Emission Standards for the Refining Industry

Emission Standards for the Refining Industry

In China, pollutant emissions from the refining industry mainly comply with the "Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petroleum Refining Industry" (GB 31570-2015, including the 2024 Amendment), which is the core national mandatory standard for the industry. In addition, some regions have stricter local standards (such as Beijing's DB11-447-2015).

I. Core Standard Content

Scope of Application

Applicable to the emission management of existing refining enterprises, as well as the environmental impact assessment, design, and acceptance of new, renovated, or expanded projects.

Controlled Pollutants

Covers emission limits for water pollutants, air pollutants (including VOCs, particulate matter, sulfides, etc.), malodorous pollutants, as well as monitoring and supervision requirements.

Key Points of the 2024 Amendment

Proposes stricter control requirements for fugitive emissions (such as leaks from tank breathing valves and equipment drips), and strengthens the full-process control of VOCs, for example, specifying pressure monitoring for storage tanks and leak detection for sealing points.

II. Examples of Major Emission Limits

Air Pollutants: The emission limit for non-methane total hydrocarbons (NMHC) has been tightened from 100mg/m³ in the original standard to 50mg/m³, with even stricter requirements in some regions (such as Hebei Province).

Water Pollutants: Clear discharge concentration limits are set for indicators such as COD, ammonia nitrogen, and petroleum hydrocarbons.

III. Local Supplementary Standards

Key regions (such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta) have issued stricter local emission standards, e.g., Beijing's "Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Refining and Petrochemical Industry" (DB11-447-2015), which further tighten emission requirements for enterprises in the region.