Dow Chemical Co. , Tarragona — Spain

Dow Chemical Co. , Tarragona is a petrochemical plant in Spain. Its listed capacity is 675,000 t of ethylene. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes. It is operated by The Dow Chemical Company. By capacity it ranks #2 among 3 petrochemical plants in Spain. It emits about 880,870 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 1.9% of the CO₂e from the 91 facilities in Spain that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-18648372.

In context: how this facility compares

At 675,000 t of ethylene, Dow Chemical Co. , Tarragona is around the median petrochemical plant in Spain (675,000 t of ethylene). Subsector: petrochemical-steam-cracking. As petrochemical plant, it requires high process heat (typically 300–800°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Petrochemical plants crack hydrocarbons at very high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene and other building-block chemicals — one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 880,870 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest petrochemical plants in Spain

Listed capacity (t of ethylene), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by The Dow Chemical Company. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Dow Chemical Co. , Tarragona sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csa), at 41.2°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1342 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.03× the loss at a 20 °C reference. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #2 largest of 3 petrochemical plants in Spain by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Repsol SA , Tarragona · Petrochemical · 880,223 t CO₂
• Repsol Tarragona Refinery · Refinery · 2,170,075 t CO₂
• ASESA Tarragona Asphalt Refinery · Refinery · 168,475 t CO₂
• Cargill (Reus) · Food & Beverage
• Affinity Petcare · Food & Beverage
• Cales De Pachs · Lime Plant · 109,860 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 41.17632, 1.23196. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions