How much fuel and carbon dioxide does the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assume per tonne of ammonia, and does the process route change it?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 Tier 1 gives total fuel use per tonne of ammonia of 29.7 to 30.2 gigajoules (GJ) for modern natural gas reforming and 36.0 for partial oxidation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) of 1.666 to 1.694 tonnes for gas and 2.772 for partial oxidation.

The table, per tonne of ammonia (fuel plus feedstock)

• Conventional reforming, natural gas, modern plants in Europe: 30.2 GJ, plus or minus 6%; 1.694 tonnes of CO2.
• Excess air reforming, natural gas: 29.7 GJ; 1.666 tonnes.
• Autothermal reforming, natural gas: 30.2 GJ; 1.694 tonnes.
• Partial oxidation: 36.0 GJ; carbon content 21.0 kilograms per GJ; 2.772 tonnes.
• Average value, natural gas, a mix of modern and older plants: 37.5 GJ, plus or minus 7%; 2.104 tonnes.
• Average value, partial oxidation: 42.5 GJ; 3.273 tonnes.

Which row to use

The guide says that for Tier 1 it is good practice to use the highest total fuel requirement per tonne of ammonia, and, if you do not know the fuel, the partial oxidation average. Natural gas rows use 15.3 kilograms of carbon per GJ. Each CO2 figure is fuel use x carbon content x 44/12, so 30.2 x 15.3 x 44 / 12 / 1,000 = 1.694. The 30.2 GJ row describes modern plants in Europe, so it is a floor, not a typical Indian plant, and the Tier 1 good practice is the highest fuel requirement.

Take off CO2 sent to urea or storage

Tier 2 and 3 use total fuel x carbon content x oxidation factor x 44/12, minus CO2 recovered for downstream use. The guide names urea production and carbon capture and storage as the recoveries to subtract. It says CO2 recovered for industrial gas use is not subtracted, because that carbon is assumed to reach the air in the producing country. This is the IPCC inventory rule. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) treats CO2 bound in urea differently, so read the Kakinada page before using it for CBAM. If data on urea production are missing, the guide says to assume zero CO2 recovered.

A plant making 100,000 tonnes of ammonia a year (example output)

• Total fuel at 30.2 GJ per tonne (the Europe-only row): 100,000 x 30.2 = 3,020,000 GJ
• Modern reforming row: 100,000 x 1.694 = 169,400 tonnes of CO2
• Average natural gas row: 100,000 x 2.104 = 210,400 tonnes
• With 60,000 tonnes of CO2 sent to a urea unit, the average row gives 210,400 minus 60,000 = 150,400 tonnes

Output and the urea volume are example numbers. Use your own gas meter records and urea unit logs.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the gas and power a plant buys are on file month by month. The CO2 sent to urea comes from the plant's own logs, not from bills.

• Free calculators
• CBAM default values for India: urea and ammonia
• Nitric acid plant nitrous oxide
• Gas as feedstock or fuel at a urea plant, and CBAM

Sources: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 3 chapter 3: Chemical Industry Emissions, section 3.2 (Table 3.1, Equations 3.2 to 3.4)

Last reviewed 2026-11-04. Factors are from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, which cite 2000 and 2001 European data. For CBAM or a lender, measured plant data should replace them.