The development direction of chlor-alkali industry

At present, the environmental pressures of the chlor-alkali industry mainly come from both domestic and foreign sources: The foreign level is mainly regulated by international conventions. The Montreal Convention, the POPs Convention, and the Minamata Convention on Mercury all involve the chlor-alkali industry. In particular, calcium carbide process PVC industry has completely eliminated the use of high-calcium catalysts has entered a countdown, so that the pressure of industry performance increased sharply; the domestic level, whether the new environmental protection law is about to implement, or the "chlorine-alkali industry pollutant discharge standards" (GB15581-95) revision, also Or the new policies on environmental protection and taxation have greatly affected the development of the industry. Under such circumstances, the industry has actively transformed into a low-mercury and emission-reducing direction. Some companies have gained market opportunities by developing low-mercury catalysts and innovative emission reduction technologies.

Strict situation upgrades low mercury to primary task

According to statistical data, the current domestic water, soil, and atmospheric pollution are serious. The increasingly severe environmental protection situation has led to the frequent upgrade of environmental protection policies in recent years. The calcium carbide process PVC has completely eliminated the high-calcium catalyst process and accelerated the pressure on the chlor-alkali industry.

Zhang Xin, assistant to the Secretary-General of the China Chlor-Alkali Industry Association, introduced that the environmental pressures from the domestic level are mainly related to environmental protection laws, regulations, and standards. The requirements for system revision have been continuously improved and more stringent. In addition, some of the country’s key tasks in the field of environmental protection are also involved. In terms of key work, calcium carbide process PVC mercury pollution prevention and control is an important part of national heavy metal pollution prevention and control work; followed by chemical management, that is, chemicals should be managed according to environmental risks, identification, assessment, risk prevention; New Deal, such as the introduction of carbon tax, sewage charges into emission taxes and the promotion of environmental pollution liability insurance pilot, will have a greater impact on the chlor-alkali industry.

Emissions Indicators Increased Many Requirements Strictly Increased Costs

At present, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is organizing the revision of the "Chlorine-alkali Industrial Pollutant Emission Standard" (GB15581-95). The revised index is certainly much stricter than before. The overall idea is to use strict indicators to promote the elimination of backward companies.

Environmental indicators have strictly increased the company's costs. As chlor-alkali is a high-carbon emission industry, each ton of calcium carbide process PVC is accounted for in the entire process, yielding approximately 6 to 7 tons of CO2. To collect a carbon tax of 10 yuan for 1 ton of CO2, the carbon tax to be paid by 1 million tons/year of PVC enterprises for one year will reach 60 million yuan, which is the biggest cost pressure for enterprises.

Although more and more attention has been paid to the problem of environmental pollution, and the methods of governance and penalties have increased, but due to the lengthy period of some standards, it has been unable to meet the development requirements of today's society, and more stringent laws and regulations are needed to control the pollution emissions of enterprises. Therefore, in 2014, the state issued the draft for the “chlorine-alkali industry pollutant discharge standard”. The emission limit for water pollutants to be implemented in 2017 will be the emission limit value of chlorine ions of 250 mg/l. Currently, there is a large gap between the chlorine ion content in the company's external drainage and the new emission standards. Therefore, the external drainage must be further processed. The draft of this draft also added emission standards for air pollutants. The emission limit for particulate matter is set at 30 mg/m3. Currently, the company's particulate matter emission concentration is about 60 mg/m3, which is more than double the new standard requirement. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the processing capacity through technological transformation.

There are also a large number of environmental laws, regulations, and policies that are in the process of revision and may have some impact on the economic operation of the chlor-alkali industry. It is to use environmental protection standards to control the backward production capacity, promote the adjustment of industrial structure, and promote the construction of ecological civilization. This has already mentioned the important agenda of the country.

Turning pressure into upgrade opportunities Some companies have been given the opportunity

It is understood that although the prevention of mercury pollution is a huge challenge for calcium carbide process PVC companies, but if each company really moves to use new technologies, mercury pollution prevention and control may also be an opportunity for corporate transformation and upgrading. The use of low mercury catalysts not only reduces mercury pollution at the source, but also significantly lowers the cost of PVC production.

Industry insiders suggested that a technical service team for the synthesis of calcium chloride and VCM and low mercury catalyst should be established to solve the current problem of improper use of low-calcium catalysts and promote the development of vinyl chloride synthesis technology; the use of low-mercury catalysts in all provinces and regions should be established. In the sample project, we will promote the promotion of low-mercury catalysts in a comprehensive manner. We will establish a statistical system for the sales and use of low-mercury catalysts for each low-calcium catalyst production enterprise and calcium carbide-based polyvinyl chloride enterprises, and establish an announcement system to produce low-level mercury in accordance with national standards. Catalyst companies and companies that use low-calcium catalysts in line with national progress require open recognition.