Sinopec’s application for on-site hazardous waste treatment for 8 billion cubic meters of coal-derived gas

Thread Content

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the approval procedures for environmental impact assessments of construction projects, on October 26, 2015, the Environmental Impact Assessment Division of the Xinjiang Environmental Protection Department accepted the environmental impact assessment documents for the hazardous waste treatment project associated with Sinopec Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s coal-to-natural gas project, which has an annual production capacity of 8 billion cubic meters. This project is a hazardous waste treatment facility designed to support Sinopec Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s coal-to-natural gas project with an annual production capacity of 8 billion cubic meters; it is located within the Zhundong Coal, Electricity, and Coal Chemical Industry Park in Changji Prefecture, Xinjiang. After the completion and operation of Sinopec Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 8 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project, the solid waste generated each year includes various materials such as spent catalysts, active packing agents, protectants, waste residues, spent ceramic balls, oil sludge and scum, activated sludge, chemical sludge, and crystalline salt sludge, totaling approximately 2.3 million tons. Of this, the manufacturers recycled 2,000 tons, utilized 2.04 million tons in various ways, and 100,000 tons of solid waste were landfilled in waste dumps; over 140,000 tons of hazardous waste remain untreated. When the 8 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project comes online, if there is no appropriate hazardous waste treatment facility to receive and dispose of the hazardous waste generated by the project on an annual basis, the waste will end up piled up in the open or stored in the company’s facilities, leading to the infiltration, spread, and loss of pollutants and causing severe contamination of groundwater and soil. Therefore, the hazardous waste generated by the project must be collected and disposed of. Since the project site is located far from Urumqi’s hazardous waste disposal center, and there are no existing hazardous waste treatment facilities within the park, the hazardous waste generated by the coal-to-gas project must be handled by the company itself. After consulting the park management authorities, they have agreed to permit Sinopec Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. to build its own hazardous waste treatment facility within the park. This project is an environmental protection initiative aimed primarily at addressing the hazardous waste generated by coal-to-gas projects. The total investment for the project is 399.5377 million yuan, of which 19.7 million yuan is allocated to environmental protection measures. The construction components mainly include a drying and incineration plant for sludge, scum, and activated sludge, as well as a landfill for the remaining hazardous waste. The drying and incineration plant covers an area of 3,978 m2 and is located within the main plant area, while the hazardous waste landfill covers an area of 130,000 m2 and is situated to the west of the ash dump. Both are within the land area allocated for the main coal-to-gas project; no additional land will be required for this project. The total capacity for handling hazardous waste is 145,340 t/year, of which 40 t/year relates to spent desulfurization catalysts, 57,300 t/year to sludge and activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants, and 88,000 t/year to crystalline salts from wastewater treatment plants. The treatment processes mainly include drying, incineration, solidification, and safe landfilling.