Paraxylene: Emissions
Where the carbon goes from refinery to recycled bottle
What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 1.43 t CO2e per t range 1.2-2.0 (indicative; higher in coal-powered Chinese complexes) · cradle-to-gate, Europe, data year 2008 Global emissions per year 82.0 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 1.43 t CO2e/t x 57 Mt (indicative)Per t of paraxylene, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: Plastics Europe Public LCI Database via Climatiq. Global total: derived.
Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
Feedstock 38% Production / process 57% Movement 5%Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feedstock | about 0.55 t CO2e per t (indicative) | 38% | Crude production and refining | indicative split | |
| Production / process | about 0.8 t CO2e per t (indicative) | 57% | Reformer furnaces, xylene fractionation and isomerisation energy | Chinese complexes using coal-fired utilities are higher (indicative) | indicative |
| Movement | about 0.05-0.1 t CO2e per t (indicative) | 5% | Tanker shipping Korea or India to China | indicative | |
| Use | not applicable | – | Intermediate | n/a | |
| End of life | about 2.3 t CO2 per t of PET if incinerated (indicative, 62.5% carbon) | – | Fate of polyester and PET | Polyester textiles are rarely recycled fibre-to-fibre; PET bottles are recycled at higher rates | stoichiometry |
Other environmental impacts
Microfibre shedding from polyester textiles; plastic leakage from PET packaging.
Levers to cut emissions
- Electrification and heat integration of fractionation columns
- CCS on refinery and reformer furnaces
- Recycled PET reducing virgin PX demand
- Bio-PX or bio-based alternatives such as PEF
India
India's PX comes from Reliance, IOCL, MRPL and BPCL refinery complexes; no PX-specific footprint published. Reliance has a net-zero 2035 target that covers Jamnagar (indicative).
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.Low-carbon routes
| Route | Intensity | Cost premium | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bio-PX from sugars or biomass (Virent, Anellotech) | not published | large (indicative) | demonstration scale | indicative |
| Chemical recycling of PET (glycolysis, methanolysis) to monomers | not published | not published | commercial pilots in Europe and US (indicative) | indicative |