Polycarbonate: Emissions

BPA brings most of the carbon

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 3.40 t CO2e per t range 3.0-5.4 · derived: 0.9 t BPA x 2.26 + 0.28 t chlorine x 1.0 = about 2.3-2.4 t, plus about 0.9 t process energy and 0.1 t transport; Carbonfact lists 4.7-5.4 for virgin PC Global emissions per year 18.0 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 5.2 Mt x 3.4 t CO2e/t (derived)

Per t of polycarbonate pellets, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: BPA tile (Plastics Europe via Climatiq); chlorine tile; Plastics Europe PC eco-profile of about 3.4 (indicative); Carbonfact (upper range). Global total: derived.

Share of footprint by lifecycle phase

Feedstock 71% Production / process 26% Movement 3%

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	about 2.4 t CO2e/t	71%	benzene, propylene, cumene, phenol and BPA production; chlorine electrolysis	BPA about 2.0 t CO2e per t PC	derived from BPA and chlorine tiles
Production / process	about 0.9 t CO2e/t	26%	solvent recovery steam (interfacial) or vacuum and heat (melt)	phosgene generation, washing and drying	indicative
Movement	about 0.1 t CO2e/t	3%	container shipping	small	indicative
Use	not applicable	–	inert	replaces heavier glass in cars, saving fuel	n/a
End of life	about 2.6 t CO2 per t if incinerated (calculated from about 76% carbon)	–	incineration, landfill, recycling	clean PC (water bottles, discs, glazing) is mechanically recycled; recycled PC is about 3.1 t CO2e/t versus 4.7-5.4 virgin in Carbonfact data	calculated; Carbonfact

Other environmental impacts

BPA release from degraded PC; phosgene and dichloromethane emissions in the interfacial route; brine effluent.

Levers to cut emissions

Melt route with CO2-based DPC (Asahi Kasei process) avoids phosgene and uses CO2 as feed (indicative).
Renewable power and steam at BPA and PC sites.
Mass-balance bio-attributed or circular-attributed phenol (Covestro and SABIC offer such grades; indicative).
Mechanical and chemical recycling (alcoholysis back to BPA) of PC waste.

India

India makes no PC resin yet; Deepak's 165 kt/yr plant (due FY2027-28 to FY2028-29) and Reliance's planned 0.5 Mt/yr BPA (by 2030) will set its footprint, depending on how much coal-heavy power they use (BPA tile; 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
Recycled PC	about 3.1 t CO2e/t (Carbonfact)	near virgin price for clean streams (indicative)	commercial, volume limited by collection	Carbonfact
Asahi Kasei non-phosgene PC from CO2	lower than interfacial; not published in sources reached	not published	licensed to several Asian plants (indicative)	indicative

For a climate investor Most PC emissions sit upstream in BPA. Opportunities are recycling clean PC streams (glazing, bottles, automotive lenses) and low-carbon power at new Indian BPA and PC plants. What has to be true: stable collection of single-polymer waste and buyers that pay for recycled content in electronics and cars.