MarILCA Characterization Factors for Microplastics, Tire Particles and Cellulosic Fibers in Life Cycle Assessment: Regionalized impacts in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems

DOI: v1.0.0

This repository provides the code and data used to compute fate factores (FFs) and characterization factors (CFs) based on SimpleBox object-oriented (SBoo). So far, SBoo Version 2026.3.1 was used (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19388881)

This repository provides all scripts and input data required to:

• Compute steady-state and dynamic CFs
• Retrieve default CFs
• Generate graphs and figure

If you use the CFs, please cite:

• The publication (preprint: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6727270)
• The version used (with the DOI corresponding to the release used)

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1. Install SBoo

To install SBoo, open R and run:

source("InstallSBoo.R")

This will:

• Install the selected version/branch of SBoo.
• Create a new folder called SimpleBox, which will contain SBoo and SBooScripts folders.

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2. Run

Steady-State CFs

source("02_Run_SB_CI.R")

Dynamic Simulation

source("04_Run_SB_Dyn.R")

All outputs are saved in:

/results/

Where the following are stored:

Steady sate FFs and CFs:

 /results/SI_C.xlsx 

Time-horizon dependent FFs and CFs:

 /results/SI_D.xlsx

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3. Default CFs

To compute the default characterization factors (CFs):

source("03_Default_CF.R")

These CFs are based on:

• Emission weighted averages of CFs for unknown material CFs
• Regional emission weighted CFs of plastics for unknown emission location
• Default size (diamter or thickness) CFs for each shape/material
• A decision tree is provided in Figure S.19 to select the appropriate CF

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4. Repository Structure

├── data/                         # Scenario-specific datasets for SBoo
├── input/                        # Model input files (Regionalized data and TrackMPD data)
├── results/                      # Model outputs
├── figures/                      # Generated figures shown in the publication
├── previous marilca cfs/         # Previous CF datasets (MarILCA)
│
├── InstallSBoo.R                 # Installation script
├── installRequirements.R         # Installation
├── 02_Run_SB_CI.R                # Main steady-state model run
├── 03_Default_CF.R               # Default CF calculation
├── 04_Run_SB_Dyn.R               # Dynamic model run 
├── Compare_outcomes.R            # Comparison of model outputs
├── SI_Graphing.ipynb             # Graphing and visualization notebook
│
├── LICENSE.md
└── README.md

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License

Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International, as specified in LICENSE.md.