Calculate the carbon intensity of a chemical process — the total greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of product — by combining energy source emission factors with material-level contributions. All data stays in your browser.
Carbon intensity (CI) is a process-level metric that expresses the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a chemical process normalised to the mass of desired product. Measured in kg CO₂ equivalent per kg of product (kg CO₂eq kg⁻¹), it allows direct comparison of the climate impact of different synthetic routes, energy sources, and scales of production.
| Symbol | Term | Units |
|---|---|---|
| \(CI\) | Carbon intensity of the process | kg CO₂eq kg⁻¹ product |
| \(E_i\) | Energy consumed from source $i$ (electricity, heat, etc.) | kWh |
| \(\text{EF}_{i}^{\text{energy}}\) | Emission factor for energy source $i$ | kg CO₂eq kWh⁻¹ |
| \(m_j\) | Mass of material $j$ used in the process | kg |
| \(\text{EF}_{j}^{\text{material}}\) | Cradle-to-gate emission factor for material $j$ | kg CO₂eq kg⁻¹ |
| \(m_{\text{product}}\) | Mass of isolated desired product | kg |
Emission factors for electricity depend on the grid mix (country / region and year). The default values here are widely cited literature estimates — update them with site-specific data for the most accurate results.
| Process / Context | Typical CI (kg CO₂eq / kg product) | Key driver |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable-powered bulk chemicals | < 0.5 | Green electricity, optimised yield |
| Bulk chemicals (fossil grid) | 0.5–3 | High-volume, relatively efficient energy use |
| Fine chemicals | 3–30 | Energy-intensive steps, solvent emissions |
| Pharmaceuticals (API) | 10–200+ | Complex synthesis, low yield, heavy solvent use |
| Green hydrogen (electrolysis, renewable) | 0.4–1 | Electrolyser efficiency, grid carbon intensity |
| Metric | What it captures | CI relationship |
|---|---|---|
| E-factor | Mass of waste per mass of product | More waste → more material emissions → higher CI |
| PMI | Total mass input per mass of product | High PMI means more materials contributing to CI |
| Carbon Footprint | Total absolute GHG emissions (kg CO₂eq) | CI = Carbon Footprint ÷ Product mass |
| GWP | 100-year warming potential of a single substance | EF values in CI are GWP-weighted sums over all emissions |
| Space–Time Yield | Productivity per reactor volume and time | Higher STY can lower CI by reducing energy per kg product |
Scope 3 (upstream supply chain and downstream use) can also be included by using cradle-to-gate emission factors for raw materials. This tool lets you mix all three scopes freely — label your entries clearly to make the boundary explicit.
Enter each energy input (electricity, heating, cooling, compressed air, etc.). Select a preset emission factor or enter a custom value. Energy is converted to kWh for consistency — see the unit helper below if your values are in MJ or BTU.
| Energy source / type | Preset EF | EF (kg CO₂eq/kWh) | Quantity (kWh) | Emissions (kg CO₂eq) |
|---|
Enter the mass of each material used (reagents, solvents, catalysts, workup materials) and its cradle-to-gate emission factor. Select a preset from the dropdown or enter a custom value. Use the same units as your product mass in section 05.
| Material name | Category | Preset EF | EF (kg CO₂eq/kg) | Mass (kg) | Emissions (kg CO₂eq) |
|---|
Enter the mass of desired product actually isolated. For co-product allocation, enter only the mass attributed to the product of interest, or use the Notes field above to describe your allocation method.
| Product name | Mass isolated (kg) |
|---|
| Source | Type / Category | Quantity | EF (kg CO₂eq / unit) | Emissions (kg CO₂eq) | % of total | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter energy and material data above to see breakdown. | ||||||
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Export your carbon intensity calculation as a PDF report or CSV data file. PDF opens in a new tab and uses your browser's print function. CSV downloads directly.
References are sorted alphabetically by first author.
Roles follow the CRediT taxonomy (Contributor Roles Taxonomy), adapted for educational software. Hover a contributor's name for a summary, or a column header for the definition of that role.
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© 2024– DodecaGreen Project. All rights reserved. · Last updated: 07/06/2026
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.