher the class (e.g. Euro 5), the lower the emissions and viceversa. The Euro engine regulation is set by the European Commission “in order to limit as much as possible the negative impact of road vehicles on the environment and health” (European Commission 2012). This dataset considers a small petrol passenger car of Euro 5 class. Also included within the direct exchanges to the environment are the fuel evaporation emissions from the fuel tank, relevant to petrol vehicles only.
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Non-exhaust emissions are those resulting from tyre, brake and road wear. These emissions are considered as by-products.
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Reference: European Commission - Mobility and transport. (n.d.). Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards: reduction of pollutant emissions from light. Retrieved May 31, 2012, from http://ec.europa.eu/transport/index_en.htm: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/vehicles/doc/legislation_guide_othe…
Undefined unit processes (UPRs) are the unlinked, multi-product activity datasets that form the basis for all of the system models available in the ecoinvent database. This is the way the datasets are obtained and entered into the database by the data providers. These activity datasets are useful for investigating the environmental impacts of a specific activity (gate-to-gate), without regard to its upstream or downstream impacts.