Drinking water

This data set has been modeled according to the European Standard EN 15804+A2 for Sustainable Building. Results are depicted in modules that allow the structured expression of results over the entire life cycle.

This dataset represents the German tap water mix. 70% of the German tap water mix stems from groundwater, 30% from surface water. Groundwater has a higher quality than surface water. But it can still contain chemicals from agricultury, landfills, etc. which have to be removed. The purification of groundwater is less complicated than that one of surface water, some of the steps are similar. Water extracted from lakes or rivers still contains a lot of microbes and hazardous chemicals which have to be removed to make it drinkable. The Following steps are common to achieve the high quality of drinking water: Clarification: Silt, algae, colour, manganese and other matter from raw water. A coagulant like aluminium or iron salt is used to coagulate the undesired matter from the water which can then easily be removed by sedimentation or flotation. Filtration: Particles are removed by using filters during this stage. There is a variety of different filter types, two examples are a bed of sand and a membrane filter. Disinfection: All hazardous microbes have to be removed. The most common method for disinfection is using chlorine. After the disinfection, a small amount of chlorine often remains in the water to keep the water safe during the transport. Other disinfection methods are using ozone or UV radiation. Ion exchange: This process can be used to remove undesired ions from the water. Activated carbon: Can be used to remove organics. Background system: Electricity: Electricity is modelled according to the individual country-specific situations. The country-specific modelling is achieved on multiple levels. Firstly, individual energy carrier specific power plants and plants for renewable energy sources are modelled according to the current national electricity grid mix. Modelling the electricity consumption mix includes transmission / distribution losses and the own use by energy producers (own consumption of power plants and "other" own consumption e.g. due to pumped storage hydro power etc.), as well as imported electricity. Secondly, the national emission and efficiency standards of the power plants are modelled as well as the share of electricity plants and combined heat and power plants (CHP). Thirdly, the country-specific energy carrier supply (share of imports and / or domestic supply) including the country-specific energy carrier properties (e.g. element and energy content) are accounted for. Fourthly, the exploration, mining/production, processing and transport processes of the energy carrier supply chains are modelled according to the specific situation of each electricity producing country. The different production and processing techniques (emissions and efficiencies) in the different energy producing countries are considered, e.g. different crude oil production technologies or different flaring rates at the oil platforms. Thermal energy, process steam: The thermal energy and process steam supply is modelled according to the individual country-specific situation with regard to emission standards and considered energy carriers. The thermal energy and process steam are produced at heat plants. Efficiencies for thermal energy production are by definition 100% in relation to the corresponding energy carrier input. For process steam the efficiency ranges from 85%, 90% to 95%. The energy carriers used for the generation of thermal energy and process steam are modelled according to the specific import situation (see electricity above). Transports: All relevant and known transport processes are included. Ocean-going and inland ship transport as well as rail, truck and pipeline transport of bulk commodities are considered. Energy carriers: The energy carriers are modelled according to the specific supply situation (see electricity above). Refinery products: Diesel fuel, gasoline, technical gases, fuel oils, lubricants and residues such as bitumen are modelled with a parameterised country-specific refinery model. The refinery model represents the current national standard in refining techniques (e.g. emission level, internal energy consumption, etc.) as well as the individual country-specific product output spectrum, which can be quite different from country to country. The supply of crude oil is modelled, again, according to the country-specific situation with the respective properties of the resources.

This product can be used in construction.