India, China Dominate Lab-Grown Diamonds Amid Carbon Footprint Concerns
25 Nov 2024 11:04 AM IST
Indian lab-grown diamonds have the highest carbon footprint (Representational image: PTI)
Chennai: India and China produce 72 per cent of lab-grown diamonds of the world. Being dependent on coal-generated electricity, Indian lab-grown diamonds have the highest carbon footprint and the emissions can be brought down to a small fraction if renewable energy is used for the production.
China produces 46 per cent of the world’s lab-grown diamonds, the affordable alternative of natural diamonds, according to the Natural Diamonds Council. India produces 26 per cent. Edahn Golan Diamond Research and Data finds that the market has reached 15-20 million carats, while the industry's capacity stood at around 6-7 million carats in 2020, indicating steady growth in production capacity.
While in China, 62 per cent of diamonds are produced using grid electricity generated from coal and in India it is 74 per cent.
The energy mix where laboratory-grown diamonds are produced is important when considering how sustainable they are because the production of laboratory-grown diamonds is highly energy-intensive.
There are two main methods of producing laboratory-grown diamonds: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). While China largely uses the HPHT process, India follows CVD. CVD is significantly more energy intensive, mainly due to the use of high energy microwaves to produce the growth plasma. Energy is required for extreme heating, up to around 1,500 degrees°C32. A considerable amount of water is also required in some factories for cooling systems for reactors. Energy is also needed to stabilize the environment within the factory to ensure external conditions do not impact the growth of the synthetic diamond.
Due to this, India produces at an average 612kg CO2e emissions per polished carat produced. This is higher than 523 kg CO2e emissions per carat in China and 260 kg CO2e in the European Union. If 100 per cent renewable energy is used for production emissions can be brought down to as low as 17kg CO2e per polished carat of laboratory-grown diamond, finds Natural Diamonds Council.
There are two main methods of producing laboratory-grown diamonds: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). While China largely uses the HPHT process, India follows CVD. CVD is significantly more energy intensive, mainly due to the use of high energy microwaves to produce the growth plasma. Energy is required for extreme heating, up to around 1,500 degrees°C32. A considerable amount of water is also required in some factories for cooling systems for reactors. Energy is also needed to stabilize the environment within the factory to ensure external conditions do not impact the growth of the synthetic diamond.
Due to this, India produces at an average 612kg CO2e emissions per polished carat produced. This is higher than 523 kg CO2e emissions per carat in China and 260 kg CO2e in the European Union. If 100 per cent renewable energy is used for production emissions can be brought down to as low as 17kg CO2e per polished carat of laboratory-grown diamond, finds Natural Diamonds Council.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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