Thane's chemical units burn more biomass than any other fuel: what does that do to their carbon figure?
Biomass briquettes give 34% of the Thane chemical cluster's 36,590 toe but none of its fossil CO2, which is reported separately. Grid power, only 23% of the energy, carries about 60% of the cluster's estimated 109,000 to 112,000 t fossil CO2. So kWh, not the boiler, drives most units' figures.
The cluster's energy (2019-20)
- More than 325 units; over 80% make bulk drugs, the rest solvent distillation, resins, dyes, pigments and cosmetic chemicals.
- Biomass: 33,048 t a year, 12,314 toe.
- Light diesel, furnace oil and diesel: 10,081 kL, 8,889 toe.
- Electricity: 97.4 million kWh, 8,375 toe.
- Natural gas: 8 million scm, 7,012 toe, mainly in boilers.
A typical unit
The profile puts an API or pharmaceutical unit at 190.6 toe a year, of which 78.1 toe is electricity and 112.4 toe thermal. An other chemicals unit uses 150.2 toe, with only 21.6 toe electricity. Thermal energy is 73% of a unit's use, so the boiler fuel you choose sets your thermal CO2 and your power bill sets the rest.
How to report biomass
- Briquettes and wood: report the CO2 as biogenic, outside Scope 1, with tonnes and supplier.
- Methane and nitrous oxide from burning them do count in Scope 1, a small amount.
- Gas, oil and coal: Scope 1 in full.
- Keep briquette invoices by weight; a bill in rupees alone cannot be converted.
Scheme to check
Thane is on BEE's first-phase ADEETIE list for chemicals, which supports efficient boilers, motors and other listed technologies with an interest subvention on a bank loan.
An API unit's own CO2 (estimate)
- Electricity: 78.1 toe = about 908 MWh x 0.675 = 613 t CO2
- Thermal 112.4 toe on natural gas: 4,706 GJ x 56.1 kg = 264 t CO2, total about 877 t
- Same thermal on briquettes: fossil total about 613 t, plus about 470 t biogenic reported separately
- Cluster: gas 16,400 t, oil 26,700 to 29,900 t, power 65,745 t; biomass about 51,600 t biogenic
From the 2019-20 cluster profile with IPCC 2006 defaults (oil between diesel and furnace oil, biomass 100 kg CO2 per GJ) and the CEA FY 2025-26 grid factor.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads briquette, gas and oil invoices and electricity bills into one record and keeps biomass CO2 on its own line, so your carbon number shows both.
Sources: SAMEEEKSHA, Thane chemical cluster summary (2019-20 data), TERI for BEE, Cluster profile report: Thane chemical cluster, BEE, ADEETIE scheme booklet (eligible clusters and technologies), IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel emission factors), CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector (grid factor 0.675 kg CO2 per kWh, FY 2025-26)
Last reviewed 2026-10-31.