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Environmental Compliance Inspection for Methanol-to-Olefins Process (Solid Waste) at Zhongtian Hechuang Chemical Branch. Author/Source: Zhongtian Hechuang Chemical. Date: April 30, 2021. Views: 14. On April 27, 2021, Zhongtian Hechuang Energy Co., Ltd. (its chemical branch) held a meeting to conduct the environmental compliance inspection for the solid waste prevention and control facilities related to the methanol-to-olefins project in the Ordos coal deep processing demonstration project. Attendees included the Environmental Protection Bureau of Ordos City, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Sulihe Economic Development Zone, the Environmental Engineering Assessment Center under the Shenglian Environment Department, which was responsible for preparing the inspection report, Ordos Environmental Protection Investment Co., Ltd., as well as invited experts. The delegates on site inspected the construction of facilities for preventing and controlling environmental pollution caused by solid waste, as well as the implementation of various measures. They also heard reports from the units responsible for the monitoring and evaluation regarding the construction of such facilities and the enforcement of relevant environmental protection measures. The acceptance working group strictly followed the relevant national and local laws, regulations, and technical specifications/guidelines regarding environmental protection inspections upon the completion of construction projects, and reviewed and verified the monitoring reports on environmental protection after completion as well as related documents. Following discussions, the opinions on the environmental impact assessment upon completion were formulated as follows: Basic information on the project construction: i) Location, scale, and main components of the construction. The Methanol to Olefins project as part of the Zhongtianhechuang Ordos Advanced Coal Processing Demonstration Project is located in the southeastern part of the factory complex of the Zhongtianhechuang Advanced Coal Processing Project, within the Tuk Industrial Zone in Tuk Town, Wushen Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, at the northern edge of the Mu Us Desert. The main construction projects are 2×1.8 million t/a methanol-to-olefins (MIO) plants and a polyolefins plant with an annual capacity of 1.37 million tons. The polyolefin projects include 120,000 t/a batch process LDPE, 250,000 t/a tubular process LDPE, 300,000 t/a vapor-phase D, 350,000 t/a loop process PP, and 350,000 t/a vapor-phase P, etc. Complementary facilities such as sewage pretreatment and storage and transportation systems should be built as well. The rest are based on the Zhongtian Hechuang coal-to-methanol project. Construction of the project began in April 2013, and it was fully completed and put into operation in September 2017. (II) Environmental approval status: In November 2016, the former Ordos Environmental Protection Bureau issued a decision regarding the project’s environmental impact assessment document under the title “Approval by the Ordos Environmental Protection Bureau on the Environmental Impact Report for the Methanol-to-Olefins Project of the Zhongtian Hechuang Ordos Advanced Coal Processing Demonstration Project” (Ordos Environmental Assessment Document No. [20161136]). On January 17, 2019, Zhongtian Hechuang Energy Co., Ltd. organized a meeting for the environmental protection acceptance of the completed project. It was agreed that the facilities for preventing and controlling air pollution, wastewater pollution, and noise pollution within the project had passed the environmental acceptance criteria, and an acceptance opinion was issued accordingly. On June 13, 2017, the project obtained a pollution discharge permit issued by the Ordos Environmental Protection Bureau, based on the thermal power facility of Phase I; the certificate number is: 91150626MAO us 13 DX500P. The certificate renewal was due on June 13, 2020; it was combined with the pollution discharge permit applied for for the first time in the coal chemical sector, resulting in one single certificate with the number 91150626 MAOMHS13DX500P. (III) Investment status: The total actual investment in the project amounted to 15,151,670,000 yuan, of which 3,862,430,000 yuan was allocated for environmental protection. The actual expenditure on environmental protection was 312,270,000 yuan, accounting for 2% of the total investment. (IV) Scope of acceptance: The main components of the project to be inspected in this acceptance process are the solid waste pollution control facilities installed as part of the methanol-to-olefins project, as well as the related environmental protection measures. II. Changes to the project: According to the meeting on environmental protection inspection upon completion held on January 17, 2019, no significant changes have taken place in this project. III. Construction and commissioning of environmental protection facilities The solid waste generated by this project mainly includes spent catalysts, used mineral oil, waste polymers, and sludge from the pretreatment of wastewater in the M0 unit. During the environmental impact assessment phase, the spent molecular sieve catalyst is considered to be an industrial solid waste and is sent to landfills for disposal; other spent catalysts are classified as hazardous waste, and it is required to entrust qualified entities to handle their disposal. In the actual phase, due to the wide variety of project catalysts, the construction unit did not differentiate between molecular sieve catalysts and other types of catalysts; instead, all of them were entrusted to qualified entities for disposal as hazardous waste. Waste mineral sludge and hydrocarbon-containing waste liquids are both hazardous wastes; all of them are entrusted to qualified entities for disposal. Waste polymers are generally processed through downgrading and sold. The maximum annual amount of sludge generated from the wastewater pretreatment process in the MT0 facility is approximately 30 tons; it constitutes general solid waste and is sent to the landfill in the industrial park for disposal. Hazardous waste is stored in a hazardous waste storage facility built as part of the coal-to-methanol project; this facility covers an area of 280 square meters. It has been designed with leak prevention measures in strict accordance with the \"Pollution Control Standards for Hazardous Waste Storage\" (GB18597-2001). The floor inside the facility has been treated to prevent leakage and corrosion, and a leachate collection system has been installed. IV. Environmental impact of the project construction: According to the environmental protection acceptance monitoring report upon the completion of the methanol-to-olefins project, the project owner commissioned Inner Mongolia Haoyu Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. to conduct soil sampling tests at 14 sites within the chemical plant area and 2 sites in the waste dump area. The test results met the limit requirements specified for Class II land use in Table 1 of the \"Standards for Environmental Risk Management of Soil Pollution in Land Used for Construction (GB36600-2018)\“. V. Acceptance Conclusion: The project has met all the requirements regarding solid waste environmental protection as specified in the environmental impact assessment and the corresponding approval documents. The facilities for preventing and controlling solid waste pollution are operating properly, and the solid waste has been disposed of appropriately. The acceptance team believes that the project meets the conditions for environmental protection acceptance of the facilities designed to prevent and control solid waste pollution in construction projects, and therefore approves the passing of the environmental protection acceptance for these facilities. VI. Next steps in work plan: Strengthen the standardized and informational management of hazardous waste.