Phenol and acetone: Emissions

Splitting the carbon bill between two products

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 1.81 t CO2e per t range 1.5-2.5 (indicative; allocation with acetone matters) · cradle-to-gate, Europe, data year 2015 Global emissions per year 23.0 Mt CO2e per year (phenol only) 2024 · 1.81 t CO2e/t x 12.5 Mt (indicative); acetone adds more

Per t of phenol, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: Plastics Europe Public LCI Database via Climatiq. Global total: derived.

Share of footprint by lifecycle phase

Feedstock 70% Production / process 26% Movement 4%

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	about 1.3 t CO2e per t (indicative)	70%	Benzene and propylene footprints		indicative split
Production / process	about 0.45 t CO2e per t (indicative)	26%	Steam for distillation, oxidation	Cumene oxidation is exothermic	indicative
Movement	about 0.05-0.1 t CO2e per t (indicative)	4%	Heated tanker shipping		indicative
Use	not applicable	–	Intermediate	Acetone solvent use releases VOCs	n/a
End of life	depends on derivative	–	Polycarbonate, epoxy, phenolic resins, nylon	Phenolic resins and epoxies are thermosets and hard to recycle	n/a

Other environmental impacts

Phenol is toxic to aquatic life; wastewater from phenol plants needs treatment.

Levers to cut emissions

Lower-carbon benzene and propylene
Electrified steam
Integration to use acetone on site
Lignin-based phenols replacing fossil phenol in resins
Recycling polycarbonate back to BPA

India

New Indian capacity (Deepak, Haldia) will replace imports; no product-specific footprint is published.

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-based or mass-balance phenol (bio-naphtha feed)	not published	not published	certified mass-balance volumes sold in Europe (indicative)	indicative
Lignin-derived phenols for phenolic resins	not published	not published	pilot to small commercial (indicative)	indicative

For a climate investor The decarbonisation lever is mostly upstream benzene and propylene. In India, the opportunity is to build new phenol, BPA and polycarbonate chains with efficient utilities and renewable power from the start, and to develop lignin-based resins for India's large plywood and laminates sector. Deepak and Haldia are the named builders.