Abstract: Carbon oxidation factor（COF）is one of the important parameters for measuring the carbon emissions of coalfired power units. Selecting a proper COF measurement method is of great significance to improve the accuracy of the
carbon emission measurement for coal-fired power units. The default COF value of coal-fired power units given by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change（IPCC）is 1，which has a deviation from the actual COF value of China. Based
on the carbon balance analysis，a COF calculation model is proposed. By analyzing 70 COF samples taken according to
their technical characteristics，fuel characteristics，operating characteristics，and geographical distribution in China，the
results show that there are differences between the tested values in China and the default COF given by IPCC，whose
variation range is approximately 0.5%-6.0%. In addition，the quality of coal is another important factor affecting COF.
Upon taking coal of a poor quality ，parameters，such as unit capacity and unit load，will seriously affect COF value. With
the adjustment of the unit structure and development of technical levels ，the actual COF value of coal-fired power plants in
China will be closer to the default COF value of IPCC.

Key words: carbon oxidation factor, coal-fired power units, carbon balance analysis, measuring method, the default COF, regularity