The water problem at the Ordos heavy industry base has been resolved
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[China Chemical Information Network] From February 23 to 25, the National Geological Survey Work Conference was held in Beijing. Wang Min, deputy minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said at the meeting that the national geological surveys carried out since 1999 have yielded many results; among them, the exploration of groundwater resources in the Ordos region has identified a number of large and extra-large potential water sources for energy and chemical industry hubs. The rapidly emerging energy and chemical projects in this region, represented by Shenhua Group’s coal-to-oil project, already have a basic guarantee for industrial and domestic water use in the near to medium term. With the construction and commissioning of large-scale energy and chemical projects such as coal chemical and natural gas chemical industries in the Ordos region, industry insiders are concerned about whether the water resources necessary for developing these energy and chemical industries in the area can be secured. To produce 1 ton of refined oil from coal, about 12 tons of industrial water are required, and other large-scale chemical projects in Ordos, such as those for fertilizers and polyvinyl chloride, also need an adequate supply of water. According to Li Xiang, director of the Xi’an Geological Survey Center of the China Geological Survey, which is directly involved in water resource surveys in the Ordos region, **surveys of water resources in this area have been carried out continuously for decades. However, the survey process has not been systematic enough, which means that the relevant authorities do not know exactly how much water is available for use in building energy and chemical projects in this region. As a result, it is common for multiple projects to be applied for at one single water source site. To date, the origins of water resources, their distribution, and the exploitable reserves in the Ordos region have been largely understood, providing a basis for scientific decision-making at all levels. The Ordos region is adjacent to five provinces and autonomous regions: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Shanxi. It covers a total area of 280,000 square kilometers. This region accounts for 38.8% of China’s coal reserves, 50% of its natural gas reserves, 4.4% of its oil reserves, and 70% of its sodium salt reserves. However, this energy concentration area is a dry and semi-arid region with a shortage of surface water resources, which has become a \"bottleneck\" for the development of energy bases. The national geological survey shows that the total amount of groundwater recharge in this region is 10.5 billion cubic meters per year, with 5.8 billion cubic meters per year available for extraction. The current level of extraction is 1.1 billion cubic meters per year, and the potential for further extraction is 4.7 billion cubic meters per year. The survey results indicate that the 161 identified groundwater sources are sufficient to meet the water needs of the energy and chemical industry complex during the short-term period (up to 2010) and the medium-term period (up to 2020). At the same time, Li Xiang also said that the region remains a water-scarce area overall, and water resources should be developed rationally and managed scientifically.
The use of groundwater as industrial water is strictly prohibited! !
A leader who isn’t from Ordos would surely say such a thing! ! Using groundwater as industrial water, I think it doesn’t care about the future lives of the local people! ! !
It depends on the overall water resources plan; it seems that there is really no surface water available……
Using groundwater as industrial water is like drinking poison to quench thirst! Especially in semi-desert areas like Ordos, it’s likely that they will turn into deserts quite quickly in reality! Sandstorms are coming every day!
Using groundwater isn’t a sustainable solution either
Will the scenes of the end of the world unfold there first?
In industrial water use, a significant amount is lost through the evaporation of circulating cooling water. The water that evaporates rises into the air and, upon encountering cold air, returns to the ground as rain – it is a circular process, and from this perspective it should have a positive impact on the local climate and environment
Those areas are those where the amount of evaporation exceeds the amount of rainfall; the more evaporation occurs, the greater the losses. If groundwater is extracted on a large scale, it is likely that the already few inland rivers will dry up completely. Can a desert without any oases support life?
Plant trees first, and develop the area after a hundred years. Haha, I’m so talented: lol
Evaporation is greater than precipitation – does the lost water just disappear?
For Inner Mongolia’s development of large-scale chemical industries, water resources represent the biggest constraint; relying on groundwater for industrial purposes is not a sustainable solution
Groundwater runoff in the Ordos region is already low, which means there is little water available to replenish groundwater. The water rights exchange currently being implemented in this area has already reduced the amount of water supplied by the Yellow River. If billions of cubic meters of groundwater are used up, not to mention the people living there, those in the lower reaches of the Yellow River will truly run out of water. Therefore, an analysis of the impact of coal chemical industry development in the Yellow River basin on the water environment should be conducted, taking into account both the carrying capacity of water resources and the water environment.
After looking at the data on Ordos’ groundwater reserves, recoverable reserves, and extraction potential, I thought of Newton’s first law that I learned in middle school, and found it amusing: groundwater is essentially water seeping from the Yellow River; according to the principle of conservation of mass, if we keep pumping water out of these groundwater sources, it won’t be long before the lower reaches of the Yellow River run dry. . . . Isn’t this just covering one’s ears while stealing? Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang have coal but lack water, while many areas along the Yangtze River that are relatively economically developed yet have limited environmental capacity suffer from a shortage of coal despite having water. Compared to coal transportation, coal chemical processing is relatively more feasible and cost-effective, especially in remote coal-producing areas. . . .
In the Ordos region, the surface water comes from either the Yellow River or the Wuding River. Everyone focuses on that water from the Yellow River. Well, I personally think that area is not suitable for large-scale coal chemical projects; the ecological environment there is already fragile, and implementing such projects would cause severe damage to it!
Water is conserved; the problem is that the evaporation here does not match the rainfall here! It moves along with the cloud formations. . .
**It’s useless to talk about anything if industrial policies remain unchanged. The development of the western region is a double-edged sword: there are resources there, but the environment is poor and water resources are scarce. In a couple of years, after the project of transferring water from the south to the north is completed, it will be time to transfer water from the east to the west
Groundwater requires a constant supply of fresh water, and the identified reserves do not represent a continuous amount that can be extracted. In order to give approval to their coal chemical projects, a group of appointed experts will produce conclusions that suit their interests. With the construction of large-scale projects such as those in the coal chemical industry, a new modern city will emerge here. However, I am worried that the tragedy that occurred in Tangshan might happen again due to large-scale extraction of groundwater.
A project is to be built in that area, but the water source is very far away; it takes half a day by car to reach the Batu Bay Reservoir, making it difficult to obtain water there. But to extract groundwater for industrial use, well, the ecology of that area is ruined (it’s already in poor condition; desertification is very severe there).
Ordos is currently developing a grand development plan surrounded by seven industrial parks, in which multiple large-scale coal chemical projects have been established. Heavy industry and coal chemical processing are both industries with high energy and water consumption. In a region suffering from severe water shortages, is it wise to pursue economic development by relying on these resources, ignoring the ecological and environmental carrying capacity, and attracting large numbers of investment projects to bring in multiple large-scale coal chemical plants with similar structures? Establishing heavy and chemical industries in the middle reaches of the Yellow River that exceed the river’s water carrying capacity is likely to trigger a competition for water among industry, agriculture, and the ecosystem, posing a serious threat to water supply in the provinces downstream of the Yellow River. Development must be carried out in a manner that takes water availability into account, with the principle of not competing for water with agriculture, people, and the ecosystem. The construction of coal chemical projects in water-scarce areas must be strictly controlled; this is a vital task that will benefit future generations for ages to come.