How much carbon dioxide does an electric arc furnace make from carbon electrodes and added carbon, using the IPCC carbon contents?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gives carbon electrodes 0.82 kilograms (kg) of carbon per kg and added charge carbon 0.83. Multiply tonnes used by that figure and by 44/12 to get carbon dioxide (CO2): about 3.0 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of electrode.

The two carbon contents in Table 4.3

• Electric arc furnace (EAF) carbon electrodes: 0.82 kg of carbon per kg. The guide assumes 80 percent petroleum coke (0.87) and 20 percent coal tar (0.62), and 0.8 x 0.87 + 0.2 x 0.62 = 0.82.
• EAF charge carbon: 0.83, assumed to be coke oven coke.

The sum

1. Take tonnes of electrodes consumed in the period, from purchases and stock.
2. Multiply by 0.82 to get tonnes of carbon, then by 44/12 to get CO2. That is 3.007 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of electrode.
3. Do the same for carbon added to the charge, at 0.83: 3.043 tonnes of CO2 per tonne.
4. The guide treats all carbon used in EAFs as process emissions. The furnace's electricity is a separate line (my note: it comes from your power bill).

What the guide prints as typical

It says electrode consumption amounts to about 3.5 kg a tonne for EAF furnaces, and that some furnaces also add carbon, typically about 20 kg a tonne, for process control or through charged materials that substitute for iron. It says that carbon should be counted too.

My arithmetic, taking the tonne as a tonne of steel: 3.5 x 0.82 x 44/12 = 10.5 kg of CO2 a tonne from electrodes, and 20 x 0.83 x 44/12 = 60.9 kg from added carbon, together 71.4 kg, against a Tier 1 default of 0.08 tonnes. The guide does not say the default is built this way. It also says that in a majority of scrap charged EAFs the CO2 is mainly from electrodes, so where no carbon is added the electrode line is the one to find.

In an electric induction furnace the guide says the charge is 100 percent steel scrap with no carbon electrodes, and no appreciable CO2 or methane (CH4) comes from the steelmaking itself.

A caution on totals

In the guide's full Tier 2 equation for iron and steel, the electrodes are one input term, added carbon enters through the other carbonaceous material terms, and the equation also subtracts carbon that leaves in the steel made. The lines here are carbon in, not a site total.

The 0.82 is the IPCC default for carbon electrodes. Graphite electrodes with supplier analysis, as on the graphite electrode page, carry more carbon per kg, so use that page's figures when you have the analysis.

One year at a small arc furnace shop

• Electrodes bought: 12 tonnes x 0.82 = 9.84 tonnes of carbon x 44/12 = 36.1 tonnes of CO2
• Carbon added to charge: 100 tonnes x 0.83 = 83 tonnes of carbon x 44/12 = 304.3 tonnes of CO2
• Carbon in, before any that stays in the steel: 36.1 + 304.3 = 340.4 tonnes

Tonnes are example numbers. Use purchase invoices and stock records for yours.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the coke, coal, gas and power bought each month are on file. The process carbon in this page comes from your own purchase and lab records, not from the bills.

• IPCC steel defaults by route
• Arc furnace and induction in one plant
• Are graphite electrodes in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• Graphite electrode CO2 in EAF steel
• Free calculators

Sources: IPCC, 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 3, Chapter 4: Metal Industry Emissions

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Figures are from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. Check whether your buyer or reporting scheme asks for a different edition of the IPCC guidance, and use your own plant measurements where you have them.