Estimate the greenhouse gas burden of any lab reaction from upstream material carbon intensities and direct energy consumption. Results update live as you type — and every session stays in your browser, never on a server.
Carbon footprint (CF), sometimes expressed as greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity, quantifies the total climate-change impact of a chemical process in terms of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e) per unit of desired product. It captures both upstream emissions from producing raw materials and reagents (Scope 3) and on-site energy use (Scope 1/2). For lab-scale assessments, CF is typically reported in kg CO₂e per kg of product.
| Symbol | Term | Units |
|---|---|---|
| $\text{CF}$ | Carbon footprint (GHG intensity) | kg CO₂e kg−1 product |
| $m_i$ | Mass of each input material (reagent, solvent, workup chemical) | g |
| $\text{CI}_i$ | Upstream carbon intensity of that material (from ecoinvent, literature, or supplier data) | kg CO₂e kg−1 |
| $E$ | Total electrical energy consumed by all equipment | kWh |
| $\text{EF}_{\text{grid}}$ | Grid emission factor for your electricity supply (UK 2023 ≈ 0.233) | kg CO₂e kWh−1 |
| $m_{\text{product}}$ | Mass of isolated desired product (g ÷ 1000 converts to kg in denominator) | kg |
This tool calculates a simplified process CF covering material upstream emissions and direct energy use. It does not capture waste treatment, transport, or end-of-life impacts — a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is needed for those. Reference carbon intensities (kg CO₂e/kg): ethanol ≈ 1.5, ethyl acetate ≈ 2.3, DCM ≈ 1.4, THF ≈ 3.5, toluene ≈ 1.0, salicylic acid ≈ 3.0, acetic anhydride ≈ 1.5, water ≈ 0.001. UK grid 2023: 0.233 kg CO₂e/kWh.
| Process / Product type | Typical CF (kg CO₂e/kg) | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk commodity chemicals (e.g. ethanol, acetic acid) | < 5 | Excellent |
| Biotechnology / enzymatic synthesis | 1–5 | Excellent |
| Lab-scale green synthesis (ambient, catalytic) | 5–20 | Good |
| Pharmaceutical intermediates (optimised) | 20–50 | Moderate |
| Fine chemicals / typical lab synthesis | 20–100 | Moderate–Poor |
| Complex multi-step pharmaceutical APIs | > 100 | Poor |
| Metric | What it measures | Captures climate impact? |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon Footprint (CF) | Greenhouse gas burden per kg product (kg CO₂e/kg) | Yes — primary purpose |
| E-factor | Mass of all waste per mass of product | Partially (if energy waste included) |
| Atom Economy (AE) | Theoretical fraction of reactant mass in desired product | No |
| PMI (Process Mass Intensity) | Total mass input per mass of product | No |
| RME (Reaction Mass Efficiency) | Combined practical mass efficiency | No |
| GWP | Climate forcing of specific gases relative to CO₂ over 100 years | Yes — building block for CF |
Enter every consumed material: reagents, solvents, catalysts, and workup chemicals. For each, enter the actual mass used in grams and the upstream carbon intensity (kg CO₂e/kg) from ecoinvent, literature, or supplier data. Do not enter the product here — enter it in section 04.
Reference carbon intensities (kg CO₂e/kg): salicylic acid ≈ 3.0 · acetic anhydride ≈ 1.5 · ethanol ≈ 1.5 · ethyl acetate ≈ 2.3 · THF ≈ 3.5 · DCM ≈ 1.4 · toluene ≈ 1.0 · water ≈ 0.001.
| Material name | Category | Mass used (g) | CI (kg CO₂e/kg) | CO₂e (kg) |
|---|
Enter the total electrical energy consumed by all equipment during this reaction (hotplates, stirrers, pumps, condensers). Use a plug-in energy meter for accuracy or estimate from rated power × time. Also record the product name and mass isolated.
| Material / Source | Category | Mass (g) | CI (kg CO₂e/kg) | CO₂e (kg) | % of total | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter input materials and product above to see breakdown. | ||||||
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© 2024– DodecaGreen Project. All rights reserved. · Last updated: 05/06/2026
This portal was built with the assistance of a large language model (Claude, Anthropic), which was used to generate and refine code, articulate and structure contributed ideas within the defined page format, and support iterative design decisions. All scientific content, conceptual frameworks, pedagogical choices, and final outputs were directed, reviewed, and verified by the contributors listed above.
If you use this tool in teaching or published work, please cite the DodecaGreen portal as the source.