Wuhan Goes Low-carbon

By+staff+reporter+DANG+XIAOFEI

MAKING soap from kitchen waste grease， collecting rainfall to water plants， upgrading a highly polluting cement factory into an environment-friendly operation， slashing waste discharge and reducing energy use at iron and steel manufacturers... Such trends are gaining momentum in central Chinas Wuhan， where the government， businesses and individual citizens are combining efforts to create a low-carbon environment in the city.

Green Communities

At home， Yang Guangjie， head of the Baibuting Community Neighborhood Committee， demonstrated to the reporter how to make soap from oil collected in a stove range hood. After placing the concoction into a mold， he said： “It solidifies in three days and then has to be sundried for another 15 days.” Soap made this way has a higher alkali content and consequently greater cleaning power. “People in the community all like it，” Yang said.

Yang first began to produce soap in 2009， inspired by complaints from neighbors that the lumps of brown grease removed when cleaning their range hoods often clogged the drains and harmed the environment. One day he read a posting on the Internet about making soap from cooking oil， and wondered if waste oil would also work. After more than 20 experiments， he succeeded.

“From 2010， my community has been able to collect 400 to 500 kg of used cooking oil every year. Each kilo can produce 1.5 kilos of soap， which means an annual output of 600 kilos or more.”Yang is proud that it is now a norm for residents in his neighborhood to collect the waste oil from their kitchens， and later trade it in for bars of soap from the neighborhood committee. “Wuhan has a population of over 10 million – more than one million households. It is estimated that about 5 kilos of waste oil is produced by each household. If it is fully collected and recycled， it could be a huge boost to our environment，” Yang said.

In the same community， 60-year-old Li Yuanyan is committed to making the maximum use of rainwater， of which Wuhan has plenty. He invented a rainwater collection system seven years ago that could cut tap water consumption by 200 tons a year.

Li is the secretary general of the local flora association. His home is on the top floor of an apartment building， under a 100-sq.m terrace， where he grows nearly 1，000 potted plants. “After installing the rainwater collection system， my water bill has fallen to less than RMB 10 per month. At first the utility company thought I was cheating on the meter，” Li quipped.endprint

After some modifications， his invention was promoted across the community. To date， 320 households in the region have installed the device， recycling 60，000 tons of rainwater every year.

The ideas of low-carbon living have become ingrained for most residents in the Baibuting area. Li Fang， another resident， always carefully sorts the family trash， before dumping it into garbage bins of different categories， making sure that used batteries go into a special collection box at the community entrance.“I am careful with electricity and water use， and reuse plastic shopping bags as long as possible，” she said.

Wuhan has now adopted low-carbon theories and applications in communities， first utilized in designing and building new residential areas. “We first of all employ green technologies， such as those reducing energy uses by tapping into geothermic sources and solar power， recycling rainwater， and fostering an artificial wetland environment，” explains Fang Yu， head of the General Office of the Baiputing Community Neighborhood Committee. The construction costs of green buildings involving such technologies are， however， RMB 200 to 300 higher per square meter than that for conventional buildings.

At present， about 20 percent of buildings in the community are equipped with ground-source heat pumps， which regulate indoor temperature through water circulation by making use of the disparity between the temperature of the groundwater and that of the open air in winter and summer. These pumps are 20 percent more electricity-efficient than air-conditioners， according to Fang.

A Revolution in the Cement Industry

The Wuhan factory of Huaxin Cement Co.， Ltd. is an expanse of graceful arbors， dotted with light gray buildings， which resembles a park. This scenic view is in sharp contrast to what it was years ago – low-lying dilapidated facilities and towering chimneys spewing dark fumes into the sky. Soot and noise were so acute that residents living nearby seldom opened their windows throughout the year. “Now there is no more smoke and little noise， no louder than what youd experience on the road，” said Shu Changxue， 73， who has lived in the neighborhood less than 100 meters away from the factory for almost half a century.

The flagship of the cement industry of Hubei Province， Huaxin has changed the industrys conventional grimy image through phasing out obsolete technology and equipment， closing down old kilns and technological upgrading.endprint

“We closed three wet-process kilns in Huangshi City， because the wet-process technique is energy intensive，” said Han Qianwei， vice-director of the companys production management division.

While eliminating outdated techniques and procedures， new technologies are brought in. “We generate electricity with waste heat from the cement kilns. This way our electricity bill has been brought down by one third，” Han added. Huaxin has also renovated highand medium-voltage electric motors to reduce energy consumption.

Another noteworthy breakthrough in technological upgrading is to replace coal with household garbage as a fuel source. So far， seven of Huaxins cement kilns have adopted this procedure. “Incinerating solid waste as fuel is a type of innocuous disposal of household garbage that doesnt generate further pollution，” Han explained. “This is where cement production is heading in the future. It does away with garbage， and meanwhile lowers carbon emissions.”

This technique could generate huge economic and social benefits if promoted nationwide， according to Mr. Han. “If it is embraced by all cement manufacturers in China， and is put into practice， say， for one fourth of annual production， 100 million tons of garbage would be disposed every year， thus cutting standard coal use by 13 million tons and carbon dioxide discharge by 157 million tons.”

Through a series of low-carbon measures including waste incineration， Huaxin has cut coal use by 80，000 tons and carbon-dioxide emissions by more than 200，000 tons， from 2011 to 2013.

There are 65 cement production lines in Hubei Province， 27 belonging to the provinces top four manufacturers. So far， 35 cement producers have been subject to the carbon-emission quota system. Since 2011 the province has phased out outdated cement capacity by 6.91 million tons.

“Cement is an energy-intensive industry. Reducing its carbon footprint can only be achieved through technological improvements and better management，”Tian Qi， chief of the Response to Climate Change Division， of the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission， concluded.

Rebirth in Low-carbon Development

Wuhan is the base of the Wuhan Iron and Steel （Group） Corporation， one of Chinas largest iron producers. Aside from its contributions to local coffers， it was also the largest pollutor in the province. For too long， eight towering chimneys dominated Wuhans skyline， spewing toxic yellowish smoke all year round. Whenever there was a wind， a pungent sulfuric odor filled the air all over the city. Local residents once joked that even the sparrows flying over Wuhan would be coated in grime.endprint

Things are different today. Starting in 2010， Wuhan Iron and Steel has invested RMB 1.5 billion or more every year in energy saving and emission reduction. Waste heat is captured to generate electricity， and wastewater recycled. In this way the volume of energy generated by waste reclamation even exceeds that consumed in the process of production. Wang Xibin， vice-general manager of Hubei Emission Exchange and deputy chief of the development planning division of Wuhan Iron and Steel， views expenditure on energy saving and emission reduction as an investment rewarded with cost savings.

The company has launched an afforestation campaign in its factory environs over recent years， expanding its green coverage to 3.73 square kilometers. Research has shown that forests have beneficial air-cooling effects on urban areas， lowering summer temperatures by as much as 5.64°C.

Wuhan Iron and Steel was listed on the Hubei Emission Exchange in August 2013， and later founded a separate branch to handle its carbon properties.“We are also working on the development of Chinese Certified Emission Reduction （CCER），” Wang said.

Eight of the 25 iron and steel makers in Hubei have joined the carbon-emission quota system. Since 2011 the province has reduced outdated steel production capacity by 3.61 million tons. “The provincial government has set up a RMB 20 million fund for low-carbon development， to finance experimental projects in this regard. All enterprises running energy-saving and emission-reduction programs are eligible for subsidies from the fund，” Tian Qi added.endprint