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Calculating N2O Emissions from the Production of Adipic Acid

Calculation worksheets. December Version 2.0

Purpose and domain of application

This guideline is written for plant managers and site personnel to facilitate the measurement and reporting
of greenhouse gas direct emissions resulting from adipic acid production. A step-by-step approach is
presented to cover every phase of the calculation process from data gathering to reporting. This sector
guideline should be applied by the industries whose operations involve the production of adipic acid. This
document is to be used in conjunction with two additional documents:
1) ‘Guide to calculation worksheets – Calculating N2O emissions from the production of Adipic Acid, and
2) ‘GHG Protocol Reporting Standard and Guidance’.

Process Description and Assumptions

The primary use of adipic acid is in the manufacturing of 6,6 nylon. Cyclohexane is used to produce a
ketone-alcohol, which is subsequently oxidized with nitric acid to produce adipic acid. Nitrous oxide (N 2O)
is produced as a by-product of this reaction, with an associated emission factor of 300 g N 2O /kg Adipic
acid produced. This emission factor does not incorporate any reductions associated with abatement
technologies.

N2O emissions can be abated by:

(1) Treating the off-gases in a reductive furnace.
(2) Thermally decomposing the N2O in a flame reactor (T>900 C) to produce recyclable NO.
(3) Catalytically decomposing the N2O.
(4) Consuming the N2O as an oxidation process feedstock.

The majority of the large adipic acid producers (representing more than 80% of worldwide capacity in 2000)
currently treat N2O emissions.

Greenhouse gases are also emitted from the fuel combustion process associated with adipic acid
production. These emissions are not accounted for the guidelines described below. Please see the
Stationary Combustion guidelines for more details and for the methodology used to estimate these
emissions.
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Direct emissions
Direct emissions are emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting entity.

To calculate direct N2O emissions use Worksheet 1 - DirectEmissions

You will need to determine the following:

Adipic Acid Production (tonnes)
Emission Factor (tonnes of N2O/tonnes of adipic acid produced)
Fraction Abated (%) – percent of emissions abated by reduction technologies and practices
Utilization Factor (%) – percent of time abatement technology was in use

Default values are provided for the following:

Emission Factor (metric tons of N2O/metric ton of adipic acid produced)
Fraction Abated (%) – percent of emissions abated by reduction technologies and practices
Clearly state in the final report if different values than the default factors are used,
including their source.

Calculation Steps

1.1. Enter the amount of adipic acid produced (tonnes) during the
reporting period in Column A.
1.2.
Enter the N2O emissions factor (metric tons of N2O /metric ton of adipic acid produced) in Column B. This
emission factor should not incorporate any abatement technologies. A default value of 0.3 is provided by IPCC
(1996) in Table 1 of Worksheet 1.
1.3. Calculate N2O emissions by multiplying the amount of adipic acid produced by the N2O emissions factor
(Columns A and B). Column C should now display the product of A and B. If this is not the case, press “F9” to
calculate.

If the facility uses N2O abatement technologies, please follow steps 2.1 through 2.4. Otherwise, please
skip to Step 2.5
2.1 Enter the type of N2O abatement technology in Column A.
2.2 Enter the percent of N2O that is abated through reduction technologies in Column B. These pollution controls
must be specific to reducing N2O emissions.
2.3 Enter the utilization factor for the N2O abatement technology in terms of the percent of time that technology
was used (Column C).
2.4
Estimate N2O emissions by multiplying the potential annual N2O emissions calculated in Step 1 above by one
minus the N2O abatement factor (Column B) times the utilization factor (Column C).
2.5 Please enter the Global Warming Potential (GWP) for N2O in Column D. Currently, the GWP for N2O over a
100-year time horizon is 310.
2.6 Calculate Carbon Dioxide Equivalents by multiplying the potential annual N2O emissions (Column E) by the
GWP of N2O (Column F)

Remember to calculate CO2 emissions from fuel use associated with adipic acid production on
the Fuel Combustion protocol.
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Please cite the orginal reference when using this tool.

Cell color code:

Mandatory user entry:
Optional user entry:
Default value:
Auto calculated value:

WORSKSHEET 1: Determine Direct Annual Gross Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Adipic Acid Production

Step 1.1 Step 1.2 Step 1.3

A B C
Annual Adipic Nitrous Oxide Potential Annual
Acid Production Emissions Nitrous Oxide
(tonnes/yr) Factor Emissions
(tonnes (tonnes/yr)
N2O/tonnes
adipic acid)
See Default AxB
-

Step 2.1 Step 2.2 Step 2.3 Step 2.4 2.5 2.6
A B C D E F G
N2O Abatement N2O Destruction N2O Abatement Potential Annual Annual Nitrous Global Warming Annual Carbon
Technology factor Technology Nitrous Oxide Oxide Emissions Potential Dioxide
Name (%) Utilization Factor Emissions (tonnes N2O/yr) (tonnes Equivalents of
(%) (tonnes N2O/yr) CO2/tonnes N2O) Nitrous Oxide
Emissions
(t CO2-Equiv./yr)

See Defaults See Defaults Result from Step 1 D x [1 - (B x C)] ExF

0 0 310 0

Table 1: Default Values¶

Default value Range
Emissions Factors
Nitrous Oxide Emissions Factor (t N2O/t adipic acid) 0.30 0.27 - 0.33

N2O Destruction Factors: by Technology*:

None 0% N/A
Catalytic Destruction 92.50% 90-95%
Thermal Destruction 99.00% 98-99%
Recycle to Nitric Acid 99.00% 98-99%
Recycle to feedstock for Adipic acid 94.00% 90-98%

N2O Abatement Utilization factors: by Technology*:

Catalytic Destruction 89.00% 80-98%
Thermal Destruction 97.00% 95-99%
Recycle to Nitric Acid 94.00% 90-98%
Recycle to feedstock for Adipic acid 89.00% 80-98%

Nitrous Oxide Global Warming Potential 310

¶
, Source: 2006 IPCC Guidelines for Natinal Greenhouse Gas Inventories
The intellectual property rights of this calculation tool belong to WRI and WBCSD, unless stated otherwise in any of the tools.
Please cite the original reference when using this tool.

Calculating N2O Emissions from the Production

of Adipic Acid
Calculation worksheets.
Version 1.1 - September 2004
Rectified formula error in cell F23. The correct value is F23=E17.

Version 2.0- December 2007

Updated the emission factors to reflect new guidance issued by the IPCC in its 2006 Guidelines.