Application of cleaner production in a Chinese magnesia refractory material plant

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.