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Accounting Academy

MODULE 1: Fundamentals

MODULE 2: Calculations

MODULE 3: Batch Partitioning & LCA

MODULE 4: Mass Balance with Ledgers

MODULE 5: Integration Testing

MODULE 6: Advanced Patterns & Production

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mangrovesystems.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

What you’ll learn in this lesson:
  • Identify the three categories of LCA emissions in carbon projects
  • Understand why net carbon removal requires deducting emissions
  • Map emission sources to event types and model inputs
  • Calculate process emissions using emission factors
Carbon removal projects don’t just remove carbon — they also produce emissions in the process. Pyrolysis requires energy, transportation burns fuel, and equipment has embodied carbon from manufacturing. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) captures all of these emissions so that the reported output is net carbon removal, not gross.

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Why LCA matters

Without LCA, a project could claim carbon removal without accounting for the carbon it emitted during operations. This would overstate the real climate benefit. Methodologies require LCA because:
  • Verifiers need it. Auditors check that reported net removals account for all material emission sources.
  • Registries mandate it. Standards bodies like Isometric, Puro.earth, and CARB require LCA calculations as part of their quantification methodology.
  • It ensures credibility. Net carbon figures that account for emissions are defensible and trustworthy in the carbon market.

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The three emission categories

Process Emissions

Energy consumed during production operations.
  • Electricity for pyrolysis
  • Propane/natural gas for heating
  • On-site equipment fuel
  • Water treatment energy

Embodied Emissions

Carbon from manufacturing and construction, amortized over the equipment’s lifetime.
  • Pyrolysis reactor manufacturing
  • Facility construction
  • Major equipment replacement
  • Typically amortized over 10-20 years

Upstream Emissions

Emissions from activities before production begins.
  • Feedstock collection and transport
  • Feedstock processing/preparation
  • Supply chain logistics
  • Raw material extraction
Not every project has all three categories. The specific emission sources depend on the project type and methodology. The methodology defines which sources must be included in the LCA boundary.
For projects needing balance tracking and automatic amortization of embodied emissions across batches, see the Embodied Emissions system ledger approach.

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Mapping emissions to Mangrove

Each emission source becomes either an event type (for variable data) or a static input (for fixed factors).

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Event types for emission data

Event TypeExample DatapointsCadence
Energy ConsumptionElectricity (kWh), propane (gallons), date rangeMonthly
TransportationDistance (km), fuel type, vehicle type, delivery IDPer-trip

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Static inputs for emission factors

Static InputValueUnit
Grid emission factor0.417kg CO2e/kWh
Propane emission factor5.72kg CO2e/gallon
Diesel emission factor2.68kg CO2e/liter
Embodied emissions (amortized)50tCO2e/year
Store emission factors as static inputsin the resource library rather than hardcoding them as constants in the model. This makes it easy to update factors when methodologies change without modifying the model itself.

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Calculating process emissions

Process emissions are the most common LCA component. Here’s how each is calculated:
1

Electricity emissions

electricity_emissions = kWh × grid_emission_factorExample: 10,000 kWh × 0.417 kg/kWh = 4,170 kg CO2e (4.17 tCO2e)
2

Propane emissions

propane_emissions = gallons × propane_emission_factorExample: 500 gallons × 5.72 kg/gallon = 2,860 kg CO2e (2.86 tCO2e)
3

Transport emissions

transport_emissions = distance × fuel_emission_factor × fuel_consumption_rateExample: 200 km × 0.30 L/km × 2.68 kg/L = 160.8 kg CO2e (0.16 tCO2e)
4

Total process emissions

total_process = electricity + propane + transportExample: 4.17 + 2.86 + 0.16 = 7.19 tCO2e

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Building LCA into your model

In the Model Editor , LCA calculations are typically built as a separate branch of the node tree that feeds into a final difference node:

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Check your understanding

Process emissions (energy consumed during operations), embodied emissions (manufacturing and construction, amortized over equipment lifetime), and upstream emissions (feedstock collection, transport, and pre-processing). The methodology defines which sources must be included.
Static inputs can be updated in the resource library without modifying the model. When a methodology updates its emission factors (e.g., a new grid emission factor), you only need to change the static input value — all future batch calculations automatically use the new factor. Constants hardcoded in the model require a model edit and new version.
Next, learn how to allocate shared emissions across individual batches in Lesson 3.4: Allocating Emissions to Batches.