Big news! The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has released the "Overall Plan for Comprehensive Governance of Volatile Organic Compounds in Key Industries"
Notice on Issuing the "Overall Plan for the Comprehensive Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in Key Industries"
All provincial, autonomous regional and municipal environmental protection authorities, as well as the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
The "Overall Plan for the Comprehensive Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in Key Industries" has been issued to you. Please abide by and implement it.
Ministry of Ecology and Environment
June 26, 2019
Key Industry Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Comprehensive Control Plan
In order to implement the requirements of the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Comprehensively Strengthening Ecological Environment Protection and Resolutely Winning the Battle Against Pollution" and the "Notice of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Battle Against Air Pollution", to deeply implement the "Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) Pollution Prevention and Control Work Plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan", to provide guidance to all regions on their work, and to enhance the scientificity, pertinence and effectiveness of VOCs treatment, and to jointly control greenhouse gas emissions, this plan is hereby formulated.
I. Situation and Problems
(1) VOCs pollution emissions have a prominent impact on the atmospheric environment. VOCs are important precursors for the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), and also have an impact on climate change. In recent years, China has made positive progress in PM2.5 pollution control, especially in regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas, and the Yangtze River Delta regions, where improvements have been significant. However, the concentration of PM2.5 remains high, and the phenomenon of exceeding standards is still widespread, making it a key factor for improving environmental air quality in the battle against air pollution. The source analysis results in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas show that organic matter (OM) is currently the most significant component of PM2.5, accounting for 20%-40%, among which, secondary organic matter accounts for 30%-50% and mainly comes from the transformation of VOCs.
At the same time, the problem of O3 pollution in China is increasingly emerging. The concentration of O3 in regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Fenwei Plain (hereinafter referred to as key areas, see Appendix 1) is on the rise, especially in summer and autumn, and has become the primary pollutant in some cities. Studies have shown that VOCs are the main controlling factor for O3 generation in key areas at present.
Compared with the control of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide pollution, VOCs management is weak and has become a in atmospheric environmental management. Industries such as petrochemicals， chemicals， industrial painting， packaging printing， and oil storage and transportation and sales (hereinafter referred to as key industries) are the main VOCs emission sources in China. To win the battle against air pollution and further improve environmental air quality， it is urgently necessary to comprehensively strengthen the comprehensive control of VOCs in key industries.
(2) Main existing problems. Since the implementation of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan"， China has continuously strengthened VOCs pollution prevention and control work， issued VOCs pollution prevention and control work plans， and introduced emission standards for industries such as refining and petrochemicals. Some regions have also formulated local emission standards and strengthened the construction of basic capabilities such as VOCs monitoring， monitoring， reporting， and statistics. Some progress has been made. However， VOCs treatment work is still weak， mainly manifested as：
First， insufficient control at the source. The use of organic solvents and other VOCs-containing raw materials is an important emission source of VOCs. Due to insufficient awareness， insufficient policy incentives， and high investment costs， the measures for replacing low-VOCs content raw materials at the source are significantly insufficient. According to statistics， the proportion of water-based and powder-based low-VOCs content coatings in industrial coatings is less than 20%， which is lower than the 40%-60% level in developed countries such as Europe and the United States.
Second， unorganized emissions are prominent. VOCs have strong volatility and are involved in a wide range of industries， with multiple production and emission links. Unorganized emissions are clearly evident. Although the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Law and other regulations have proposed requirements such as sealing and closing for unorganized emissions of VOCs， enterprises with large volumes and wide coverage have not taken effective control measures. Especially small and medium-sized enterprises have poor management levels and low collection efficiency， and the problem of leakage is prominent. Studies show that unorganized emissions account for more than 60% of industrial VOCs emissions.
Third， treatment facilities are simple and low-efficiency. The composition of VOCs waste gas is complex， the treatment technologies are diverse， and the applicability varies greatly. The requirements for technical selection and system matching are high. The VOCs treatment market in our country started relatively late, with low entry barriers. Coupled with insufficient regulatory capabilities, the quality of treatment facilities varies greatly, and phenomena such as ineffective treatment and makeshift treatment are prominent. In some regions, low-efficiency technologies such as plasma at low temperatures, photocatalysis, and photo-oxidation are even applied in over 80% of cases, resulting in poor treatment effects. Some enterprises, due to non-standard design and mismatched systems, even when choosing efficient treatment technologies, have failed to achieve the expected treatment results.
Fourth, the operation and management are not standardized. VOCs treatment requires comprehensive process control and implementation of refined management. However, currently, enterprises generally have incomplete management systems, unestablished operation procedures, and insufficient technical capabilities of personnel. Some enterprises use activated carbon adsorption technology, but do not replace the adsorption materials for a long time; some enterprises use combustion, condensation treatment technologies, but the operating temperature and other parameters do not meet the design requirements; some enterprises have carried out leakage detection and repair (LDAR) work, but have not operated in accordance with procedures.
Fifth, the monitoring and control are not in place. The monitoring work for VOCs in our country is still in its infancy. The quality of self-monitoring by enterprises is generally not high. The point location settings are unreasonable, the sampling methods are not standardized, and the representativeness of the monitoring periods is not strong. Some key enterprises have not equipped automatic monitoring facilities as required. Industrial parks and clusters with VOCs emissions lack effective monitoring traceability and early warning measures. From the regulatory perspective, there are no effective means such as on-site rapid detection, and the application of ad hoc monitoring and grid-based monitoring is insufficient.
II. Main Objectives
By 2020, establish a sound VOCs pollution prevention and control management system. Significant progress should be made in VOCs treatment in key regions and industries. Achieve the target of reducing VOCs emissions by 10% as stipulated in the "13th Five-Year Plan", jointly control greenhouse gas emissions, and promote continuous improvement of environmental air quality.
III. Control Strategies and Requirements
(1) Vigorously promote source substitution. Replace solvent-based coatings, inks, adhesives, and cleaning agents with low-VOCs content ones such as water-based, powder-based, high-solid content, non-aqueous solvent-based, and radiation-cured ones. Industrial painting, packaging printing, and other industries should increase the intensity of source substitution; the chemical industry should promote the use of low (or no) VOCs content and low-reactivity raw materials, and accelerate the green substitution of aromatic hydrocarbons and halogen-containing organic compounds. Enterprises should vigorously promote the use of low-VOCs content wood-based coatings, vehicle coatings, mechanical equipment coatings, container coatings, and building and structure protection coatings, and complete the basic task by 2020 in key regions. Encourage the acceleration of the research and development and production of low-VOCs content coatings, inks, and adhesives.
Strengthen policy guidance. If enterprises adopt coatings, inks, adhesives, and cleaning agents that comply with the relevant national regulations on low-VOCs content, and have stable emission concentrations and emission rates, as well as emission performance that meets relevant regulations, the corresponding production processes may not be required to install end-of-pipe treatment facilities. Processes with VOCs content (mass ratio) lower than 10% of the raw materials used may not be required to take measures for unorganized emissions collection.
(2) Comprehensively strengthen unorganized emissions control. The key focus is on implementing control measures for five types of emission sources, namely the storage, transfer and transportation of VOCs-containing materials (including VOCs-containing raw materials, products, waste materials, and organic polymer materials, etc.), equipment and pipeline component leaks, open liquid surface emissions, and process operations. Through measures such as equipment and site sealing, process improvement, and effective waste gas collection, the non-organized emissions of VOCs are reduced.
Strengthen the management of equipment and site sealing. VOCs-containing materials should be stored in sealed containers, packaging bags, highly sealed storage tanks, closed storage warehouses, and silos. For the transfer and transportation of VOCs-containing materials, sealed pipelines or sealed containers, tank trucks, etc. should be used. During the collection, storage, and treatment process of high-VOCs content wastewater (with the VOCs detection concentration exceeding 200 ppm above 100 millimeters above the liquid surface of the wastewater, with the key areas exceeding 100 ppm, measured by carbon), the process should be covered and sealed. During the production and use process of VOCs-containing materials, effective collection measures should be taken or operations should be conducted in a sealed space.
Promote the use of advanced production processes. By adopting fully sealed, continuous, and automated production technologies, as well as efficient processes and equipment, the non-organized emissions during the process are reduced. For the loading of volatile organic liquids, the bottom loading method should be preferred. In the petrochemical and chemical industries, priority should be given to the use of low (or no) leakage pumps, compressors, filters, centrifuges, drying equipment, etc., and the adoption of online oil blending technology, closed-loop water cooling systems, etc. In the industrial painting industry, priority should be given to the use of compact coating processes, and the adoption of roller coating, electrostatic spraying, high-pressure airless spraying, air-assisted airless spraying, thermal spraying, etc. coating technologies, and enterprises should replace manual spraying with automated and intelligent spraying equipment to reduce the use of air spraying technology. In the packaging and printing industry, efforts should be made to promote the use of solvent-free composite, extrusion composite, co-extrusion composite technologies, and encourage the adoption of water-based offset printing, alcohol-water offset printing, radiation-curing offset printing, flexographic printing, waterless offset printing, etc. printing processes.
Increase the collection rate of waste gas. Following the principle of "collecting as much as possible and collecting separately", scientifically design the waste gas collection system, converting the non-organized emissions into organized emissions for control. For fully sealed collection hoods or those in a sealed space, except for special requirements of the industry, a slight negative pressure state should be maintained, and the ventilation volume should be reasonably set according to relevant norms. For local collection hoods, the position of the VOCs non-organized emission farthest from the collection hood opening should have a wind speed of no less than 0.3 meters per second. If there are specific industry requirements, they should be followed accordingly.
Strengthen the control of equipment and pipeline component leaks. For equipment and pipeline components carrying gaseous and liquid VOCs materials in enterprises, if the number of sealing points is greater than or equal to 2000, LDAR work should be carried out as required. Petrochemical enterprises should follow the industry emission standards.
(III) Promote the construction of suitable and efficient pollution control facilities. When enterprises build new pollution control facilities or implement renovations of existing pollution control facilities, they should reasonably select treatment technologies based on the concentration, composition, wind volume, temperature, humidity, pressure, and production conditions of the emitted waste gas. Encourage enterprises to adopt combined processes of multiple technologies to improve the efficiency of VOCs treatment. For low-concentration and high-volume waste gas, concentrated technologies such as zeolite rotating wheels adsorption, activated carbon adsorption, reducing wind and increasing concentration, etc., should be adopted to increase the VOCs concentration and then for purification and treatment; for high-concentration waste gas, solvent recovery should be prioritized, and for those that are difficult to recover, technologies such as high-temperature incineration, catalytic combustion, etc. should be adopted. For oil (solvent) recovery, technologies such as condensation + adsorption, adsorption + absorption, membrane separation + adsorption should be adopted. Low-temperature plasma, photocatalysis, photooxidation technologies are mainly applicable for odor and unpleasant smell treatment; biological methods are mainly applicable for low-concentration VOCs waste gas treatment and odor treatment. Non-water-soluble VOCs waste gas should not be treated by spraying absorption with water or water solutions. For those using one-time activated carbon adsorption technology, the activated carbon should be replaced regularly. The used activated carbon should be recycled or disposed of. Industrial parks and clusters with the necessary conditions should promote centralized spraying, centralized solvent recovery, and centralized regeneration of activated carbon, to enhance resource sharing and improve the efficiency of VOCs treatment.
Standardize engineering design. For those using adsorption treatment technology, they should comply with the "Technical Specifications for Industrial Organic Waste Gas Treatment by Adsorption Method". For those using catalytic combustion technology, they should follow the "Technical Specifications for Industrial Organic Waste Gas Treatment by Catalytic Combustion Method". For those using other treatment technologies such as regenerative combustion, they should design according to relevant technical specifications.
Implement dual control of emission concentration and removal efficiency for key emission sources. For the exhaust gas collected from workshops or production facilities with an initial VOCs emission rate of 3 kilograms per hour or more, and in key areas of 2 kilograms per hour or more, greater control efforts should be implemented. In addition to ensuring stable compliance with emission concentration standards, removal efficiency control should also be implemented, with a removal efficiency of no less than 80%. Exclusions include cases where the raw materials used comply with national regulations on low VOCs content products, and where there are industry emission standards to follow.
(4) Deeply implement refined management. Each region should focus on the local demand for air quality improvement, based on the source analysis of O3 and PM2.5, combined with the pollution emission characteristics of industries and the photochemical reaction activity of VOCs substances, determine the key industries and key pollutants for VOCs control in the region, taking into account the control of malodorous pollutants and toxic and harmful substances, and propose effective control plans to enhance the precision, targeting, and effectiveness of VOCs treatment. The VOCs substances subject to national key control are listed in Annex 2.
Implement the "one factory, one plan" system. Each region should strengthen assistance and guidance for enterprises, organize experts to provide professional technical support for enterprises with large pollutant emissions in the local area, strictly control the process, guide enterprises to formulate feasible pollution control plans, clearly define the requirements for all stages of emission reduction, including the replacement of raw materials, process improvement, control of unorganized emissions, exhaust gas collection, and construction of pollution control facilities, calculate the investment cost and emission reduction benefits, and provide technical services for enterprises to effectively carry out VOCs comprehensive treatment. In key regions, local enterprises with large VOCs emissions should be organized to develop the "one factory, one plan" scheme by the end of June 2020; timely conduct post-evaluation of the treatment effect, and the subsidy policies issued by each region should be closely linked to the emission reduction effect. Encourage localities to implement mandatory clean production audits for key industries.
Strengthen enterprise operation management. Enterprises should systematically review the main links and processes of VOCs emissions, including start-up and shutdown, maintenance and repair operations, and formulate specific operating procedures, assigning them to specific responsible persons. Improve internal assessment systems. Strengthen personnel capacity training and technical exchanges. Establish management ledgers to record key parameters of enterprise production and pollution control facilities operation (see Annex 3), and ensure that online monitoring parameters can be retrieved in real time. The relevant ledgers should be kept for at least three years.
IV. Key Industry Treatment Tasks
(1) Comprehensive VOCs Treatment in the Petrochemical Industry. Fully increase the treatment efforts for VOCs in industries such as petroleum refining and organic chemicals, synthetic resins, synthetic fibers, and synthetic rubber. Focus on strengthening VOCs treatment for source items such as sealing point leaks, wastewater and circulating water systems, storage tanks, organic liquid loading and unloading, and process exhaust gas, ensuring stable and compliant emissions. In key areas, further increase the treatment efforts for other source items, prohibit the use of long-burning pilot lights in the torch system, install video monitoring devices; promote online blending of kerosene and diesel; for VOCs emissions during abnormal operating conditions, they should be purged to the torch system or collected and treated in a closed manner; VOCs-containing waste liquids and waste residues should be stored in a sealed manner; for anti-corrosion, waterproof, and rust-proof painting, use low-VOCs content coatings.
Deepen LDAR work. In strict accordance with the "Work Guidelines for Leak Detection and Repair in Petrochemical Enterprises", establish an account ledger, carry out leak detection, repair, quality control, and record management, etc. Strengthen the detection of backup pumps, in-use pumps, regulating valves, mixers, open pipelines, etc., and enhance quality control; incorporate the sealing points of VOCs treatment facilities and storage tanks into the detection plan. Refer to the relevant equipment and pipeline component VOCs leakage control supervision requirements in the "Control Standards for Unorganized Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds", and strengthen supervision of the sealing points of petrochemical enterprises. Encourage key areas to implement bagging method detection for sealing points with large leakage volumes, and use infrared method detection for inaccessible sealing points.
Strengthen the collection and treatment of VOCs in wastewater and circulating water systems. Increase the renovation efforts of wastewater collection and transportation systems, and in existing enterprises in key areas, gradually replace open collection methods such as floor drains, ditches, channels, and wells through measures such as sealed pipelines. Comprehensively strengthen the collection and treatment of high-concentration VOCs exhaust gas in the wastewater system, and the collection wells (pools), regulating tanks, oil separators, air flotation tanks, and concentration tanks should adopt
The General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued this document on June 26, 2019.
