TECHNICAL REFERENCE
ORGANOCLAY CARBON FOOTPRINT
®
ABSTRACT
This reference gives the designer an estimate of the carbon footprint of CETCO Organoclay.
CETCO Organoclay is manufactured from processing sodium bentonite and a quaternary amine
compound. High quality sodium bentonite is mined and processed by CETCO’s sister company,
American Colloid Company, at their plant in Lovell, WY. The bentonite is transported to the
organoclay processing plant in Aberdeen, MS. From there, it is packaged and shipped to jobsites.
The following study shows the carbon footprint of CETCO Organoclay is 1940 Kg CO2eq/metric ton
Organoclay produced.
M ETHODOLOGY
The boundaries of the emissions included in this report begin at raw material production and
terminate at the completed manufacturing and packaging of Organoclay at the Aberdeen, MS plant.
Although transport from the plant thereafter releases emissions that contribute to the carbon
footprint involved with using Organoclay, those emissions are different for each project (distance,
amount of product, etc.) and therefore, are not included in this calculation. The carbon footprint from
mining through processing of sodium bentonite from the Lovell, WY plant (including transport from
mines to plant) has been completed per Athanassopoulos and Vamos (2010). Some operations are
included that do not involve bentonite mining, transport and processing. Thus, this data is
considered conservative and is used in the current calculation. To estimate the carbon footprint
created by transport of sodium bentonite from Lovell, WY to the Aberdeen, MS organoclay processing
plant an estimate of 1690 miles (2880 km) was used. It was assumed that trucks will travel at full
capacity each time a shipment of sodium bentonite is made. Also, it was assumed that trucks
hauling sodium bentonite from the Lovell, WY plant to Aberdeen, MS originated 160 km from the
Lovell plant and continued on to the next destination after delivery, a distance of 160 km from the
Aberdeen plant. Emission factors for truck transportation were taken from USEPA (2008a, 2008b).
Quaternary amine production emissions were taken from documents for environmental emissions
from the quaternary amine producer (AkzoNobel 2013). Although the supplier’s calculations were
for European operations, it was assumed that emissions from their US are equivalent to those of
their European operations. Total transit from quaternary amine supplier and origin/return is
assumed to be 1100 km. Emissions from the processes at the Aberdeen plant were calculated
using energy and fuel consumption data attained from the plant’s yearly report. Many of the
standards in the World Resources Institute (WRI) “GHG Protocol- A Corporate Accounting and
Reporting Standard” are used for this calculation (WRI, 2004). The WRI protocol identifies three
primary green house gases (GHGs) which have certain global warming potential (GWP hereafter)
measured in equivalents of Carbon Dioxide. These gases and their GWPs are:
•
•
•
Carbon Dioxide = 1.0
Methane = 21.0 CO2 eq
Nitrous Oxide = 310.0 CO2 eq
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Using the relative GWPs of the GHGs, the mass of carbon dioxide equivalents is calculated thus (WRI,
2004): (1) CARBON FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
Carbon footprint analyses were conducted and are reported in terms of CO2 equivalents per
tonne (metric ton) of Organoclay. Detailed calculations are shown in the Appendix. Using this data,
Table 1 shows the breakdown of GHG emissions contributing to GWP from the production of
Organoclay. Table 1 – Summary of Organoclay Carbon Footprint Process Step 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Totals Kg CO2eq/tonne Assumptions Organoclay Bentonite Mining 6 Emission factor (2.71 kg CO2e/liter diesel), from USEPA. Bentonite Transport to Plant 4 Emission factor (2.71 kg CO2e/liter diesel), from USEPA In-­‐Plant Processing 32 Calculated by DAI Environmental (2010). Includes bentonite processing (stockpiling, blending, drying, crushing, conveying), and GCL needlepunching (not part of Organoclay production, but conservatively included). Includes all plant fuel sources (electric, gas, diesel, coal, natural gas, propane) for Jan. through Nov. 2010. Bentonite Transport 750 2,710 km between plants, with assumed 160 km origination and return trips Quat. Production 590 From supplier. Includes all emissions to air of GHGs Quat. Transport 130 Assumes 1100 km total between plants and origination/return trip Aberdeen Plant Emissions Aberdeen plant information from Jan. to Dec. -­‐ Natural Gas 310 2012. -­‐ Purchased Energy 247 2070 Kg CO2eq/metric ton Organoclay produced TR-859
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(2) TECHNICAL REFERENCE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
A carbon footprint calculation for the production of CETCO Organoclay was performed
utilizing emissions data from various sources, including raw materials. The carbon footprint of CETCO
Organoclay was calculated to be 2070 Kg CO2eq/metric ton Organoclay produced. The carbon
footprint calculations presented above terminate at the completion of Organoclay manufacturing and
packaging. Therefore, since transportation can be a large contributor of GHG emissions,
transportation from the Organoclay production plant to the jobsite may need to be considered in the
total carbon footprint of utilizing Organoclay.
REFERENCES
1. Aberdeen (2012). AMCOL Metrics Data Summary. 2013-04-11.
2. AkzoNobel (2013). “Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, Europe”. Eco-footprint, 2013, ver.1,
Akzo Nobel, Sustainable Development Group.
3. Athanassopoulos, C. and Vamos, R. (2010), “Carbon Footprint Comparison of GCLs and
Compacted Clay Liners”. TR-278, www.cetco.com .
4. DAI Environmental, Inc. (2010), AMCOL Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Internal Report.
5. USEPA (2008a), “Climate Leaders Greenhouse Gas Inventory Protocol Core Module Guidance:
Direct Emissions from Mobile Combustion Sources”. Office of Air and Radiation, EPA-430-K-08004, May 2008.
6. USEPA (2008b), “Climate Leaders Greenhouse Gas Inventory Protocol Core Module Guidance:
Optional Emissions from Commuting, Business Travel and Product Transport”. Office of Air and
Radiation, EPA-430-R-08-006, May 2008.
7. WRI (2004), “GHG Protocol-A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, Revised Edition”.
World Resources Institute.
APPENDIX Given: TR-859
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1.
Bentonite Mining Emission Factors, from EPA430-­‐K-­‐03-­‐005 2.
Bentonite Transport to Plant: 3. In-­‐Plant Processing per DAI Environmental (2010) TR-859
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4.
Bentonite Transport from Lovell, WY to Aberdeen, MS: -­‐ Assume 2710 km trip from Lovell to Aberdeen plus 160 km origination and following destination -­‐ Truck volume is 24 tons -­‐ Tare weight of truck = 15455 kg -­‐ Trucks always travel at full capacity 5. Quaternary Amine Production: -­‐ Data from AkzoNobel, 2013 -­‐ Ratio of quaternary amine to Organoclay = 465:1339 6. Quaternary Amine Transit -­‐ Assume 1100 km total trip from quat supplier to Aberdeen including origination or return -­‐ Truck volume is 24 tons -­‐ Tare weight of truck = 15455 kg -­‐ Trucks always travel at full capacity TR-859
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7. Aberdeen Plant Emissions: -­‐ Data from Aberdeen Plant reports for 2012 o 545.5 kWh/ton Organoclay o 5.29 Mcf (1000 cf)/ton Organoclay Natural Gas: Where: E’= Total CO2 equivalent emissions [kg]/ton Organoclay GJ= Energy Value of natural gas burned GWPCO2 = 1 kg CO2eq/kg CO2 GWPCH4 = 21 kg CO2eq/kg CH4 GWPN2O = 310 kg CO2eq/kg N2O EFCO2 = CO2 emission factor = 50.26 kg CO2/GJ TR-859
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EFCH4 = CH4 emission factor = 0.0009479 kg CH4/GJ EFN20 = N2O emission factor = 0.00009479 kg N2O/GJ Purchased Energy: Where: E’ = Total CO2 equivalent emissions [kg]/ton Organoclay MWH = Energy Value of electricity purchased [Megawatt-­‐Hours] = 1680.456 MWH GWPCO2 = 1 kg CO2eq/kg CO2 GWPCH4 = 21 kg CO2eq/kg CH4 GWPN2O = 310 kg CO2eq/kg N2O EFCO2 = CO2 emission factor = 409.26 kg CO2/MWH EFCH4 = CH4emission factor = 0.0088 kg CH4/MWH EFN20 = N2O emission factor = 0.0068 kg N2O/MWH TR-859
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