Description :
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The rapid development of the magnesia refractory industry has caused serious problems
of resource and energy waste and environmental pollution. Cleaner Production and
Cleaner Production Audit are considered effective tools for energy conservation
and emission reduction in the industry. This study presents an application of cleaner
production and cleaner production audit in a typical large-scale magnesia raw material
production plant in Liaoning, China and the results of their implementation. Through
the 7 steps of a cleaner production audit (planning and organization, pre-assessment,
assessment, option generation and screening, feasibility analysis, implementation,
and maintenance of cleaner production), the resource and energy consumption and
environmental emissions of the enterprise are investigated, the key auditing procedures
are identified, and the cleaner production opportunities are analyzed. 28 cleaner
production options, including raw material and energy substitution, technology improvement,
facility maintenance and updates, process optimization and control, waste reutilization,
management, and staff training and motivation, have been developed and implemented
in a feasible way. After complete implementation of these options, great environmental
and economic benefits are expected to be achieved: increased utilization of magnesite
tailing powder by 281,000 t per year; annual savings of 25,000 t of magnesite ore;
savings of 384,000 kW h of electricity; a 21.7% reduction in magnesite consumption
per ton of FM product; improvement of the wastewater utilization rate from 70% to
100%; the removal of dust, SO2 and NOx emissions produced by burning coal or producer
gas; savings of 1.066 million USD per year. The results demonstrate that implementing
cleaner production can not only bring huge environmental benefits, but also significant
economic gains. Moreover, factory staff have recognized the benefits that cleaner
production can bring to the plant, and plan to continue the process. Since there
are few studies on the application of cleaner production in the magnesia refractory
industry, this paper provides scientific guidelines for its implementation in other
similar enterprises, and a theoretical and practical basis for promoting the sustainable
development of the industry.
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