Primary Air Pollutant Emissions and Future Prediction of Iron and Steel Industry in China

Abstract

China is the largest iron and steel producing and consuming country in the world, which leads to enormous quantities of emitted air pollutants. Direct emissions of air pollutants from the iron and steel industry in China were estimated by developing a process and technology-based methodology using information of the proportion of pig iron, crude steel, and rolled steel produced from different processes and technology. Emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compound (VOCs), and dioxin (PCDD/Fs) were estimated for the year 2012, and future emissions of major pollutants (SO 2 , NO x , TSP) were projected up to 2030 based on technology developing trends and emission control policies. According to the estimation, 2222 kt of SO 2 , 937 kt of NO x , 1886 kt of TSP, 555 kt of PM 2.5 , 254 kt of VOCs, 618 g I-TEQ of PCDD/Fs was produced in China in 2012. Sintering produced 72.4% of SO 2 , 49.4% of NO x , 22.5% of TSP, 24.0% of PM 2.5 , 69.6% of VOCs and 98.0% of PCDD/Fs, which is the main emission source. Through faithful implementation of closing down outdated production and emission control policies, approximately 77%, 49%, 67% and 64% of SO 2 , NO x , TSP and PCDD/Fs emissions, respectively, could be further reduced in 2012. Emissions in 2020 and 2030 of iron and steel sectors were predicted applying scenario analysis. The removal potential for SO 2 and TSP is larger than NO x by improvement of removal facilities, and southwest, northwest, and north China has the largest SO 2 , NO x , TSP and PCDD/Fs removal potential respectively.

Indoor Air Quality in Steel Rolling Industries and Possible Health Effects

“…The pollution producing factors for hot rolling process are: 0.267, 0.28, 0.027, 0.034 kg/ton for SO2, NOx, PM2.5 and TSP, respectively, in comparison with 0.135, 0.08, 0.01, and 0.012 kg/ton in the cold process. Due to the high-energy consumption, the hot rolling process has higher impact on the environment against cold process, particularly on ambient air quality (Wu et al, 2015).…”

Analysis of Reduction Potential of Primary Air Pollutant Emissions from Coking Industry in China

“…Of these industries, the coking industry emitted the highest amount of VOCs. The emissions estimation of the study of Wu et al (2015a) contained the emission processes of sintering, pelleting, iron-making, steel-making, and steel rolling processes of iron and steel manufacturing industry. In China, approximately 35% coke production capacity concentrates in iron and steel manufacturing enterprises in 2015.…”

“…Because coke production involves multiple pollutionproducing steps and its air pollutant emissions are severe, highly economical technologies must be employed for all potential pollution-producing steps. Chen et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2015bHua et al, 2016Wu et al, 2015a This study A number of pollution control technologies and methods can be used in the coking industry (MEP, 2010;CCIA, 2016d). The specific control technologies for different coking procedures and their corresponding air pollution control effects are illustrated in SI Table S7.…”

“…(Zhu et al, 2001;He et al, 2006;Liu et al, 2009;Mu, 2013;Ge et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2017). However, studies analyzing the emission characteristics of the coking industry have been mainly performed for the steel industry (Wu et al, 2015a). Coking companies serving as auxiliary enterprises in the steel industry only account for 13.3% of the total number of coking companies in China, implying that few studies have collected and analyzed data of coking-industry-only companies (CCIA, 2016c).…”

Economic and Qualitative Determinants of the World Steel Production

“…Obviously, as this is not the only determinant, an analysis of a set of qualitative and quantitative factors is required. One of the most important issues widely debated in the literature remains air pollution, with industry in general and the steel industry in particular representing highly vulnerable areas viewed from this perspective [5][6][7][8]. As a result, manufacturing steel with efficient structures while reducing the negative effects on the environment can contribute to sustainable development.…”