Veolia to manage water cycle at Sinopec’s Yanshan Petrochemical

Sinopec, Asia’s and China's largest refiner, has chosen Veolia, through its subsidiary Veolia China, to operate the entire water cycle of its Yanshan petrochemical complex.

The revenues generated by this contract throughout its 25-year duration will be €3.27 billion for Veolia. The dedicated joint venture between Yanshan Petrochemical and Veolia, consolidated by Veolia, will employ more than 800 people.

Located 50 km from downtown Beijing, Yanshan Petrochemical is a fully owned subsidiary of Sinopec. The complex is one of the largest production bases of synthetic rubber, synthetic resin, phenol acetone and high quality refined oil products in China. It processes over 10 million t of crude oil and produces 800, 000 t of ethylene annually. It can produce 94 varieties with 431 grades of petrochemical products.

Following the mutual trust established through their previous cooperation, Veolia and Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical have chosen to expand the scope of their partnership to the entirety of the water cycle management, including cooling water, demineralised water, industrial water, drinking water, chilled water, waste water and firefighting water of the Yanshan facilities. Veolia will work at optimising the water consumption within the site and increasing the water recycling rate. A direct result of such optimisation will be the decrease in fresh water consumption as well as of Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical’s water footprint, an important achievement in a region that suffers water scarcity and shortages.

Veolia is also in charge of upgrading the wastewater treatment facility to bring it into compliance with the newest and most stringent standard in the Beijing area, and one of the most stringent standards worldwide for water discharge. Finally, the contract also comprises a comprehensive energy optimisation programme, covering all water production facilities onsite. The achieved reduction in energy consumption per m3 of water produced will be a major contribution to Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

Antoine Frérot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Veolia, declared: “The responsibilities that Sinopec has entrusted Veolia confirm how two companies can partner up to provide the best services in their respective fields. Through this contract, Veolia will help Sinopec implement the best environmental standards and technologies to make its Beijing Yanshan site a reference in China. This contract confirms the refinery sector can perfectly keep producing while being committed to significantly reduce its environmental footprint.”

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/28072016/veolia-to-manage-water-cycle-at-sinopecs-yanshan-petrochemical-3798/