Soils and Underground Water Contamination & Remediation In China Presented by Tom Ward Beijing, July 23, 2013 1
Agenda China s Soils and Underground Water Contamination Current Technologies Used Government Programs Main Players Opportunities 2
Little official information on China s soils and water contamination has been fully released, allegedly on the grounds of state secrecy China s Soils and Water Contamination Have Caused Significant Impact on People s Daily Lives Source: 1. Photos are from Xinhua.net, People s Daily online, Sohu and Huichong China s Government s Responses Heavy metal pollution has so far damaged approximately 10 percent of the country's farmland and caused the loss of 12 million tons of grain every year, according to research by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China Daily For heavy metal pollution alone, the pollution results in incurring 20 billion Yuan in direct economic losses each year, the Ministry of Land and Resources estimated. Xinhua. Net China initiated a five-year ground-pollution survey in 2006 at a reported cost of 1 billion Yuan. The survey tested 200,000 samples of soils and ground waters nationwide, resulting in about 5 million pieces of data, the ministry said in 2011. The ministry rejected a request to publish findings of a high-profile national survey on soil pollution, citing "state secrecy". South China Morning Post 3
China s Soils Contamination The heavy metal pollution is relatively more severe in the south and mega-cities Distribution of Heavy Metals Pollution in China and 14 Key Provinces for Remediation, 2012 Light Main pollutants: Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, As About one-fifth of China s farmland is polluted by heavy metal and farmland polluted by Cd is found in around 25 regions in 11 provinces The pollution in southern areas is more severe than those in the north The small-medium cities have lighter pollution than the larger cities Light Severe Pollution areas, intensity and types increase 14 key regions from <The Twelfth Five-Year Plan of heavy metal pollution prevention> In the Central and Eastern regions, about 70% of land has various degrees of contamination Source: 1. WANG Bao, etc. <The analysis of heavy metal pollution situation of urban soil>, Environmental Chemistry, June, 2012 2. <The Twelfth Five-Year Plan of heavy metal pollution prevention> 4
China s Underground Water Contamination North China has more severe underground water contamination levels than South China Current China s Underground Water Contamination by Region and Pollutants Songnen Plain Severe Organic Heavy Metals Nitrate nitrogen Fe Loess Plateau North China Central and South Region Liaohe River Plain Yangtze River Delta Contamination Level Nitrite nitrogen Petroleum Mn Cr Southwest Region Ammonia nitrogen Cyanide Pb Hg Pearl River Delta Light Volatile phenol As Source: 1. China Information Center of Underground Water, http://www.cigem.gov.cn 2. PIM analysis, 2013 5
Current Technologies Used - Soils Solidification/stabilization(S/S) is the primary technology used for the treatment of heavy metals contamination Technology Proba bility** Applications Segmentation In-situ Ex-situ Effect Time Cost (CNY/ton) Challenge R* Physical separation Small sites; short duration required > S/S High Safety landfill required N Solidification/ stabilization Most situation; relatively mature Several months Medium (~500) Secondary pollution risks Y Heavy metal Soil washing/ flushing Phytoremediation Emergency incident pollution; small and heavily polluted sites Mining areas < S/S High(500~800) 5~10 years Low(60~100) Complex processing; secondary pollution of reagents; underground water pollution risk limited pollutants in shallow soils can be remedied,only for low level pollution Y Y Definition Bioremediation Definition Note: *R means weather use reagents, Y-yes, N no ** Probability- to remedy a site with heavy metal contamination, the probability of the solution selection.. It doesn t refer to the market share of each solution Source: 1. PIM interview and research March, 2013 Small sites with no duration required Probability 0 100% Effect Few pollutants & very low concentrations can be remedied All the pollutants &very high concentrations can be remedied Several years Low(~250) Conditions required (Temperature, ph etc), only for low level pollution Various criteria of the actual contaminated sites and the owners requirements would structure the deciding factors for the solution specification It s very difficult to completely eliminate heavy metals from the soil. Stabilization is regarded as an effective way to treat heavy metal contamination The remediation for the Cr, Pb, Hg and As pollution are challenging, while it s easier to treat the Cu and Zn pollution Y 6
Current Technologies Used - Soils Special equipment or oxidants are usually used for treating organically polluted soils Technology VOCs/SVOCs Proba bility Effect POPs Proba bility Effect Applications Time Cost (CNY/ton) Challenge R* Organic pollutants Soil vapor extraction Thermal treatment Incineration* Chemical treatment Sandy soils Slow (several months or a year) POPs Fast High High concentration Heavily polluted with SVOCs Very Fast Medium High (~800) High (1,200~2,000) Low (300~1,200) Limited remedy rate Equipment required Equipment required Could damage soilmatrix N N N Y Bioremediation Slightly polluted, usually for the pesticide and petroleum Slow (several years) Low (~250) Special environment required Y Besides the technologies above, there are other solutions such as physical isolation, multi-phase extraction, flushing/washing (applied for the pesticide pollution) and solidification/stabilization. These solutions are rarely used in China There are few cost effective technologies for treating POPs. So far, incineration is the main method of the POPs treatment Off-site incineration: no application in Shanghai, the cement plants don t want to do soil incineration business, because they need to refit their equipment, and the profit is not high enough. Some incinerations are done in Beijing and Chongqing. In-site: only several projects, as the equipment is very expensive, and there are only 2~3 pieces of equipment in China 2 Note: *Incineration include the on-site incineration and off-site incineration Source: 1. PIM interview and research, March, 2013 2.From Suntime: Beijing Jiangong has imported the incineration devices 7
Current Technologies Used - Underground Water The pump & treat is the main method for underground water remediation both in US and China China s Underground Water Treatment Technologies US Underground Water Treatment Technologies,1982~2008, N=1,147 Tech. Probability* Application Time Cost Shortage Pump & treat Permeable Reactive Barrier In-well air stripping Chemical Treatment Bioremediation Most situation Low level pollution Slow Fast High (> soil remediation) High VOCs Fast Low Low or medium level pollution Large areas Fast Medium Relative high Low Heavy workload Complex processing Special equip. required To be researched Special environment required; only for limited pollutants 6.1% 2.7% 7.0% 10.2% 2.2% 1.5% 0.7% 0.1% 69.6% pump & treat bioremediation air sparging chemical treatment permeable reactive barrier multi-phase extraction phytoremediation in-well air stripping flushing Soil remediation is usually executed together with underground water remediation It s more difficult and more expensive for underground water remediation than soil remediation Note: * Probability- to remedy a site with underground water, the probability of the solution selection.. It doesn t refer to the market share of each solution Source: 1. PIM interview & research, March, 2013 2. Superfund Remedy Report, 13 th Edition, September 2010 8
Government Program - Central Government The national investment plans for soils and underground water remediation range around 10.6 billion USD from 2010 to 2015 Investment Structure of Underground Water Prevention and Remediation, 2010-2015, National 12th Five Year Plan for Soils Environment Protection (pending) is under the approval process. This plan is projected to arrange around 5 billion USD (30 billion CNY) for soils remediation National Plan for Underground Water Pollution Prevention (2011-2020) allocates total 5.6 billion USD (34.7 billion CNY) for underground water prevention and remediation Demonstration projects for drinking water source pollution prevention 58% Demonstration projects for contaminated sites' water treatment 17% Regulation capabilities 12% Demonstration projects for underground water remediation 4% Demonstration projects involved in agricultural area source pollution control 1% Investigation project 8% Source: 1. Youliang Yan, Heavy Metals Contamination is Severe, MEP Plans to Invest 30 billion CNY in Soils Remediation, June 26, 2012, PIM research March, 2013 2. National 12th Five Year Plan for Soils Environment Protection, National Plan for Underground Water Pollution Prevention (2011-2020), PIM analysis 9
Government Program - Local Government Local governments invest more than the central government in remediation projects Soils Remediation Related Investments in Hubei and Hunan Province 1, CNY The investors and investment for the remediation of heavy metal pollution in Hunan Xiangjiang River Central Government Provincial Government Governments of Counties and Cities Enterprises Total 13.8 billion 9.7 billion 10.5 billion 16.5 billion 50.5 billion Subtotal: 20.2 billion Remediation projects in Hubei 12 th five-year plan 8 National planning projects 1.16 billion 11 Provincial planning projects 4.99 billion Total 6.15 billion The remediation of heavy metal pollution include the soil remediation Enterprises, local governments and the central government comprise the main investors for soils remediation The local governments are the primary investors: Driven by the potential benefits of redeveloping the contaminated sites To implement pollution prevention The investment from the central government takes up less than 1/3 of the total investment To support the national soil environmental protection "12th Five-Year Plan implementation, a series of financial subsidy policies have been issued. For example, for a city's historic contaminated land, the central government provide 30~45% of the investment as subsidies for each project Source: 1. Local heavy metal remediation plans 2. PIM research, March, 2013 10
Main Players - category Consulting companies, research institutes, engineering firms and reagents and equipment suppliers are the main players Consulting Company Description Mainly are foreign invested companies Provide investigation, assessment, technical support for engineering, project management Examples Environmental Resources Management (Shanghai) Shanghai Greenment Research Institute Engage in sites investigation and Some provide technical support and reagents for engineering companies The Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences (SAES) Engineering Firm About 150 companies focusing soils remediation, some conventional environmental service companies are entering With restriction on the qualification, foreign companies usually partner with Chinese companies Foreign: Raw, Dowa Chinese: BCEER, Land Smart, Hunan Yonker, Hangzhou DADI Reagent and Equipment Supplier Currently, there are very few companies specialized in reagents Hunan Yonker plans to establish a company focusing on reagents and it is under development Beijing Enviro-Chem Chemsfield Xylem 11
Main Players - JV Collaborations between Chinese and foreign enterprises are active, there are 6 joint ventures Joint Venture DOWA Suzhou In Situ Solution China Co.,Ltd Chinese Investor Suzhou New District Economic Development Group Corporation Jiangsu Shengtai Environmental of Science and Technology Co.,Ltd Foreign Investor DOWA Japan EBH Japan Remarks Benefits: Win-win relationships Leverage Chinese partners business channels Beijing Enviro- Chem Qingdao New World Remediation BCEER Qingdao New World FMC US BRISEA US SK Korea Challenges: Culture conflicts Fitting technologies Kaitian Technology Kaitian Environment Tech. and Central South University School of Metallurgical Science and Engineering SITA Remediation France Dalian Detai Remediation Dalian Yitai DEC Belgium 12
Opportunities - Where The most immediate opportunities in soils and underground water remediation are in the regions and cities below Primary Regions and Cities for Soils Remediation Suggested Target Cities for Underground Water Remediation Cd Pb As Hg Cr Central and South Chongqing Southwest Wuhan Beijing Shenyang Fushun Nanjing Suzhou Shanghai Hangzhou Xiangjiang River Guangzhou Pearl River Delta Central and South Liaoning Yangtze River Delta Lanzhou Huhhot Beijing Taiyuan Wuhan Jiamusi Harbin Changchun Dalian Rizhao Xiangjiang River Basin Each city in the map has five heavy metals of contamination. The map marks the relatively severe pollutants which are not ranked by their amounts Source: 1. Recent Arrangement for Soils Environment Protection and Treatment, State Council, issued in January 2013, 2. PIM interviews and analysis 13
Opportunities - Segments Brownfields have become the priority target projects due to their potential return for commercial development Priority by Market Segments, 2013 Priority by Pollutants, 2013 Brownfields Farmland Mining Areas Priority High Medium Low Driving Factors Redevelop the industrial contaminated sites for higher return uses Growing scarcity of land resources Increasing requirements for better environment and health Weak driving force due to the limited returns on investment Food safety concerns is the key driving factor Difficult to realize the commercial value Long-term benefits for sustainable environmental improvement Heavy Metals VOCs POPs Description of Remedy The national and local government make specific plans for investment Without specific incentive policies Usually found in brownfields remediation Conducted some pilot projects in the compliance of Stockholm Convention on POPs Priority Contamination caused by compounds widely exist in China In practice, organic contamination remediation is as much as the heavy metals contamination remediation The contamination caused by accidents or resulting in death or many people injured are easier to be funded for remediation 14
Summary China faces increasingly severe soils and underground water contamination which is regarded by the government as state secrecy Remediation of the contaminated soils and underground water offers at least 10.6 billion USD market in China from 2010 to 2015 For this emerging market, China needs: Fitting technologies: Equipment : e.g. for treating POPs Reagents : stabilizers for heavy metals treatment; oxidants for treating organic contamination and bioremediation reagents Technical support Services: consulting and other value-added services Improvement of the current regulations and standards US companies could Target at brownfield projects in Yangtze and Pearl River deltas southwest, central and southern China, and central and southern Liaoning province and underground water projects in North China Collaborate with Chinese partners Engage demonstration projects or build up successful applications 15
Thank You! tomward@pimchina.com www.pimchina.com 16