Keiyo Ethylene , Ichihara, Chiba — Japan

Keiyo Ethylene , Ichihara, Chiba is a petrochemical plant in Japan. Its listed capacity is 690,000 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 Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd. By capacity it ranks #1 among 12 petrochemical plants in Japan. It emits about 970,117 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.59% of the CO₂e from the 105 facilities in Japan that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 8% above the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-731952.

In context: how this facility compares

At 690,000 t of ethylene, Keiyo Ethylene , Ichihara, Chiba is well above the median petrochemical plant in Japan (493,000 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 970,117 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 Japan

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

Operator

Operated by Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd.

Local climate

Keiyo Ethylene , Ichihara, Chiba sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 35.5°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 a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1348 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.04× 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 #1 largest of 12 petrochemical plants in Japan by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Fuji Oil Sodegaura Refinery · Refinery · 736,584 t CO₂
• Idemitsu Kosan Chiba Refinery · Refinery · 1,625,756 t CO₂
• Idemitsu Kosan Chiba, Chiba · Petrochemical · 582,070 t CO₂
• Mitsui Chemicals Chiba, Ichihara, Chiba · Petrochemical · 777,500 t CO₂
• OIREC Chiba Refinery · Refinery · 1,103,803 t CO₂
• Maruzen Petrochemical, Chiba · Petrochemical · 674,864 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 35.46689, 140.0121. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions