Big news! The toughest constraint on VOC emissions! The Ministry of Environmental Protection has given approval

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The petrochemical and chemical industries are facing the strictest restrictions on VOCs emissions. At the recent executive meeting of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the \"13th Five-Year Plan for the Prevention and Control of Volatile Organic Compound Pollution\" was reviewed and approved in principle. 　 The Plan sets clear emission reduction targets for the petrochemical and chemical industries: it requires that VOC emissions from the oil refining and petrochemical sectors be reduced by more than 40% by 2020 ； VOC emissions in chemical industries such as pesticide, pharmaceutical, synthetic resin, rubber, and plastic product manufacturing have been reduced by more than 30%. 250 oil refining enterprises with a total refining capacity of 710 million tons have carried out VOCs control in strict accordance with the requirements set out in their emission permits, while 7,100 pharmaceutical companies and 2,000 pesticide manufacturers have completed their VOCs control tasks. 　　As major emitters of VOCs, the Plan calls for comprehensive efforts to address VOCs emissions in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, as well as in chemical industries such as those involved in the production of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, synthetic resins, rubber, plastic products, and new types of coal chemicals. Strengthen refined management and implement an emission permit system; through comprehensive measures such as source prevention, process control, and end-stage treatment, promote the transformation and upgrading of the industry to achieve compliant emissions. Promote raw materials, auxiliary materials, and products with low VOC content and low reactivity. Focusing on reducing the use of solvents and additives such as benzene, toluene, xylene, and dimethylformamide, raw material substitution is implemented. The pesticide industry should accelerate the replacement of solvents such as light aromatic hydrocarbons, vigorously promote water-based solvents, and strictly control the use of organic solvents. 　　Ning Miao, director of the Atmospheric Comprehensive Planning Office at the Environmental Planning Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which was involved in formulating the plan, said: “The petroleum and chemical industries must actively carry out structural adjustments, shut down illegal and substandard enterprises, and focus on companies involved in the production of coatings, rubber products, and chemical fibers. Strict requirements should be applied to project approvals, and production should be scheduled at different times to avoid congestion.” At the same time, emphasis should also be placed on source areas such as the dynamic and static sealing points of equipment, storage, loading and unloading, wastewater systems, organized process exhaust gases, and abnormal operating conditions. Leak detection and repair (LDAR) activities should be gradually carried out in industries such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, coking, coatings, adhesives, and dyes. ” 　　Luan Zhiqiang, deputy chairman of the Waste Gas Purification Committee of the China Environmental Protection Industry Association, believes that \"in the future, the control of VOCs in chemical industrial parks will also become an important task for this industry.\" As various regions make vigorous efforts to bring chemical enterprises into industrial parks, different types of chemical and manufacturing parks will also become areas where VOCs control is focused. The increased concentration of chemical enterprises also creates conditions for the unified management of VOCs and the treatment of pollution. Previously, Jiangsu Province issued the \"Implementation Plan for Special Actions to Control Volatile Organic Compound Pollution,\" which stipulated that by the end of 2017, comprehensive control measures for VOCs in 52 chemical industrial parks must be fully implemented. ” 　　VOCs are important precursors for the formation of ozone and fine particulate pollution, and they also have a significant impact on the generation of secondary PM2.5. Among the sources of man-made VOC emissions, industrial sources, transportation sources, domestic sources, and agricultural sources account for 43%, 28%, 15%, and 14% respectively. Among industrial sources, the petrochemical, chemical, industrial coating, and packaging printing industries are the main sources of emissions, accounting for about 70% of the total emissions.