GaBi Paper Clip Tutorial - GaBi Software

Procedure
We do this to specify the functional unit: 1 paper clip. All data for the process will now
refer to the production of 1 paper clip. If you change the quantity back to mass, the
amount will be converted to 0.00035kg.
We need the same amount of steel wire on the input side.
43. Enter the input mass ‘0.00035’ now.
3.18 Flow types
In order to calculate the potential environmental impact of a system, GaBi needs to
understand the nature of the input and output flows. In GaBi, all flows must be defined as
either an elementary or non-elementary flows.
Elementary flows are flows that enter the technosphere directly from nature (those you
can find in the Resources flow-folder) and flows that exit the technosphere directly to
nature (e.g. all flows in the Emissions to air, water and soil folders). In our system, iron ore
for the production of steel is an elementary flow entering the paper clip technosphere.
Carbon dioxide emissions, arising from production, are an elementary flow leaving the
paper clip technosphere.
Non-elementary flows are flows that move only within the technosphere. They are not
entering directly from the natural world and do not exit the technosphere to the natural
world. GaBi requires that you specify, within a process, if a flow is an elementary flow, a
waste flow or a tracked flow.
Tracked flows include valuable substance and energy flows that can be used in another
process. A tracked output flow can be connected with a tracked input flow of the following
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