# How much CO2 does silicon carbide production emit per tonne?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/silicon-carbide-acheson-furnace-co2-per-tonne

Two parts: process CO2 from the petroleum coke that reduces the silica, for which IPCC 2006 gives a default of about 2.62 t CO2 per tonne of silicon carbide, and the large electricity use of the Acheson furnace at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh.

## Process CO2

- Silica sand and petroleum coke react in the furnace; the carbon leaves as CO that burns to CO2.
- Measure coke input and its carbon content for a plant figure; use the IPCC default only if you have nothing better.

## Electricity

Each furnace run draws power for hours. Use the furnace meter per batch and divide by tonnes of crude silicon carbide recovered.

## CBAM

Silicon carbide is not a CBAM good. EU buyers may still ask for a figure for their own Scope 3.

## Worked example (illustrative figures)

- Output: 1,000 tonnes of silicon carbide in a year.
- Process CO2 at the IPCC default: 1,000 × 2.62 = 2,620 t CO2.
- Furnace electricity is added on top from the meter.

## 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.

- [Petcoke emission factor](https://senseible.earth/answers/petcoke-emission-factor-india)
- [Silicon metal and CBAM](https://senseible.earth/answers/is-silicon-metal-covered-by-cbam)

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), [CBAM Regulation (EU) 2023/956, consolidated](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/2025-10-20)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.