The way to joint projects

He major environmental problems in China are associated with the dimension of the country and its rapid industrialization and urbanization. At present China’s population is 1.3 billion people. By 2030 it is expected to reach 1.6 billion. The consumption of natural resources is increasing. During the last decades urban environmental pollution has worsened and spread to rural areas. An increase of agricultural food production is limited under the influence of pollution and water scarcity. Nevertheless China has pledged itself to sustainable development and has made great efforts to improve the environmental situation aiming at efficient solutions for its major environmental problems in the short term and – for the longer term – by cleaner production. China has to fulfil this huge task with fewer available resources per capita compared to western countries. Therefore, to bear its responsibility for sustainable development, China backs on global cooperation including capital investment and technology transfer.

Atmospheric pollutants, especially sulphur dioxide and soot, have been recognized as the main source of respiratory diseases and the cause of acid rain in China. Pollution due to motorization has aggravated. Local industrial emissions of heavy metals are also a problem.
In 2000 still 68% of China’s energy production was based on coal. Average sulphur content in the coal is between 1.1 and 1.2%, in some cases it can go up to 3%. In 2000 China’s to-tal SO2 emission was 20 million tons which means a reduction of about 16% compared to 1995. Average ambient air concentration of SO2 in the cities went down from 93 µg/m3 in 1990 to 56 µg/m3 in 1999, suspended particles (TSP) dropped from 387 µg/m3 to 268 µg/m3 at the same time. Until 1998 there was only one coal-fired power station in Luohuang (Sichuan) equipped with flue gas desulphurization. A rise in costs of power plants by one third for desulphurization was seen to be prohibitive compared to the state regulated
low power price. Cooperation of foreign investors with companies and research institutes in China, together with governmental support, can help to develop acceptable solutions. In Europe state-of-the-art flue gas desulphurization behind a coal-fired power station reduces the SO2 content of 2000-7000 mg/m3 in the boiler offgas to a final value below 120 mg/m3. Use of limestone for flue gas scrubbing results in gypsum as by-product in a quality suitable for the building materials industry.

Shortage of water: experts are warning
A further serious challenge is the shortage of water supply and contamination of resources. With an annual amount of 2,200 m3 per person the availability of water in China is only a quarter of the global average. Main river basins and lakes of the country and aquifers in urban areas are polluted. Overexploitation led to a significant decline of groundwater resources in the north and northeast of the country. Experts are warning that future economic development of China could be threatened by water shortages. An annual drop of the ground water level in the Beijing area by up to 3 m in the last years was reported. To cope with this problem, the Plan on Sustainable Use of Water Resources in the Capital in Early 21st Century was approved by the State Council in 2001. Ensuring public and industrial supply with clean water and efficient use by all consumer groups are major tasks for the future. In its Water Agenda 21 the Chinese Government has set priorities for the planning and management of water resources in the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005). The regulatory control system for healthy water supply and efficient use of water resources as well as for the prevention of water pollution was improved. As indicated in China’s National Report on Sustainable Development prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 in Johannesburg, the pollutant discharge in wastewater by industrial enterprises was reduced until end of 2000 by 10% against 1995 levels. An integrated water management system for urban and rural areas has been put into practice.
Integrated water management concepts aim at implementation of cleaner processes, water saving technologies, appropriate wastewater treatment plants and water recycling measures. Industrial waste water treatment technology has reached high standard in western countries. International cooperation projects in the field of plant engineering, R&D, technical education and training are therefore a promising way for transfer and adaptation of this standard for solving environmental problems in China.

Membrane technology as a promising
option
Internationally, methods for material and energy flow analysis have been established as an efficient tool for process optimization, combining saving of resources, cleaner production and end-of-pipe measures. For water recycling membrane-based technologies have turned out as a promising option since membrane costs and energy consumption dropped drastically in the last years. Membrane technology, also in combination with advanced biotreatment processes and – if necessary – further polishing steps enables high-grade recycling water for industrial use. As shown in a recent demonstration project in Germany with such a combined treatment technology a water recycling quota of 60% was realized in the case of textile finishing wastewater. Anaerobic bioreactors with increased biomass concentration have proven as an efficient technology for treatment of highly loaded industrial wastewater. Anaerobic-aerobic treatment sequences are successfully applied e.g. in the food industry and in pulp and paper mills. For pulp mill effluents COD removal efficiencies of 75% in the anaerobic stage and 85% in the total sequence were reported. Also aerobic biotreatment of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage has been optimized to increase degradation efficiency and removal of nutrients. In modern paper mills applying moving bed bioreactors with suspended carrier materials COD output has been reduced below 3 kg COD per ton of paper. (Semi-)Decentralized concepts for combined sewage discharge and recycling of utility water as well as artificial groundwater recharge are further options for eco-efficient solutions and reduction of water scarcity in expanding urban areas. More extensive treatment technologies such as sequencing batch reactors and oxidation ponds may be eco-efficient solutions in rural locations.
With growing population and industrialization also waste dumps are growing around the cities. The annual output of industrial solid wastes in China rose from 580 million tons in 1990 to 816 million tons in 2000. Urban waste handled annually increased from 100 million tons in 1990 to 118 million tons in 2000. For Beijing municipality for example an increase of urban waste of 15-20% annually was estimated, with a share of 60-70% organic materials. Until now incineration has been rarely used in China. Uncontrolled hazardous waste dumps may pose serious risks to soil and groundwater. Experience from contaminated sites in Europe show that later restoration, when pollution has accumulated and spread, may be impossible both for technical and economic reasons. Supported by the Chinese Government an improved management of industrial and municipal wastes has been practiced since 1997. Cities are supported in developing waste disposal facilities, including waste incineration, landfilling and composting facilities. Management of hazardous wastes with the aim of safe disposal is strengthened by the urban environmental authorities. China also makes great efforts in recycling of industrial solid wastes. Detailed systems for reutilization have for example been developed for fly ashes and slags from power plants.
The „Trans-century Green
Project Plan“
The „Trans-century Green Project Plan“, established in 1996 by the State Council and supported by specific programs of the provinces, sets stepwise objectives for environmental protection until 2010. It enforces industrial pollution control and the utilization of industrial wastes. Furthermore cleaner production in the key industries is actively promoted by technical guidelines and demonstration projects. For new construction projects the demand of the „Three Simultaneousnesses“ has been set, saying that environmental protection must be considered at the same time as the main construction project is designed, constructed and operated. The national Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA, formerly NEPA) was established for environmental supervision and management, serving as a link between environmental policy and practice.
China has also made great efforts to foster environmental education and research and to develop an efficient environmental protection industry using international cooperation and support. A Chinese-German Task Force for the Development of the Chinese Environmental Protection Industry was established in 2001 which will present its conclusions in autumn 2003. Air pollution prevention, waste management and renewable energy resources are among the main topics of the exchange of experience within the Task Force. Corresponding technological projects, e.g. in the field of modern dust removal technology, were supported by the German GTZ (German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Eschborn).
To organize an eco-efficient handling of hazardous wastes from small and medium-sized companies, in Germany and other countries of Central Europe supra-regional hazardous waste disposal companies have been established with participation of industry, municipalities and provincial governments. These companies have the responsibility of collection, treatment and final discharge according to the regulatory requirements. They were supported by the large chemical companies operating their own treatment plants, giving help by cooperation and exchange of experience. Consequent R&D in Germany made thermal treatment of wastes, especially of municipal wastes, one of the best investigated and balanced thermal processes in respect of its environmental output. For instance modern waste incineration plants achieve levels of chlorinated dioxins and furans in the clean gas significantly lower than the EU limit of 0.1 ng I-TEQ/m3. Competent research centers in Germany have pushed the development towards environmentally compatible thermal processes for waste treatment also with the aim of recycling valuables like metals from electronic wastes for example. Avoidance, reduction, recycling and safe disposal is the legally based ranking of waste management goals in Germany. The practicable way is a question of available technologies and their ecological and economical benefits. As an alternative for treatment of municipal waste containing a sufficiently high content of biologically degradable components mechanical-biological treatment technology is under development. It may be an option if hygienic and environmental risks can be kept low at reasonable costs.
Special attention for establishing successful waste management structures and technologies is given by the project of Green Olympics Beijing 2008. It is intended that all of the urban garbage in the region of Beijing will be disposed safely by 2007. 50% of the domestic waste will be sorted and 30% recycled. A corresponding waste management concept for Beijing and the Olympic Games will be developed in cooperation between the Sino-Japan Friendship Center of Environmental Protection and German partner institutions, headed by Professor Herbell, University Duisburg-Essen, and Bayern Innovativ (Center for Technology Transfer and Management of Cooperation Networks, Nuremberg).
ACHEMASIA Exhibition and Congress, May 2004 in Beijing, will be an opportunity to foster international exchange and partnership and to open the way to joint projects.