# Paraxylene: Emissions

Where the carbon goes from refinery to recycled bottle

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/emissions/

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 |

 For a climate investor PX decarbonisation is mostly a refinery story: electrified heat and CCS at a few large complexes. The bigger opportunity for a climate fund is downstream, in polyester and PET recycling that displaces virgin PX, where India's large textile base gives scale. Bio-PX is far from cost parity.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/links/index.md)