Only one co‑product without alternatives

A product that has no alternative production routes is typically the determining product, simply because this is only way to produce the product.

If there is one and only one of the co-products that have no alternative production route this product is the only one that can be the determining product. An example is wheat grain that can only come from a wheat field. All the other co-products are then dependent co-products (by-products).

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• The chlor-alkali process An example of an activity that has only one product without an alternative production route, namely chlorine.
• Oxidation of manganese dioxide An example on identifying the determining product for the activity “oxidation of manganese dioxide”.
• Joint production of zinc and heavy metals An example on how to determine which product is the determining product, from a joint production of zinc and other heavy metals.

How to cite this: Consequential-LCA (2017). Only one co-product without alternatives. Last updated: 2017-05-22. www.consequential-lca.org.