This list of the tallest chimneys in the world ranks chimneys by height.
Use Although many kinds of industrial facilities have tall chimneys, most of the chimneys with heights of or more are part of thermal, especially coal-fired power stations. This is to increase the stack effect and disperse pollutants. Only a few smelters, steel mills, chemical factories and oil refineries use such tall chimneys.
Timeline of world's tallest chimney Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, tall chimneys were built, at the beginning with bricks, and later also of concrete or steel. Although chimneys never held the absolute height record, they are among the tallest free-standing architectural structures and often hold national records (as tallest free-standing or as overall tallest structures of a country).
Held record Name and location Completed Height (m) Height (ft) Notes From To 1820 1835 Chimney of North Lotts Glass Bottle Company, Dublin, Ireland 1820 30 95 1835 1842 Adams' Soap Works Chimney, Smethwick, Birmingham, England, UK September–October 1836 97.5 312 1842 1859 Tennant's Stalk, Glasgow, Scotland, UK 29 June 1842 132.7 435.5 Struck by lightning and shortened; demolished in 1922.Tennants Chimney Collapse and Demolition 1922, A Hauf Stop, July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022 1859 1885 Port Dundas Townsend Chimney, Glasgow, Scotland, UK 6 October 1859 138.3 454 Demolished in 1928.When Glasgow had the Tallest Chimney(s) in the World, A Hauf Stop, 20 July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022 1885 1889 Langer Emil, Mechernich, Germany 19 September 1885 134.6 442 Demolished on 28 October 1961. 1889 1908 Halsbrücker Esse, Halsbrücke, Germany 28 October 1889 140 459 1908 1914 The Big Stack, Great Falls, Montana, US 23 November 1908 154.8 508 Demolished in 1982. 1914 1916 Hitachi Smelter and Refinery Stack, Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan 13 March 1914 155.7 511 Partially collapsed in 1993. 1916 1917 Saganoseki Smelter and Refinery First Stack, Saganoseki, Ōita, Japan November 1916 167.6 550 Demolished in 2013. 1917 1919 Ruston Smelter Stack, Ruston, Washington, US 1917 174.0 571 Demolished on 17 January 1993. 1919 1937 Anaconda Smelter Stack, Anaconda, Montana, US 5 May 1919 178.3 585 Tallest chimney built of bricks. 1937 1951 Lead Smelter Chimney of American Smelting and Refining Co, Selby, California, US 1937 184.7 606 Possibly demolished in 1972–73. 1951 1954 Lead Smelter Chimney of American Smelting and Refining Co, El Paso, Texas, US 1950–51 183 or 186 600 or 611'8"Inco Triangle sudburymuseums.ca Conflicting information on actual height or the chimney's height may have been subsequently reduced. Demolished in April 2013. 1954 1962 INCO Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery Stack, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 1954 194 637 1962 1965 Chimney of Schilling Power Station, Stade, West Germany (Germany) 1962 220 722 Demolished in 2006. 1965 1966 First chimney of ASARCO Copper Smelter, El Paso, Texas, US 1965 248 813 Possibly demolished. 1966 1967 Chimney of Kashira Power Plant, Kashira, USSR (Russia) 1966 250 820 also used as electricity pylons for a 220 kV-line from the power station to the switchyard 1967 1967 Second chimney of ASARCO Copper Smelter, El Paso, Texas, US 30 January 1967 252.5 828 Demolished in April 2013. 1967 1968 Chimney of Lippendorf Power Station, Neukieritzsch, East Germany (Germany) 1967 300 984 Demolished in 2005. 1968 1971 Chimney of Mitchell Power Plant, Moundsville, West Virginia, US 26 October 1968 367.6 1,206 1971 1987 Vale Superstack, Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada 1971 380 1,247 1987 GRES-2 Power Station, Ekibastuz, USSR (Kazakhstan) 1987 419.7 1,377
Hamon Custodis claims to have built a stack in 1953, but there are no references to the location or client of this/these stack(s). Skyscraperpage indicates the chimney of Omskaya Cogeneration Plant #4 was built in 1965, but it is likely that this date is referring to the construction of the first section of the plant with the smaller chimney. No other references or information can be found to corroborate this claim.
List Indicates a structure that is no longer standing. indicates a structure in the process of being removed. indicates a structure that has had a height reduction.