# How much CO2 does washing and drying silica sand add per tonne?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/silica-sand-washing-drying-co2-per-tonne

Washing and screening run on electricity, and the dryer burns fuel to take moisture out. Add kWh times 0.710 kg CO2 and the dryer fuel at IPCC defaults, then divide by tonnes of dry sand dispatched. Wetter feed means more dryer fuel per tonne.

## Records

- Electricity for washing, attrition and screening.
- Dryer fuel: diesel, LPG, coal or biomass.
- Tonnes of dry sand dispatched and moisture of the feed.

## Buyers

Glass makers count your figure in their Scope 3. Give it per tonne dry with the moisture basis stated.

## 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.

- [Glass bottle footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/glass-bottle-carbon-footprint-per-bottle)
- [Foundry sand reclamation](https://senseible.earth/answers/foundry-sand-reclamation-energy-and-carbon)

Sources: [IPCC 2006 Guidelines](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.