【In-depth】Preliminary report on hazardous waste in the petrochemical industry completed; industry’s challenges remain unresolved

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In the newly issued **updated List of Hazardous Wastes**, there are 28 categories of hazardous wastes related to the petrochemical industry, accounting for 60%. In order to strengthen the management of hazardous waste, investigate the handling of such waste, and address the difficulties faced by enterprises in dealing with it, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation launched a survey on hazardous waste in the chemical industry in March this year. The \"Report on the Survey of Hazardous Waste in the Petroleum and Chemical Industry and Policy Recommendations\" resulting from this survey has been preliminarily completed recently. According to interviews with journalists, although the enterprises surveyed performed well in terms of hazardous waste disposal and utilization in 2015, different sub-sectors still face their own challenges related to hazardous waste disposal. The majority of enterprises handle hazardous waste in accordance with regulations. Data shows that the total amount of hazardous waste generated by the chemical industry each year is around 9.11 million tons, accounting for nearly 30% of the total industrial hazardous waste produced. 　　This research initiative received support and feedback from 173 companies. 　　In 2015, these 173 chemical enterprises generated 2.2806 million tons of hazardous waste. Of this, the amount disposed of by the enterprises themselves was 1.74 million tons, accounting for 76.33% of their total hazardous waste generation ； The amount of hazardous waste sent to external facilities for disposal by units qualified for such handling was 539,600 tons, accounting for 23.62% of the total amount generated. The top four types of hazardous waste generated in the largest quantities are waste acid, distillation residues, waste mineral oil, and waste alkali, accounting for 26.01%, 18.5%, 13.13%, and 13.07% of the total amount of hazardous waste produced by the enterprises surveyed, respectively ； 　　Among the 173 companies, 55 handle the disposal of hazardous waste on their own. Among them, comprehensive utilization accounts for 39.85% ； Incineration accounts for 16.99% ； Safe landfill accounts for 10.59%. 69 companies entrusted units qualified for hazardous waste disposal to transport the hazardous waste outside the site for disposal. 　　Research findings show that a considerable number of enterprises are able to manage hazardous waste through strict classification and storage in accordance with the regulations and standards related to solid and hazardous waste; they have dedicated storage facilities for such waste, with designated personnel responsible for its management ； The disposal and transfer of hazardous waste can be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the local environmental protection authorities, with waste declarations submitted annually and the hazardous waste transfer documentation system strictly followed. However, there are also a few companies where the records related to the generation, utilization, and disposal of hazardous waste are unclear; the temporary storage facilities for hazardous waste within these companies are rather basic, and the facilities used for disposing of hazardous waste do not meet the **specified requirements. Different industries face varying difficulties in disposal. Many companies also took this opportunity to raise the challenges they encounter in handling hazardous waste. For methanol companies and light hydrocarbon distillation companies in the oil sector that are involved in chemical production, the main hazardous waste generated includes various types of spent catalysts, used lubricating oils, waste fluids from online monitoring systems, and residues at the bottom of tanks. Many companies have reported that, when dealing with hazardous waste, it is difficult to entrust its disposal due to the variable amount of each type of hazardous waste generated in a given year. As a result, they have to accumulate such waste until a sufficient amount has been gathered before disposing of it, which may lead to some of the hazardous waste being stored for more than a year, thereby posing a risk of excessive storage. Furthermore, these enterprises generate large quantities of certain types of hazardous waste, which leads to long processing times for transferring such waste across provinces. During this period, the amount of hazardous waste generated exceeds the limits specified in the transfer permits, so it is not possible to transfer this waste in the same batch. This not only increases the workload for both the waste-producing and receiving units but also raises the risks associated with hazardous waste, a matter that deserves close attention. 　　For coal chemical enterprises, the main hazardous wastes generated include sludge, waste oil, waste catalysts, and liquefaction residues. These enterprises state that: \"The majority of the impurity salts generated in the coal chemical industry are inorganic salts, with only a small amount being organic compounds; heavy metals are essentially absent.\" However, the **List of Hazardous Wastes** does not currently contain a detailed list of hazardous wastes generated by enterprises in the coal chemical industry, making it impossible to determine whether such mixed salts are considered hazardous wastes. At the same time, mixed salts contain many diverse components with varying physicochemical properties, making their separation and extraction difficult. Even if it is separated, there is no market for the product, so separation and extraction are not very meaningful. If the impure salts generated by the coal chemical industry are classified as hazardous waste, there are very few companies capable of handling such hazardous waste, and the disposal costs are high. If the company handles it itself, it needs the appropriate qualifications for dealing with hazardous waste, and building production lines for such disposal is also very costly. ” 　　For some pesticide manufacturers that primarily produce pretilachlor and imazapyr, the main hazardous waste comes from sodium chloride recovered from wastewater. Some companies have reported that \"transferring this by-product sodium chloride as hazardous waste incurs extremely high costs, which are beyond the companies’ capacity to bear. The price for transferring this by-product sodium chloride as hazardous waste is set unilaterally by the qualified entities responsible for its treatment, which goes against the principle of fair market pricing; moreover, there is no oversight of these prices.\" ； The disposal capacity of entities qualified to handle such waste is too low, resulting in a large amount of hazardous waste that cannot be disposed of ； Reclaimed sodium chloride that has been tested by **approved and qualified hazardous waste identification agencies is still not recognized by the relevant authorities. ” It is recommended to improve policies in a targeted manner. Zhuang Xiangning, head of the Quality, Safety, and Environmental Protection Department at the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, believes that the main problem with hazardous waste in China’s petrochemical industry is the high costs associated with its disposal ； Resources and capabilities for hazardous waste disposal are severely inadequate ； The procedures for handling waste transfer documents are complex and time-consuming ； The criteria for identifying hazardous waste vary ； “The criteria for “resource utilization” in hazardous waste management vary ； The concepts of hazardous waste and by-products are ambiguous ； There is a lack of channels for identifying hazardous waste. 　　The reporter learned that petrochemical companies have their own suggestions on how to better manage hazardous waste. Refining and chemical-related enterprises are calling for the establishment of an online platform to provide information on hazardous waste disposal units, as well as supply and demand details ； Coal chemical enterprises recommend that **after analyzing the hazardous waste generated in the coal chemical industry chain, the categories within the list of hazardous waste should be refined** ； Pesticide companies hope that standards for the recovery and identification of sodium chloride will be established as soon as possible. Sodium chloride that has been identified as non-hazardous waste should not be restricted from being sold as a by-product. At the same time, more qualified units for the disposal of hazardous waste should be designated, along with reasonable fee structures. 　　In response, Zhuang Xiangning also put forward six suggestions: first, accelerate the formulation of standards or guidelines for the disposal and comprehensive utilization of hazardous waste in various industries, and strongly encourage the recycling of hazardous waste resources ； Second, identify the types of hazardous waste by industry (or product) to avoid ambiguous concepts and inconsistent management ； Third, break down regional restrictions and monopolies in hazardous waste disposal, encourage marketization of hazardous waste treatment, and reduce the costs associated with its disposal ； Fourth, based on the characteristics of hazardous waste, develop guidelines for the comprehensive utilization of such waste, simplify the relevant procedures, and encourage enterprises to take in hazardous waste from upstream sources as raw materials for their own operations ； Fifth, establish procedures and requirements for the identification of hazardous waste, encourage third-party identification of such waste, continuously improve the list of hazardous wastes, and carry out dynamic updates to this list ； Sixth, establish relevant product standards for the comprehensive utilization of \"three wastes,\" and integrate them with the guidelines for comprehensive utilization. 　　“Regarding these issues identified, the Petrochemical Federation will bring them to the attention of the relevant authorities and submit corresponding recommendations, aiming to help enterprises carry out the proper handling of hazardous waste more conveniently and smoothly. ”Zhuang Xiangning said.