This article reviews the current status of environment management measures followed by the chemical process units and describes the new efficient environmental protection and control measures that can be adopted to abate further environmental degradation.
Growth of industrial processing, guided mostly by the necessity of increasing productivity, has led to serious environmental degradation of water resources, soil and air around these plants. Worldwide the focus of pollution control in the industry has shifted from end-of-pipe treatment to source reduction, avoiding pollution, clean technology and sustainable development.
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Hence, it has become imperative that environmental considerations play a substantive role in the future development of the industry especially at a time when more and more industrial activities are being undertaken in the developing countries.
Several recent studies in different parts of the world focused on this issue with the objective of identifying key issues in environmental protection in the different industrial processes, assessing as to what extent the national and international norms or guidelines regarding pollution control and environmental management are implemented in the industries, understanding the problems encountered in environmental management and exploring the reasons for the noncompliance. Suggestions were also made on the basis of the above studies to develop guidelines of an environmental policy that will foster development without degrading the environment.
Status of Environmental Management:
Today, most industrial processing units, be it in the developed or developing countries, have specific environmental policies and their emissions, effluents and waste disposal are guided by the stipulations of the state regulatory authorities. New plants are built with modern technologies where considerable technology integration has taken place at the inception stage itself to see that pollution prevention is a part of the process design itself.
Already existing units are now operated with additionally built state-of-art pollution control facilities. The pollution and environment control departments attached to the plants usually exhibit meticulous care to see that the above objective is achieved. Thus, now-a-days effective control facilities exist in most of the processing units and they are operated with due diligence.
The stipulations of the pollution control and environmental protection agencies are also within achievable limits of the available technology. Still excursions, at times, occur in the parameters on account of start-up, shut down of plants or may be due to accidental situations. Existing facilities are capable of handling such situations also.
Several national as well as international standards covering a wide range of parameters have been developed to specify the emissions and effluents. These include pH, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrates, fluorides, phosphates, total suspended solids, oils and fats and chemical and biological oxygen demands in the effluent streams, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and carbon monoxide in exhaust streams. Radioactivity, toxicity, presence of heavy metals, organics, biological pollutants and pathogens, etc. are also monitored in specific cases.
Current Developments in the Environmental Management of Chemical Process Industries:
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Current developments in environmental chemistry and chemical engineering have helped industry operators reduce effluent generation at source and thus eliminate the need for treatment and disposal of effluents. Very often treatment of pollutants emanating from industrial operations is linked to the technologies adopted.
Over the years the consumption of specific raw materials and energy for manufactured products has registered a continuous trend of improvement with the adoption of efficient technologies and best operating practices at the plant level. This invariably contributes to achieving better environmental standards through reduction in emissions, effluents and solid waste per ton of product manufactured.
Further improvements towards better environmental quality may require major design changes involving additional investment or going for a new proven and commercialised process. This is a costly option and hence efforts in this line are limited unless it brings about substantial economic incentive by way of increased productivity, lowering of energy consumption, etc.
In the case of products having high water intensity, there is an economic benefit in reusing treated effluents so that water conservation is achieved. The start-up and shut down of plants are situations that may lead to an increased level of pollution of the environment compared to its normal operation. Hence most plants are equipped with specific provisions to take care of such situations.
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Most of the pollution prevention methods implemented in the industries follow prescriptive approaches which follow standardised procedure built around questionnaires and check lists. In the new more descriptive approach, process operators are challenged to attack pollution problems and devise new and innovative ways for solving them.
Managements undertake substantial efforts to develop green belts and maintaining greenery around these plants to reduce the impact of green-house gases. This is an important step in the direction of sustainable environmental control. Establishment of ISO 14000 environment management systems and a corporate environmental set up for regular monitoring and control is another major step in environmental protection.
These systems are intended for continuous improvement of existing operations from the environmental angle. Certain industries have adopted zero effluent approach incorporating total recycle and reuse of effluents back to process, though it still remains more a concept than its effective implementation to a reasonable degree of reliability.
European process plant operators use the best available techniques (BAT) in their plants for environmental control. Both effluent specific standards and product specific standards are available.
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In India and many other developing countries, systems are employed to the extent of controlling and reducing pollution from plants within the limits set by the statutory authorities, i.e. the pollution control boards (PCB). Operating units do not put in further efforts for reducing the pollution effects beyond the limits prescribed by the pollution control boards (PCB). This is primarily due to lack of incentives to encourage additional investment towards improved technology to go for better environmental quality.
Most operations emit large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a major green-house gas to the atmosphere. There are no emission standards for carbon dioxide as prescribed by the statutory bodies. Attempt to reduce green-house gas emissions all over the globe to tackle climate change will bring in specific limits for carbon dioxide emissions also in future.
Every processing unit imposes certain environmental burden to the local environment and its impact categories are acidity, global warming, human health effects, ozone depletion, photochemical smog, aquatic oxygen demand, ecotoxicity to aquatic life, etc. A parametric assessment of the contribution of each of these components can be used to compare yearly performances of plants.
Extensive hazard and risk analysis using techniques such as hazard operability (HAZOP) Studies and quantitative risk assessment (QRA) are conducted based on which safe systems, work practices and risk reduction measures are adopted for processing facilities. Environment management plans of the production units are capable of mitigating the risk from most expected crisis situations barring those from nightmare incidents such as earthquakes, sabotage, etc.
Information to the public regarding the environmental consequences of these plants is very important. Communities associated with these units have a right to know the environmental risk they are subjected to. In most countries it is now mandatory that an environment impact assessment (EIA) be done prior to implementation of a project having large scale environmental consequences. A proper environment management plan (EMP) should be devised before a unit starts operating.
Global Environmental Challenges:
Climate change across the world, depletion of ozone layer in the outer atmosphere, loss of biodiversity elements such as migratory species and important genetic resources, widespread degradation of land, urban air, forests and natural waters and marine ecosystems and accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in nature are major global environmental concerns. These issues have an impact that transcendent national boundaries and hence require global solutions. We have over 200 international legislations governing environmental issues.
With currently available technology and adopting best practices mitigation of further degradation are possible. The far reaching measures to combat the effect of green-house gases agreed upon in the Kyoto protocol is getting thwarted by many developed nations such as the US and Australia.
In India, we have framed a comprehensive auto fuel policy that considers among other things, availability and security of supplies, vehicle technology, cost effective emission reduction, fiscal measures and institutional means to bring about progressive improvements by reducing vehicular emissions on ambient air.
The fuel cell as a power source is becoming a viable alternative to the internal combustion engines with least environmental impacts. Thus concerted efforts are required, both at the national and international level, to stop further degradation and undo the damages already done.
Stress on Environmental Health:
National environment policies shall foster efforts for sustaining environmental health of the people and shall call for a discrete assessment of pollutants entering the natural environment from human interventions in terms of their toxicity, persistence, mobility, bio-accumulation and methods available for source reduction and control mechanisms.
Source Reduction:
Reduction of pollution can be achieved through improvements in process chemistry, reaction kinetics, stoichiometry, conversion and yields. Similar approaches also include using different physical forms of catalysts, using water instead of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paints and coatings, using oxygen instead of air in oxidation reactions and thus preventing side reactions, using pigments and fluxes free of heavy metals and so on. Turpentine or citric acid based solvents replace chlorinated and inflammable solvents.
Engineering design modifications is another method for reduction of pollutants at source. Extreme temperature, pressure and concentration are reduced so as to render reactions to proceed in milder environments. Conversion of batch process to continuous process, whereby recycle of streams is possible, application of emulsion breakers for effective separation, chemical synthesis from renewable sources rather than petrochemicals, use of different methods for handling reactants such as in the form of slurries, powders, etc. help to contain pollution at sources to a greater extent.
Reduction of vents, spillages and emissions through improved instrumentation and better operating practices also result in reduced pollution loads to the environment. Management approaches with regard to inventories, quality, housekeeping and optimised operation are also important.
Efforts should be coordinated to reduce pollution at source. An example from agriculture will be able to illustrate this point. Mineral fertilisers are an essential input for improved agricultural productivity for which ammonia is an important raw material. Production of ammonia using natural gas as feedstock generates a lower volume of pollutants compared to other feedstock such as naphtha and fuel oil or coal and lignite.
During the cropping season plants absorb only part of the nutrient supplied through application of mineral fertilisers and the rest leaches out and finds its way into the environment. This invites twin problems financial loss to the farmer, as well as pollution.
In order to reduce the ground water contamination and pollution arising out of excessive run off from applied agrochemicals and eutrophication of water bodies on account of limited nutrient absorption by plants, consumption of low analysis fertilisers (complex and blended) may be promoted in place of high nutrient-containing ones such as urea and diammonium phosphate.
Promote Integrated Complexes:
Refinery, fertiliser, power and petrochemicals are themselves major investment and high technology decisions and very often these units are put up by different agencies and function as independent companies. Technology brings in a lot of scope for exploiting the synergy within these units, which could play a major role in improving the bottom line of current operations of these units. Integration of refineries, fertiliser and petrochemical plants, and power generation units at the planning phase itself to develop integrated complexes will help to drastically reduce emission and other pollutants and ensure optimised operation.
Review Existing Control Limits for Pollutants:
The present standards for discharge of effluents from industrial units are just technological limits attainable through application of available technologies for abatement and control available at the time of specifying these norms and are not based on their long-term health effects. Revised standards based on the health impacts of each of the pollutants may be developed incorporating the advancement in this area. While doing so, care must be taken to see that the prescribed limits are achievable within the means and reach of the industry.
Call for Beyond Compliance of Statutory Stipulations:
In industrial plants, systems are employed to the extent of controlling and reducing pollution from plants within the limits set by the statutory authorities. The units do not put in further efforts for reducing the pollution effects beyond the limits prescribed by the pollution control boards (PCB) in the interest of public health. This is primarily due to lack of incentives to encourage additional investment towards improved technology. Hence, industrial units should be encouraged to go beyond compliance and become more environment friendly.
Harness Environmental Biotechnology:
Environmental biotechnology employs living organisms, flora and fauna, engineered to exhibit specific traits in order to identify, control or prevent pollution. This technology has been applied to clean up hazardous waste sites more efficiently than conventional methods, thereby reducing the need for incineration or extraction-based methods.
Bioremediation has been applied for the cleanup of numerous varieties of pollutants, including heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, explosives, sewage and industrial waste. Because of the prevalence of tropical climate, biological processes for pollution control have an edge over chemical processes and are more efficient. Modern developments such as recombinant and genetically engineered organisms find extensive application in biological processes for pollution control and bioremediation.
Municipal Solid Waste:
Municipal solid waste management is a major area of environmental concern to all developing urban settlements. Still the socio-cultural response and the techno-economic considerations of the issue do not receive the required impetus in appropriate planning and implementation in our country. Lack of adequate civic sense, public awareness and participation, lukewarm approach of the local and state level governments have resulted in a situation in which most of the beautiful landscapes are slowly turn it or turning to litter zones.
Thus, earnest efforts to thwart an impending disaster, as it happened in Surat a few years back are to be coordinated for reducing waste generation on the one hand and its effective disposal on the other involving primary collection, segregation at source, recycling to the extent possible and treatment through appropriate methods to reduce their harmful effects to a reasonably acceptable level.
Bio medical waste disposal has turned out to be a major problem to the civic bodies. As of now, disposal is done in certain locations only and that too in a haphazard manner. Incineration of the waste shall be done only in properly designed incinerators with burners so as to destroy the harmful products of the primary combustion of the waste. Identifying protected and specially designed landfill sites and use of engineered bacteria for biological degradation should be encouraged.
Reduce Emission of Green House Gases:
There is sufficient scientific evidence to show that climate changes are caused due to increasing concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, etc.) in atmosphere as a result of human activity. According to the recently published Stern review on the economics of climate change, the stock of greenhouse gases in terms of CO2 equivalent has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) before the industrial revolution to 430 ppm as of now and is expected to reach the 550 ppm level by 2050, if emissions did not increase beyond today’s rate.
But the fast growing economies with their huge investments in high carbon infrastructure in the energy, industry and transport sectors tend to accelerate the annual flow of emissions such that the 550 ppm level will be reached by 2035 leading to a global average temperature rise of over 2°C.
The consequences of warming up of the atmosphere are going to be disastrous both to human life as well as national economies. Hence, concerted efforts are needed to initially stabilise and then gradually bring down the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For this purpose, a multi- pronged approach of reducing demand for emission intensive goods and services, increasing efficiency of existing operations, avoiding deforestation and switching over to low carbon technologies for power, transport and heating needs is required.
Encouragement through adequate financial incentives shall be made available to those intending for voluntary reduction of greenhouse gases and those resulting in climate change etc. The extension of natural gas pipelines, development of hydel and nuclear sources of energy should be encouraged.
Ensure Water Availability:
Availability of good quality water for the community and industry is going to be a major problem in the coming years in many countries. In order to address the issue of the non-availability of adequate drinking water, community and rural water supply schemes should be implemented on a priority basis over other development projects.
Local expertise and public participation for protection of water sources, avoiding over-exploitation and promotion of water literacy could be encouraged in this matter. Conservation of water in all applications—domestic, commercial and industrial—shall be given utmost importance to ensure sustained availability within the limits of the existing resources.
Integrated water use and conservation, rain water harvesting and revival of traditional technologies are important in planning for future development of water resources. A participatory approach is needed in local level watershed development and management. Public consciousness will have to be mobilised through education, social interventions and mass movements for managing surface and ground waters in an equitable and sustainable manner.
Develop Pollution Inventory Database:
In order to evaluate and improve environmental quality around industrial locations, a credible accounting of the sources and quantity of effluents and emissions is needed. This may be done through the development of an emission inventory for the overall location including adjacent metropolitan and rural areas.
The idea is to develop an emission inventory and database system which may become the foundation for ongoing pollution inventory improvements. The environmental policy shall strive to further develop this effort to a national level pollution inventory database which could be used to ensure that pollutants are reduced over a period of time.
Changing Role of the Regulator:
The general attributes of the current environmental regulatory system are to set national standards for health protection, ambient quality, promulgate rules and regulations; issue permits; inspect for compliance, monitor for environmental compliance and enforce as needed. Remediation of past releases and undertaking environmental research are also important. Environmental regulatory authorities in developing countries may be encouraged to become solution providers to the industry rather than being mere policing agents.
Hazardous Waste Disposal:
Management of hazardous waste materials generated in industries has become a major concern for plant operators from the environmental point of view. Hazardous waste may be a solid, semi-solid or non-aqueous liquid which because of its quantity, concentration or characteristics in terms of physical, chemical, infectious quality, is capable of significantly contributing to an increase in mortality or an irreversible damage. Left uncared or improperly treated, stored, transported and disposed, they are capable of posing a potential hazard to human health and neighbouring environment.
Waste material is classified as hazardous if it exhibits whether alone or in contact with other wastes or substances, any of the characteristics such as corrosivity, reactivity, ignitability, toxicity, acute toxicity or infectious property. These substances either created as by-products of the industry or as residues of the process adopted, are highly toxic and are capable of causing irreversible damages to the environment.
A lot of hazardous waste is generated in countries as a result of several industrial operations and there are imports too for recovery of valuables, etc. Disposal of such waste is yet to gain the desired importance despite legislation in this regard for over a decade. Still many industrial areas are yet to identify disposal sites. Determined efforts from the part of local governments to put up facilities for treatment within a definite time frame have become necessary.
Environmental Health Education:
Diseases caused to the public by environmental consequences are on the rise world over. The country’s environmental policy should stipulate that environmental health education is mandatory to all segments of the society including students, households, workers and so on.
Science and technology should address issues relating to environmental health with a broader approach, with focus on infrastructural development in health care, strengthening institutions, practitioners and referral facilities and ensure speedy and effective delivery of primary health services, environmental sanitation, infection control, hospital waste management, nutrient deficiencies, occupational health problems, management of disaster and accident victims, trauma care, food and drug safety, prevention of non-communicable disease, etc. with a view to develop a national level holistic programme reaching all sections of the society.
Emergency Planning for Disaster Mitigation:
Emergency planning for disaster preparedness in case of natural calamities and man-made disasters is important. The programme may be coordinated on the lines of the awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level (APELL), a project of the united-nations environment programme (UNEP). It was developed in partnership with industry associations, communities and governments following some major industrial accidents that had serious impacts on health and the environment.
This process creates awareness of hazards in communities close to industrial facilities, encourages risk reduction and mitigation, and develops preparedness for emergency response. Communication is often between the three main groups of stakeholders—company, community, and local authorities. Discussion on hazards usually leads to the identification of risk reduction measures, thus making the area safer than before.
The preparedness of the industry for management of abnormal situations, real time monitoring of systems and equipment and guard against human error should be well publicised. The social cause for the industries justifies such a risk level and the efforts to further sharpen the tools for process safety shall also continue.
Key Issues in Environmental Management:
Thus, the key issues in environmental management in the processing industries are identified as pollution from solid waste resulting in contamination of land space, liquid effluents endangering water streams and ground water resources and gaseous emissions degrading the quality of atmospheric air, risk to life from operational incidents to people and property in the industry and those in the neighbourhood of these units due to storage, handling, transport and use of large quantities of inflammable and hazardous chemicals and hydrocarbons, large scale depletion of natural resources, raw materials, energy resources and water and contribution to global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases.
Studies also reveal that the units have been successful in controlling pollution from their operations to the level prescribed by the statutory authorities and as required by the law. The best available technology for pollution control and environmental management are being used and it compares well with such practices being adopted internationally.
Generally, there is a good deal of compliance by all units to the standards prescribed for discharges of effluents. Often units are committed to attain the norms for various parameters as stipulated by the pollution control boards. Units even go to levels of pollution control beyond compliance if there are sufficient economic incentives for making the required additional investments. In other situations no attempt is made by units to achieve better control of pollution beyond the statutory limits.
Addressing Challenges – National Environment Policy:
The important problems encountered in environmental management are lack of incentive for continuous improvement in the direction of pollution reduction beyond the compliance limits of the pollution control boards, integration of environmental concerns in to the core of the business strategy and lack of sufficient transparency with regard to environmental information. To effectively address the above problems and foster development, an apex level environmental policy with the following elements will be required.
The first and foremost guiding principle of an environmental policy facilitating growth of the industry is to ensure the unstinted commitment, involvement and action oriented approach of the top management of the organisation in achieving the set environmental goals.
ii. Environmental Policy Statement:
Top management need to codify their environmental commitment, values and perceptions in a documented policy. The policy should be relevant to its activities, products, and services and take into account its implications on different stakeholders. Attempts for improving energy efficiency, resource productivity and use of renewable source of energy and raw material need special mention in the policy.
iii. Environment, Health, Safety (EHS) Vision Statement:
Depending upon the nature and scale of its operation every unit should formulate an environment health and safety vision statement specifying its current thinking and aspirations of the future. The units should also adopt a national pollution prevention policy that encourages source reduction and environmentally sound recycling as a first option and also recognise safe treatment, storage and disposal practices as important components of an overall environment protection strategy.
The environmental targets, i.e. the qualitative and quantitative changes that are to be brought about to bring in more environment friendliness in the industry and acceptance to the community around are to be clearly set. Steps that are envisaged for minimising environmental impacts, reducing emissions of toxic gases and those causing global warming and improving the current levels of employee health, safety and pollution prevention are to be specified.
The target must also address achieving zero accidents at work places, reducing incidents of work related diseases and overall reduction of the risk exposure to the employees as well as the community around. It should focus achieving sustainable development and eco-efficiency as a new business perspective for the industry through production and innovation, integrated environmental protection, responsible product stewardship and aim at total quality improvements.
The policy shall provide for the use of legal, financial and social instruments, which influence the behaviour of companies, citizens, public bodies and authorities for achieving the objectives of the policy. Existing and innovative control mechanisms such as statutory provisions, stipulations of the various regulatory bodies may be used. Industry may be asked to go for the currently best available technology for pollution abatement. During the interim phase, strategy of monitoring comparison with set standards and penal action wherever required shall continue.
Plants shall be operated to standards that will comply with the requirements of appropriate national and international legislation and codes of practice. The govt. should formulate country specific best available techniques (BATs) for the industry to facilitate continuous improvement in environmental management. Technically and economically feasible regulatory as well as non-regulatory measures are also suggested to improve environmental management in chemical processing operations. Fiscal incentives may be provided to encourage adoption of technologies that reduce pollution.
The management should ensure that potential health, safety, and environmental risks associated with the activities are assessed early to minimise and manage adverse effects and to identify opportunities for improvement. It is desirable to keep a workable disaster preparedness and emergency management plan (DPEMP) to mitigate any such situations in the unlikely event of its occurrence.
Necessary and state-of-the-art training may be given to the concerned people responsible for environmental management, keeping them abreast of the new developments, technologies and practical tools, accident investigation, environmental impact prediction, selecting appropriate protective equipment, implementing emergency response plans as and when necessary and so on.
They may be trained to learn from previous incidents and similar experiences. They must be made conversant in the corporate environmental management systems and the proposed action plan for its implementation. In short necessary capabilities must be available in-house with all organisations to tackle probable emergency situations that are likely to arise.
A regular and meticulous environmental performance monitoring is necessary to keep track of the environmental burden imposed by the company and watch the direction of its progressing trends.
Quantitative as well as qualitative approaches may be used for this purpose. Issues such as emissions, waste streams, hazardous waste, disturbance, resource depletion, etc. should be addressed accordingly. Commitments towards targets for responsible care and social responsibility may also have to be assessed.
The current operations shall be regularly and systematically assessed for the purpose both of identifying and correcting any element which may put human beings, real property or the natural environment at risk of nuisance or damage and of establishing a basis of safety-related improvements of processes and products. Any new process and product as well as any new information of existing processes and products should be thoroughly analysed with regard of their health, safety and environmental implications.
The concerned authorities should be kept well informed of the operations and of their health, safety and environmental implications. Any incident entailing a risk of environmental disturbances or of conflict with existing regulations should be promptly reported to the proper authority.
Necessary provision may be made in the policy for sharing information on environment safety and health aspects and reporting environmental compliance to the public. Involvement of the community and working with active environmental groups in the region in bettering the environmental situation should be encouraged, thereby enhancing public perception of the industry.
The policy shall call for annual environmental status reports (AESR) along with the financial performance reports. Such reports are now available from many operators around the world. The feedback on these reports from the concerned stakeholders may be used for continued improvement of existing systems. The policy document shall be integrated with the national environmental plan of the country.