The industry explores ways to reduce pollution and carbon emissions

　　On September 20, one of the supporting activities of the 14th China International Petroleum and Chemical Conference - Forward COP28: The Petrochemical Industry Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Development Path and Practice Forum was held in Ningbo. Before the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), the forum pointed out a number of paths for the petrochemical industry to reduce pollution and carbon emissions, and help the industry achieve the "dual carbon" goal.

　　As the pillar industry of China's national economy, the petroleum and chemical industry is facing the reality of high energy consumption and carbon emissions. Pang Guanglian, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, said, "Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are both challenges and opportunities. "At present, the petrochemical industry has entered a new stage of carbon reduction, and the research on the inclusion of key products in the national carbon market has begun. For a long time to come, "dual carbon" will become an important driving force to promote technological innovation in the industry and transform the mode of economic growth.

　　Chai Qimin, director of the strategic planning department of the National Climate Strategy Center, said that in the future, carbon neutrality will become an emerging rule for the development of various industries, and at that time, the restrictive policies of the oil and gas industry from important areas such as carbon reduction and pollution reduction will increase, and the pressure on transformation will continue to increase. The petrochemical industry has a long industrial chain and involves many downstream products, so the petrochemical industry is not only subject to pressure from the upstream, but also from downstream enterprises, pollution reduction and carbon reduction.

　　Therefore, Chai Qimin suggested that the petrochemical industry should achieve pollution reduction and carbon reduction at the source through measures such as optimization and upgrading of industrial and product structure, optimization of energy and raw material structure, and improvement of energy efficiency; Strengthen the assessment of the comprehensive benefits of pollution reduction and carbon reduction of technical measures, and take the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction as an important consideration factor in the selection of technologies; Strengthen technological innovation in pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and promote petrochemical technology innovation and process reengineering; Make full use of intelligent methods to improve the level of refined management of the petrochemical industry and the comprehensive efficiency of collaborative co-governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction; Strengthen policy innovation and financial support for pollution and carbon reduction in the petrochemical industry, and promote the introduction of collaborative technical specifications for pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the petrochemical industry.

　　Weng Hui, director of low-carbon at the Industrial Development Department of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, proposed five paths for carbon emission reduction in China's petrochemical industry. The first is to save energy and improve efficiency. Energy conservation and efficiency improvement is the most effective, direct and economical means to achieve the "double carbon" goal. Energy conservation and efficiency improvement can not only reduce the dependence of industry development on energy consumption, but also promote the adjustment and optimization of industrial structure and accelerate the green transformation and upgrading of traditional industries; The second is the adjustment of the industrial structure. Eliminate backward production capacity, improve the level of high-end products, implement less oil and increase, and strictly control new production capacity; The third is energy substitution and energy structure adjustment. Green electricity, green hydrogen, material recycling and other pathways play an important role in the decarbonization of raw materials and the decoupling of carbon and hydrocarbon, which can achieve carbon emission reduction in the whole life cycle of the industry to a certain extent; Fourth, the construction of resource recycling system. Carry out system construction work in key areas such as waste plastic recycling, petrochemical product quality improvement and service life extension, and fertilizer utilization rate improvement; Fifth, terminal capture and storage. With the new development trend of CCUS technology, that is, the carbon dioxide emitted in the production process is purified and then put into a new production process, which can be recycled and reused, rather than simply sequestered.

　　In addition, Weng Hui reminded that there are many carbon reduction paths in the petrochemical industry, and there are multiple possibilities for coupling and mutual influence between each path. The petrochemical industry needs to rebalance and explore a combination of technologies to reduce emissions and promote the eventual realization of the industry's carbon neutrality goal.