How much CO2 does kaolin (china clay) processing emit per tonne?
Washed kaolin goes through slurrying, settling, filter pressing and drying. Drying fuel usually dominates, followed by pumping electricity. Calcined kaolin adds a kiln step that burns far more fuel per tonne, so report the two grades separately.
Records
- Dryer and kiln fuel by grade.
- Electricity for blungers, pumps and filter presses.
- Tonnes dispatched by grade, dry basis.
Calcining
Calcining drives off water bound in the clay; it is fuel heavy but not a carbonate, so there is no process CO2 like limestone.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads the plant's electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and fuel invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, the plant-level input to a per-unit figure. Bought-in materials go to the supplier evidence trail; product reports are self-declared drafts.
Sources: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, CEA CO2 Baseline Database
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.