Yichang issues regulations on the management of the chemical pilot plant construction

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Regulations on the Establishment and Management of Chemical Pilot Plant Facilities Have been issued to further standardize the management of chemical pilot plant facilities and pilot project construction. Recently, the Office of the Municipal Government published the \"Interim Regulations on the Establishment and Management of Chemical Pilot Plant Facilities and Pilot Projects in Yichang City.\" These regulations will come into effect on April 1 this year and are valid for two years. The Measures state that pilot plants and pilot projects should be located in chemical industrial parks recognized as qualified by the provincial government. Pilot projects must be situated within the pilot plant or the existing premises of a chemical manufacturing enterprise. The construction of pilot plants or pilot projects should not create major hazards related to hazardous chemicals, so as to ensure that safety risks remain under control. The Measures require that new construction, renovation, or expansion of pilot testing facilities must go through the necessary approval procedures in accordance with the regulations governing fixed asset investment. Such facilities should have professional personnel in charge of safety and environmental protection, as well as well-developed public infrastructure for water, electricity, and gas supply, ecological environment management, and emergency response. Additionally, an environmental impact assessment report must be prepared in accordance with the law before approval can be granted. At the same time, the pilot plant must establish and improve safety and environmental protection management systems, implement safety and environmental protection responsibilities for all employees, conduct regular safety and environmental inspections, and sign safety management and environmental protection responsibility agreements with the units involved in the pilot projects. In accordance with relevant requirements, the pilot plant shall conduct a safety assessment every 3 years, and a re-assessment must be carried out immediately in case of any significant changes in the safety environment. The Measures stipulate that for the pilot projects carried out in the pilot base, experts organized by the base’s relevant team shall evaluate the pilot plans as well as the safety and environmental protection risks ； Pilot projects outside the base are evaluated by experts organized by the project owner itself; those involving fixed asset investment must be filed with the development and reform department. The pilot project owners must commission a qualified institution to prepare a safety assessment report and a special document on the design of safety facilities, and organize expert reviews (for projects located within the base, the base itself must take part in these reviews). The results of the reviews are to be submitted to the park’s and the county/district/municipality emergency management departments. Before safety assessment, a risk assessment of chemical reaction safety must be conducted, and the hazard level of the reaction process shall not be higher than level 3 ； For processes involving nitration, chlorination, fluorination, diazotization, and peroxidation, a safety risk assessment of the entire production process is also required, which serves as the basis for process design and the design of safety facilities. The regulations stipulate that before a pilot project is put into operation, experts must be convened to conduct an operational review, in order to verify the implementation of safety, environmental protection, and emergency response facilities and equipment, as well as the accident emergency response mechanisms; the results of this review are to be archived for future reference. During the pilot-scale testing, it is necessary to strictly follow the established test plan. If significant changes occur in aspects such as the process, equipment, products, raw materials and auxiliary materials, or pollutant emissions, resulting in substantial changes to safety or environmental protection conditions, it is required to submit a new application for approval or notification in accordance with the established procedures. Upon the completion of the pilot project, it is necessary to carry out tasks such as cleaning the equipment and pipelines, disposing of the materials, and sealing or dismantling the installation, in order to eliminate potential safety hazards and keep records for future reference. The operational period for a single pilot project shall, in principle, not exceed 2 years from the date of its commissioning. If it is necessary to extend this period beyond 2 years, an application for extension must be submitted to the original approving authority 3 months in advance, with the extension period itself not exceeding 1 year. If there are significant changes in the pilot project regarding processes, equipment, product output, etc., that result in substantial changes to the conditions for safe production, it is necessary to submit a new application for approval following the established procedures. In addition, the Measures specify that industrial production projects and facilities shall not be established within pilot plant bases, and that pilot plant projects, sites, and equipment shall not be contracted out or leased to entities or individuals that do not meet the requirements for safe production or possess the necessary qualifications. Pilot projects can be provided on a paid basis for use by designated entities. The introduction of these Measures marks the entry of chemical pilot-scale testing activities in our city onto a path of standardization and institutionalization, and will provide strong support for promoting the high-quality development of the green chemicals industry.