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China Canada Cooperation Project in Cleaner Production

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Newsletter 9 - Summer 2002

Implementing CP in Breweries 
News Bulletin 
Women's Work at Fuyang Chemical General Works 
Return on Investment at Wuming Brewery 
Project Update 
Website Summary 
Contacts

Implementing CP in Breweries

Brewing is an ancient mix of art and science, but while the brew master's art has been fully understood for many centuries, only recently have the principles of Cleaner Production been applied in this industry. Even today, some large modern breweries are only beginning to improve their operating efficiency, and hence reducing the environmental and economic costs of their processes.

CP solutions complement plans for expanding capacity.  Photo from SNC-Lavalin files

The approach and work plan for the brewery sector was identical to that of the previous sectors. First we inspected five breweries in order to obtain a clear understanding of the Chinese brewing industry. Then the team completed pre-audit and audit, identifying a list of CP solutions which the Wuming Brewery could implement.

Audit team discusses proposed solutions at Wuming Brewery. Photo from SNC-Lavalin files

While all breweries visited showed great potential for CP, the team felt that Wuming Brewery rated highest on the decision-making matrix.

The Wuming Brewery was finalizing the construction of new facilities which would roughly double its capacity. In doing the audit, it was therefore very important to consider not only the current situation but also the needs of a rapidly expanding brewery. One consequence is that the solutions selected must have a quick pay back period and should be focused on maximizing capacity.

Simple water meters provide valuable data for selecting best CP solutions. Photo from SNC-Lavalin files

A series of low/no cost, medium cost and high cost CP alternatives were identified which could increase the brewery's efficiency (see ROI at Wuming). A typical example would be for the brewery to install a centrifuge in order to extract the beer which remains mixed with the spent yeast at the bottom of the fermenting tanks. This medium cost solution could result in a 2% increase in beer production; right now, that beer is thrown away with the spent yeast.

The lessons learned at Wuming can apply to many breweries across China:

• Chinese breweries can indeed become far more efficient.

• To do so they must monitor their operating parameters more carefully and recognize the real cost of the water they consume.

• New brewing technologies can increase large-scale production by 20-30%, maybe more, at no significant increase in impact on the environmental.

• Even with higher productivity, CP can dramatically reduce pollution loads.

Mark Osterman

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News Bulletin

China's new Clean Production Promotion Act was approved on June 29, 2002. Companion legislation, Small and Medium Enterprises CP Promotion Act, was also approved. This law included an article to encourage small and medium size enterprises to implement cleaner production in accordance with the CP Promotion Act.

The Project team offer their heartfelt congratulations to National People's Congress, the Environmental and Resource Protection Committee, the SETC, and the Chinese Policy Working Group for their diligence and leadership in enacting this unprecedented legislation. We look forward to working with SETC to achieve its successful implementation of the new act.

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Women's Work at Fuyang Chemical General Works

Fuyang Chemical General Works was one of the Project's first CP demonstration sites, and senior managers have supported the concepts of Gender Equality from the beginning. A comparison of the gender makeup of the workforce in 1998 and 2001 shows the results after three years. Women are still not active in middle or senior management. Typical jobs for women continue to be office work, laboratory work and bag-making, while men dominate technical jobs such as chemical machinery and instrumentation. However, the number of women who have graduated from college and vocational schools has increased significantly. This suggests that, with gender-sensitive hiring and policies, changes can be achieved. But it takes time.

Adapted from semi-annual report

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Return on Investment at Wuming Brewery

CP audits result in a list of CP options. These are evaluated by managers and staff in terms of various criteria, including Return on Investment (ROI). Eighteen possible CP solutions were identified for Wuming Brewery. These are characterized in the figure (below) according to the importance of the potential ROI resulting from each solution.

Solutions were discussed with brewery personnel in order to identify potential savings so that priority could be established. Using to this ranking methodology, waste water monitoring and training were selected as the top CP solutions for Wuming Brewery. These are management solutions, not technological ones. Thus they are within the grasp of all breweries, provided that management is aware and recognizes the value in cleaner production. 

CP options for Wuming Brewery, with potential return on investment (ROI).

From this exercise the CP team attempted to quantify the benefits associated with each solution. This proved difficult at Wuming because there were not sufficient data on parameters such as water use: the processes were not monitored sufficiently to generate enough data to quantify the costs and savings associated with many of the solutions.

Estimated benefits for selected solutions are shown below.

From semi-annual report

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Project update

November 2001 through March 2002 were the last months of the original contract for the Project. They were spent finalizing a number of tasks, and reporting.

The Project-supported Chinese Policy Working Group completed case studies to determine lessons learned that might suggest new policy directions or point to adjustments in existing policies. Their report was completed in April. They also contributed clarification and advice to the clause by clause consideration of the new CP legislation. Excellent progress on the development of China's new "Clean Production Promotion Law" has culminated in its approval on June 29, 2002 (see News Bulletin). The next issue of the newsletter will focus on the new legislation.

This unprecedented CP legislation received significant input from the China-Canada Cooperation Project in Cleaner Production, and the Chinese Policy Working Group in particular.

The new law is the most significant of a number of initiatives the Chinese government has taken to establish CP nationwide as one of China's key strategies for sustainable development. Although the emerging needs and opportunities were beyond its original scope, the Project has supported the 10 Cities CP Policy with training and awareness-raising activities. During November 2001-March 2002 CP team members participated in seminars/workshops in Tienjin, Beijing, Nanjiang, and Hefei. Awareness-raising is directed at acquainting industrial managers with the benefits of cleaner production, and raising the expectations of the general public regarding environmental goals and the compatibility of a healthy, profitable industrial economy with a safe and clean environment.

The CP implementation work plan for fiscal year 2001-2002 called for completion of manuals and guidelines for two sectors: chlor-alkali/PVC and the brewing. In addition, the audit of the Wuming Brewery and the identification of CP solutions for this brewery were major activities. Two articles (CP Implementation in Breweries and ROI at Wuming) provide more details.

The CP guideline for the chlor-alkali/PVC sector was completed in March 2002. This guideline is made up of three parts:

1. Technology Profile of the sector in China

2. CP audit manual for the chlor-alkali/PVC sector (carbide-based process)

3. CP guideline for the sector (carbide-based process)

Awareness and Training organized by the Project has focused primarily on four sectors and one geographical location: Anhui Province. Since October 2002 the Project has organized two workshops-one in Leadership and Management Training, in Shanghai in January 2002, and a Gender Equality workshop in Hefei in December 2001. It has also provided for the translation into Chinese and circulation of four more volumes in the Project's CP Knowledge Series. Volumes available to date are:

1. General Introduction to CP

2. Cleaner Production Auditing Guidelines for Enterprises

3. Cleaner Production Case Studies and Analysis

4. Cleaner Production Technology Guidelines for the National Priority Enterprises

5. Collection of Policies and Regulations on Cleaner Production in China

6. Lessons and Experiences on Cleaner Production Learned from Foreign Countries

7. Canadian Pollution Prevention Strategy, Planning and Handbook

8. Cleaner Production Solutions for Priority Industry (Nitrogenous Fertilizer Industry and Pulp and Paper Industry)

Progress in the Information Systems portion of the project has been consistent with the work plan. Highlights of the period from November through March include:

• The web server installed in China continues to run with no major interruptions.

• Training of project management unit and SETC staff in developing database management systems was completed by the end of the fiscal year.

• Upgrading of content continues on both the English and Chinese language web pages.

• Use of the website has reached between 28,000 and 42,700 page requests a month, an average of 36,000 a month, up from an average of about 24,000 for the previous six months.

• Training in database systems development, and subsequent development of new applications for the Project office was delayed.

Adapted from semi-annual report and project files

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Website summary

Page requests by month, July 2001 to June 2002

CP on the Web

Hosted in China

• Main page of the project web site www.chinacp.org.cn 

• Chinese language site www.chinacp.org.cn/newcn 

• English language site www.chinacp.org.cn/eng 

Hosted in Canada

• Main page of the project web site www.chinacp.com 

• Chinese language site www.chinacp.com/newcn 

• English language site www.chinacp.com/eng 

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Contacts 

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