Talcahuano Cement Plant — Chile

Talcahuano Cement Plant is a cement plant in Chile. Its listed capacity is 750,000 t of cement. Cement plants heat limestone to 1,400°C in rotary kilns — one of the hottest industrial processes — and must control temperature precisely across the entire kiln length. It is operated by Cementos Bio Bio SA. By capacity it ranks #2 among 2 cement plants in Chile. It emits about 17,991 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.23% of the CO₂e from the 20 facilities in Chile that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 93% below the national median for this sector.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-32437358.

In context: how this facility compares

At 750,000 t of cement, Talcahuano Cement Plant is below the median cement plant in Chile (1,050,000 t of cement). Subsector: cement. As cement plant, it requires high process heat (typically 800–1400°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Cement plants heat limestone to 1,400°C in rotary kilns — one of the hottest industrial processes — and must control temperature precisely across the entire kiln length.

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

What 17,991 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 cement plants in Chile

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

Operator

Operated by Cementos Bio Bio SA. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Talcahuano Cement Plant sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), at 36.8°S in the southern 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 1375 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.06× 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 2 cement plants in Chile by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• CAP Acero Huachipato steel plant · Steel Plant · 947,868 t CO₂
• ENAP Bio-Bio Refinery · Refinery · 1,283,437 t CO₂
• Celulosa Arauco y Constitución - Arauco Pulp Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 989,562 t CO₂
• Nueva Aldea pulp · Pulp & Paper Mill · 837,321 t CO₂
• CMPC Celulosa S.A. - Laja Mill · Pulp & Paper Mill · 65,971 t CO₂
• CMPC Celulosa S.A. Sante Fe · Pulp & Paper Mill · 332,391 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates -36.75106, -73.12936. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions