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Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region to Start Comprehensive Treatment on VOCs

Joint conference was held on the air quality of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Government keeps pressuring on the control of VOCs.

On May 20th 2016, the joint conference of “Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Treatment Taskforce of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region” was held in Beijing. This is the sixth conference of the taskforce and raised a series of new requirements on the comprehensive management and control of the VOC emission in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.  

As is highlighted in the above figure, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region is a fast developing economic area in north-east China. It contributes 10% of the total GDP of the country and has a population of about 130 million. However, 8 out of the 10 most polluted cities of China are located in this region including Xingtai, Shijiazhuang, etc. According to the research result published by the Environmental Planning Institute of Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in this April, the Atmospheric Bearing Index of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is up to 2.88. In plain English, it means that in this region, the index used to assess the air quality capable of sustaining 100 people is occupied by 288 people. Obviously the region is of high priority in natioanl VOC control and treatment programs.

The vice prime minister of China, Gaoli Zhang attended the joint conference and emphasized 5 priorities in controlling VOCs emission in the region:

  1. The major polluted cities will be treated with higher priority, including Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Baoding, etc. Most of these cities are traditional industrial cities and the heavy industries such as iron industry and coal industry play vital roles in the local economics.

  2. The use of coals will be controlled. Local government will encourage rural areas to replace the use of coals with electricity and natural gases. This is because the combustion of coal is a major resource of the VOCs emission in China. Unlike the coal fire power plants, where the coals consumption is centralized so the waste gases could be treated more efficiently, rural areas consume coals with a high level of untreated incompletely combusted waste which is discharged into the atmosphere. Compared with coal, electricity and natural gase are more environment friendly.

  3. The industries causing more pollution will be treated with higher priority. The enterprises that fail to meet the VOC emission requirements will be forced to rectify or shut down.

  4. Another priority is automobiles. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust fumes of automobiles are major components of VOCs. When it combines with the water vapor in the air, it will cause acid rain. The heavy duty diesel vehicles and other vehicles with high emission will be phased out rapidly.

  5. The emergency plans for heavily polluted weather will be carried out soon. This will be a comprehensive plan that requires coordinated actions from three places because Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province are very close to each other and the pollution could spread within the area very easily. Different plans will be worked out for different levels of pollution. Also an early warning system will be developed.

The joint conference of the taskforce is gaining more and more importance. The last joint conference saw the attendance of the newly appointed minister of environmental protection, Jining Chen. The vice prime minister, Gaoli Zhang attended the conference twice. The air quality of China’s capital city and of Tianjin and Hebei that surround it is extremely important for the people and also a matter of national pride for the government. No doubt the authorities will continue to put more effort into it and the industry should prepare for the upcoming policies that will be stricter.

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