# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of refractory bricks per tonne?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/refractory-brick-carbon-footprint-per-tonne

Add the kiln fuel at its IPCC default factor and plant electricity at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, divide by tonnes fired, then add raw materials such as fireclay, alumina or magnesia from supplier data. Raw materials that release CO2 when fired, such as magnesite, add process CO2.

## Where it comes from

- Kiln firing at high temperature: Scope 1 fuel.
- Crushing, mixing and pressing power: Scope 2.
- Bought-in calcined raw materials, with their own footprint.
- Process CO2 if carbonates are fired on site.

## Process CO2 from carbonates

If you calcine magnesite or dolomite yourself, count the CO2 released from the carbonate by chemistry, from the mass fired, as Scope 1 process emissions.

## For buyers

Steel and cement plants may ask for refractory footprints in supplier surveys. Give the plant figure per tonne and the raw material factors with their sources.

## Worked example: plant energy per tonne (one month, illustrative inputs)

- PNG: 52,000 scm x 2.05 = 106,600 kg CO2
- Electricity: 38,000 kWh x 0.710 = 26,980 kg CO2
- Refractory bricks fired (tonnes): 160
- Total: 133,580 / 160 = 834.9 kg CO2 per tonne
- Add raw materials (fireclay, alumina, magnesia) from supplier data

Inputs are illustrative; firing fuel varies a lot by product and kiln type.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the energy invoices behind the making stage into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, and keeps material invoices on the Scope 3 trail. Material factors come from your supplier or a named database and are labelled with their source, so the product figure can be traced line by line.

- [Ceramic frit per kg](https://senseible.earth/answers/ceramic-frit-carbon-footprint-per-kg)
- [CO2 per tonne of clinker](https://senseible.earth/answers/co2-per-tonne-of-clinker-calculation)
- [Foundry per tonne of good casting](https://senseible.earth/answers/foundry-carbon-footprint-per-tonne-good-casting)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults)](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-21.