Taking the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park as an example, discussing how to improve environmental management in chemical parks

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The rapid development of chemical industrial parks is a sign of the maturity of China’s chemical industry; it brings about increased economic benefits, fosters the growth of other industries, and plays a key role in China’s economic development. However, due to a lack of experience in environmental management within the industrial park and insufficient emphasis on environmental protection by the enterprises, some environmental damage incidents have occurred, and the potential environmental and safety risks cannot be ignored. People are still shaken by the \"Tianjin Port explosion.\" Therefore, how to implement effective environmental management to promote the green and sustainable development of chemical industrial parks has become an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. Overview of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone: The Shanghai Chemical Industry Economic and Technological Development Zone (hereinafter referred to as the “Shanghai Chemical Zone” or “the Zone”) was approved for establishment in 1996. Located in the southern part of Shanghai, on the north shore of the Hangzhou Bay, it covers an area of 29.4 km2. It is one of the first large-scale industrial zones in China focused on petrochemicals and their derivatives. In 2004, the park was designated by Shanghai as a pilot park for the development of a circular economy. In 2005, it was included by the **Development and Reform Commission** in the first batch of pilot units for circular economy initiatives. In 2013, it was officially named an **Ecological Industry Demonstration Park** by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. By 2016, the park had achieved sales revenue of 90.504 billion yuan and met its target of 88.632 billion yuan in total industrial output value. For many consecutive years, the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park has ranked first among China’s top 20 chemical industry parks. The Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone focuses on the development of industries such as petrochemicals, fine chemicals, and polymer materials. It has now become the world’s largest producer of isocyanates and China’s largest producer of polycarbonates. At present, there are nearly 50 large-scale chemical production facilities, which produce around 13.7 million tons of various chemicals each year. There are 530 kilometers of chemical distribution pipelines, 43 sites representing major hazard sources, 134 types of hazardous chemicals, and 32 types of hazardous chemicals that are under special supervision. There are also 11 types of chemical processes that are particularly subject to oversight. The environmental risks associated with production, storage, and transportation are evident. Facing complex environmental risks, the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone has continued to increase its investment to establish an environmental safety system suitable for its own needs. In 2016, 1.456 billion yuan was invested in environmental protection efforts throughout the year, of which 439 million yuan was spent on pollution control ； Construction of urban environmental infrastructure: 82 million yuan ； Capacity building for environmental management: 26 million yuan ； Operating costs for environmental protection facilities: 834 million yuan ； Other environmental protection investments amounted to 74 million yuan. Figure 1: Investment in environmental management in the park in 2016. Experiences and achievements in environmental management at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. Implementing environmental management and reducing environmental risks are among the top priorities for chemical industry parks. The Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone was approved for establishment in 1996, and environmental management issues for the zone were considered from the stage of planning and environmental impact assessment. To date, a unique approach has been developed in the areas of water pollution control, air pollution control, hazardous waste disposal, environmental monitoring systems, environmental emergency response systems, and comprehensive environmental supervision systems. Water pollution control: The principle of \"integrated\" management. The water pollution control in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone adheres to the principle of \"integrated\" management. In 2001, the park prepared the \"Environmental Impact Assessment Report on the Regional Development of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone\" (approved by the State Environmental Protection Administration under document No. Huan Shen 44), which proposed an \"integrated\" approach to wastewater treatment” ； In 2008, the park prepared another Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the Industrial Development of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone (approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection under document No. Huan Shen 335), further optimizing and refining the \"integrated\" treatment approach. Wastewater treatment is carried out in an integrated manner; the park implements precise management by controlling each of the four stages: classified collection, differentiated treatment, accident management, and final control. In terms of classified collection, the park is equipped with four separate collection pipelines for clean rainwater, domestic sewage, polluted sewage, and inorganic sewage. The water collected from clean rainwater can be discharged directly into Hangzhou Bay, while the other types of sewage must be treated at a sewage treatment plant after being collected. Currently, Sino-French Water handles all wastewater treatment in the park, with a treatment capacity of 50,000 cubic meters per day and a CODcr load of 53 tons per day. Regarding differentiated treatment, organic wastewater and domestic sewage are collected and sent to wastewater treatment plants for separate treatment. Depending on the source of wastewater from each enterprise, it is directed to either organic carbon treatment lines, nitrification treatment lines, or denitrification treatment lines. After treatment, a third-level treatment process involving ozone oxidation is carried out, followed by discharge into the Hangzhou Bay after passing through a water outlet regulation tank. The high-salt wastewater is collected, treated through an activated carbon treatment line, and then sent to a effluent regulation tank for further processing; once it meets the required standards, it is discharged. In terms of end-point control, all rainwater discharge outlets of the enterprise are equipped with valves and online monitoring systems ； Online sample retention systems should be installed at the outlets for industrial inorganic wastewater, while online monitoring systems should be installed at key enterprises under national supervision ； After treatment by the wastewater treatment plant, online monitoring systems are installed at the organic, inorganic, and total discharge outlets respectively. Figure 2 shows the treatment process at the industrial park’s wastewater treatment plant. To effectively prevent wastewater from polluting the environment, in addition to the wastewater collection tanks installed in the enterprises, the treatment plant also has an emergency tank with a capacity of 25,000 cubic meters for handling accidental water releases. In the event of an extremely adverse accident, the accident wastewater can also be discharged into the central river within the chemical industry zone. The Central River is 24.5 km long; it can be separated from the outside world through gates and maintained at a low water level at all times. In the event of an accident, it can hold approximately 1 million cubic meters of floodwater. Through three lines of defense—enterprises, wastewater treatment plants, and enclosed artificial waterways within the industrial park—it is ensured that accidental wastewater does not cause secondary pollution to the water environment outside the park. Air pollution control: clean energy, ultra-low emissions, control of organized emissions, and control of VOCs. The air pollution control in Shanghai’s chemical industry zone is mainly divided into four aspects: first, the use of clean energy at the source; second, measures to achieve ultra-low emissions from power plants; third, efforts to ensure that organized emissions from enterprises meet regulatory standards; and fourth, control of unorganized emissions from enterprises, with a focus on VOCs. In terms of the energy structure, the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone utilizes centralized heating; the fuel mix is primarily composed of natural gas and electricity, which effectively reduces the emission of waste gases at the source and enables efficient and clean use of energy. In terms of flue gas treatment, it mainly relates to ultra-low emission control in power plants. For example, the coal-fired units at the Caojing Power Plant located within the industrial park have adopted electrostatic dust removal and denitration measures, and additional enhancements have been made to sulfur removal, denitration, and dust removal processes to ensure compliance with ultra-low emission standards. At the same time, the park uses centralized heating gas boilers equipped with low-nitrogen gas technology, while the emergency coal-fired boilers are fitted with electrostatic dust removal, lime-based wet flue gas desulfurization, and denitrification systems. In terms of treating organized emissions to meet standards, chemical enterprises within the park have implemented fully enclosed systems along with treatment measures such as condensation recovery, alkali washing, spraying, adsorption, and incineration. Overall, these efforts have achieved a treatment efficiency of over 90%. In recent years, controlling the unorganized VOC emissions from enterprises has become an important goal in park management. To this end, the park has set management objectives: first, to establish a management platform for a comprehensive inventory of VOC emissions, so as to have a clear understanding of every source of pollution; second, to develop and promote technical standards for VOC emission control, with the goal of bringing all pollution sources under control; third, to use the \"comprehensive VOC emission inventory management platform\" to supervise and manage enterprises. At the same time, the park adopts a five-step strategy to implement VOCs emission control, namely: identifying sources, assessing the current situation, using technical methods for emission reduction, providing policy incentives, and strengthening supervision. First, it is necessary to identify the source. The sources of VOC emissions within the park can be divided into stationary sources and mobile sources. Mobile sources are mainly chemical transport vehicles and ships ； The sources are mostly fixed sources, such as exhaust stacks, industrial processes, sewage treatment, storage tanks, exhaust from loading/unloading facilities, inspections and maintenance activities, and leaks from equipment and pipeline components. The second is to understand the current situation. The park has carried out pilot projects in key enterprises to identify the main stages of emissions from these enterprises. Based on the results of the pilot project, a two-pronged approach to management is adopted: operationally, standardized and unified methods for monitoring various VOCs emission stages and calculating total emissions are established, along with published procedures for practical implementation ； Administratively, the \"Guiding Opinions on Methods for Monitoring, Accounting, and Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone\" were issued; a comprehensive management platform for enterprise VOCs emissions was established, and guidelines for classified management of VOCs emission points were put into practice. Third is technological emission reduction. The technical reduction of VOCs is detailed into a comprehensive emission control process that includes \"pollution prevention—process control—end-of-pipe treatment\". Pollution prevention primarily involves selecting appropriate processes, raw materials, and product chains for new projects entering the zone. At the same time, it entails making improvements such as process reforms and raw material substitutions for existing projects ； Process control mainly includes LDAR technology, regular evaluation of treatment facilities, control over inspection and maintenance processes, and standardized operating procedures ； End-of-pipe treatment primarily employs technologies such as combustion, adsorption, and condensation. At the same time, cost considerations must be taken into account when reducing VOC emissions, with minimum, maximum, and appropriate control technologies being employed in different regions (Table 2). Table 2 shows the minimum, maximum, and appropriate control methods for VOCs emission control in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. It is worth noting that stricter supervision is required for VOCs emission control in such industrial parks. The Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone has established a supervision mechanism of “enterprise reporting—project control—independent verification—network monitoring”. The park requires enterprises to fill out and submit VOCs emission reports, as well as information on potential emissions from major maintenance activities. In terms of project control, the \"highest available control technology\" should be taken into consideration during the design phase of new projects” ； When implementing emission reductions for existing projects, upgrades are carried out using \"reasonably available control technologies\". Regarding independent verification, the park employs third parties to inspect the enterprises’ daily emissions, annual reports, as well as maintenance activities. In addition, the regulatory authorities have also set up automatic environmental air monitoring stations and sensors for key pollutants within the area, as well as monitoring points at the boundaries of the park, in order to build an environmental IoT system that enables real-time monitoring of environmental VOCs and tracking of pollution sources. Hazardous waste disposal: Recycling, centralized incineration, and strict control. The industrial park adopts a strategy of \"recycling, centralized incineration, and strict control\" for hazardous waste. Currently, 80% of the enterprises in the park have upstream and downstream relationships, forming a circular industrial chain. The industrial park has brought in Shanghai Jihui Environmental Protection Technology Development Co., Ltd., which specializes in the recycling and comprehensive utilization of waste packaging drums, heavy metal sludge, waste acids and alkalis, waste mineral oils, and waste emulsions. It has a processing capacity of 46,000 tons per year, with half of those clients coming from within the industrial park itself. At the same time, Shengda Waste Treatment Co., Ltd. was introduced to the park to handle the incineration of hazardous waste generated by the enterprises there. With the completion and operation of the third production line for handling hazardous waste, the processing capacity will reach 120,000 tons per year, making it the largest hazardous waste treatment facility in Asia. While expanding their operations, hazardous waste disposal companies took into account the separate treatment of solid and liquid wastes, thereby improving the efficiency of hazardous waste processing and reducing the amount of hazardous waste generated. In terms of strict control, the park strictly adheres to all types of leakage prevention requirements, establishes comprehensive monitoring points throughout the park, and pays special attention to leakage prevention in the event of accidents. Environmental risk prevention and control: Real-time monitoring, emergency response, and comprehensive supervision. Real-time monitoring: The Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone has established a comprehensive environmental monitoring system that includes monitoring of regional environmental quality and key pollution sources, monitoring carried out at the request of enterprises, special monitoring for complaints, emergency-specific monitoring, as well as various types of online monitoring. In 2010, the park installed a super automatic environmental air quality monitoring station with a total investment of 7.64 million yuan; the monitoring parameters included major pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and inorganic toxic and harmful gases. In 2013, the park launched again the \"Shanghai Chemical Industry Environmental Comprehensive Supervision Project\", with a total investment of over 34 million yuan. It includes 5 fixed monitoring stations, 20 sets of automatic monitoring equipment, 7 sets of monitoring auxiliary equipment, and 1 mobile monitoring vehicle. More than 95 types of monitoring parameters are covered, enabling comprehensive multi-dimensional and multi-factor testing of 11 wastewater discharge points, 12 exhaust gas discharge points, and 60 rainwater discharge points. At the same time, the park is equipped with monitoring devices such as GC-FID, FTIR, and DOAS at its monitoring stations to conduct real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds in the air both within the park and along its boundaries. It is also equipped with meteorological instruments, which, together with the monitoring network, are used to trace the source of pollution. Emergency response: The Shanghai Chemical Industry Zone has a three-tier emergency response system comprising \"enterprise within the zone – Chemical Industry Zone Emergency Response Center – Shanghai Emergency Coordination Center\". Emergency response operations are coordinated through a single system that brings together the response center, public security bureaus, fire departments, medical centers, environmental protection agencies, safety supervision departments, flood control units, property management services, and other relevant entities. Video surveillance is installed in every corner of the park, and environmental monitoring stations are set up at the wastewater outlets of each enterprise. Any issue that arises is reported to the emergency platform, which can use the monitoring data to determine the location of the incident, identify the abnormalities, and assess the potential impacts. The emergency sub-centers of various enterprises within the park, along with specialized agencies such as those responsible for public security, firefighting, disaster prevention, environmental protection, maritime affairs, and emergency medical services, are all connected to the monitoring points at the disaster sites. This enables unified reception of emergency calls, coordinated command and dispatch, intelligent decision-making support, as well as information sharing and management within the park. Through comprehensive supervision, the industrial park has established an integrated environmental supervision system for chemical areas, built on top of the environmental monitoring framework. This system includes a monitoring system for corporate pollution sources, an environmental quality monitoring system, environmental early-warning and tracing systems, as well as environmental protection maps. At the same time, **and all of Shanghai’s environmental management systems are integrated into this system, creating an intelligent management framework with full-element links on a single page. What are the characteristics of chemical industrial parks? At present, the environment of chemical industrial parks is characterized mainly by the following aspects: hazard. The park is home to a large number of enterprises that utilize a wide variety of chemicals. The raw materials, intermediates, and products manufactured and used by these enterprises mostly possess properties such as flammability, explosiveness, toxicity, and corrosivity. Hazardous chemicals pose risks during production, use, storage, and transportation, and can easily lead to a variety of accidents. Chainability. As a system, the chemical industrial park consists of various enterprises that function as its subsystems. The risks associated with each of these subsystems pose a threat to the safety of the other subsystems within the park. Incidents such as fires, explosions, and gas leaks can easily trigger chain reactions that affect the surrounding enterprises. Sensitivity. In chemical industrial parks, in the event of serious safety incidents such as fires, explosions, or gas leaks, it is easy for these to affect nearby residents and environmentally sensitive areas such as river basins, thereby giving rise to and escalating into broader environmental risks. The explosion at Tianjin Port on August 12th serves as a painful lesson in this regard. How to improve environmental management in chemical industrial parks? Safety and environmental protection are the top priorities of chemical industrial parks, which need to carry out effective environmental management to minimize environmental risks. To improve environmental management in chemical industrial parks, I believe it is necessary to start with planning and environmental impact assessments, focus on the integrated management of the parks, strengthen supervision, and emphasize meticulous management. Specifically, the main points are as follows: By aligning with international best practices, regional and planning environmental impact assessments should be conducted. The construction and environmental management of chemical industrial parks need to draw on the successful approaches and experiences of world-renowned chemical parks such as Jurong in Singapore, Ulsan in South Korea, and Antwerp in Belgium; efforts should be made to build the safest and most environmentally friendly chemical production facilities using high and strict standards. To ensure proper environmental management, chemical industrial parks also need to conduct regional and planning environmental impact assessments at the time of their establishment; strict admission requirements should be set in place, along with an inventory of criteria for ensuring safety and environmental protection ； Enterprises whose planned environmental impact assessments have not passed the review or do not meet the requirements set for such assessments in the park are not allowed to enter the park under any circumstances. Strengthen the development of various environmental protection infrastructures to achieve integrated development. At present, some chemical industrial parks are lagging behind in infrastructure construction, which prevents effective environmental management. Chemical industrial parks should enhance the construction of infrastructure and adopt a relatively closed management approach, installing appropriate specialized fire-fighting facilities, sewage treatment facilities, and hazardous waste disposal facilities. Pollutant emissions in the park are effectively controlled; in addition to meeting all regulatory standards, emissions should continue to be reduced, and the environmental quality of the park should keep improving. The Shanghai Chemical Industry Park was the first in China to adopt a concept of integrated development encompassing five aspects: product development, utility services, logistics and transportation, safety and environmental protection, and management services. This approach integrates clean production, comprehensive resource utilization, and sustainable development ； Based on the overall requirements of the main project for utility facilities, systematic planning was carried out to construct collectively environmental infrastructure such as sewage treatment plants, hazardous waste incineration plants, resource recovery and comprehensive utilization plants, shelter forests, and artificial wetland experimental systems; all of these have become a solid foundation for environmental management. Strengthen supervision and establish emergency response plans to minimize environmental risks. During the construction of chemical parks, it is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of environmental oversight. Environmental protection agencies should get involved in advance by establishing management systems such as environmental monitoring and safety monitoring systems, as well as relevant departments for environmental protection and safety. They should also deploy professional teams for safety supervision and environmental inspection to carry out routine monitoring and oversight tasks. Regular and comprehensive monitoring of pollution sources and environmental quality should be carried out, and various measures should be taken to strengthen supervision in order to reduce environmental risks. At the same time, chemical industrial parks should establish a unified emergency response center that integrates alarm reception, command, decision support, and information systems on one platform to achieve comprehensive risk management functions ； A three-level risk management system should be established for production facilities, enterprises, and industrial parks, along with multi-level preventive measures against environmental hazards such as toxic and harmful gases and polluted wastewater, as well as risks like fires, explosions, and leaks ； Unified overall emergency response plans and specific emergency response plans should be established, regular drills conducted, and these plans continuously improved in order to minimize the likelihood of major pollution incidents.