Expansion of the Petroleum Refinery Life Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM) to Support Characterization of a Full Suite of Commonly Tracked Impact Potentials
This study updates the Petroleum Refinery Life Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM) to provide a more complete gate-to-gate life cycle inventory and to allow for the calculation of a full suite of impact potentials commonly used in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. We updated the model to add criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, releases to water, releases to land, and managed wastes reflecting 2014 reported releases and waste management practices using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, National Emissions Inventory, Discharge Monitoring Reports, and Toxic Release Inventory together with process unit capacities and fuel consumption data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (U.S. EIA). The expanded version of PRELIM offers users a reliable, transparent, and streamlined tool for estimating the effect of changes in petroleum refineries on LCIA results in the context of policy analysis.