Air Pollution Caused by Plastic and Oil Companies in China

The global environmental pollution provides a great challenge to sustainable industrial development and the need to meet the requirements of an ever increasing population. The pollution from the various human activities actively affects the three components of our ecological system, i.e., soil, water and air (Khan & Chang, 2018). Such is the case for China, which is currently experiencing air pollution at a heightened level. According to Zhu (2018), air pollution is killing approximately one million people in China annually and costing the Chinese economy 267 billion yuan yearly based on research from CUHK. The paper looks at the contribution of plastic waste and oil and gas to air pollution and the innovation in those companies to help control the pollution.

The study presented in this paper uses a qualitative methodology. It focuses on the previous research conducted with regards to air pollution and how it affects the Chinese economy. Plastic wastes and oil and gas are among the major contributors to air pollution in China. According to Jing (2015), China is the world's largest importer of plastic waste with most of it from the United States. The waste which may have no value for recycling is either burned directly or dumped in waterways ending up in the sea. The environmental and health impacts of China's unregulated plastic recycling business are immense and cause the melted and burned scraps to release toxic pollutants into the air. Another major contributor to China's air conditions is the oil and gas industry. According to Reuters (2012), the country's largest oil companies have consistently been resistance to the tougher fuel standards with emissions to the air from the processing plants. The foot-dragging and disregard to environmental regulations, the existence of Sulphur in the oil products and emissions and poor fuel quality in the refineries all contribute to the intense levels of air pollution in the country.

My selected innovations include a Solubag by Polye Materials Company. This is a grocery bag that does not use traditional plastics and also dissolves in water. The project of "key technology for clean gasoline and diesel" by Sinopec group that reduces the content of Sulphur, aromatics, and benzene which contribute highly to air pollution.

Plastics provide a critical environmental concern for China contributing to the recent ban on plastic imports in the form of waste products into the country (Brooks et al., 2018). As a result, Polye Materials Company in the Qingyuan City of Guangdong Province has come up with an innovation that would help to control or regulate the plastic menace (CGTN America, 2018). The company has established a grocery bag that does not use traditional plastics and also dissolves in water. The bag takes less than a minute to dissolve in cold water. It is made of PVA which is a controversial material due to its levels of biodegradability (Schilling, 2019). However, the ability of the product to be soluble in water makes it a perfect material for the bags and reduces harm to the environment.

The solubility aspect of the product makes it advantageous to the air as there would not be any need of burning them with the aim of getting rid of them, a vice that mainly constitutes air pollution from plastic materials (Schilling, 2019). However, the major problem of this innovation is the resulting costs of the product and environmental policies and regulations by the government that would enhance is adoption and use. The cost of the bag is likely to double or triple the expense of retailers and yet the Chinese government has not yet been adamant in implementing the plastics ban (CGTN America, 2018). These are among the major problems facing this innovation and its adoption. The company is partnering with other companies in Chile with the aim of enhancing production at affordable prices while the government is establishing stringent measures to banning the use of plastics as evident from the recent ban in the importation of plastic wastes. These events provide solutions to innovation.

Sinopec is one of the leading oil and gas companies in China with branches in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Angola among other places. In line with the Chinese government's regulation to reduce reliance on coal and carbon emissions to natural gas, the company has made various advancements towards the same with the aim of reducing air pollution in the region. The company strengthened its exploration and gas reservoir, increased its production and efficiency to a 19% YoY increase in natural gas for the FY 2017 (Sinopec report, 2017). The company also established a project for "Key technology for clean gasoline and diesel", which complied with the national 5 emission standards. The project led to a reduction in the amounts of olefin, aromatics, benzene, and Sulphur in the oil processing activities and products which are among the major contributors to air pollution.

The projects established by the company aimed at improving the quality of oil processing and products in an environmentally-friendly manner and at an affordable cost. Moreover, to manage the emissions, the company performs both efficiency and GHG assessment (Sinopec report, 2017). It believes that energy conservation and efficiency improvement are the most vital carbon reduction measures with a proper and active implementation of an energy conservation plan. The major problem with this innovations are the associated costs involved in research and transitioning from carbon to natural gas and implementation of measures that align with the government's regulation on the content of Sulphur in emissions among other air pollutants. The solution to this problem is to implement low-cost alternatives with the companies taking it as their own responsibility to protect the environment.

There are various developments in these innovations that business managers should be aware of in a bid to expand their operations while protecting the environment. In the case of plastic control, forthcoming developments include the products of biodegradable plastics from alternative feedstocks (Godhave et al., 2018). Examples of these alternative feedstocks include greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide, bio-based resources such as starch, oils and cellulose and naturally occurring biopolymers, food products and sewage sludge (Nang, 2018). Business managers should be aware of the production of plastics using biodegradable products and benign. There are also some eco-friendly alternative flame retardants that eliminate the use of some hazardous chemicals in the manufacture of plastics.

In the case of oil and gas, companies such as the Sinopec Corp. are constantly working on reducing emissions of main pollutants and upgrading the catalytic cracking of Sulphur recovery units and coal-fired boilers in restructuring the chemical components to meet the ultra-low gas emission requirements. A business administrative should also be aware of the new standards in the refining and petrochemical industry to treat sewage and fuel gas and actively conduct a comprehensive treatment of the VOCs (Sinopec report, 2017). He/she should ensure proper implementation of a self-monitoring plan and implement the new requirements of fuel gas and noise pollution.

Conclusion

To conclude, the solubag innovation is a success as it implements aligns with the environmental prevention strategies and regulates air pollution thorough burning of plastics. The innovation has not yet been established in several businesses since it was made public in recent times. However, the company has partnered with another company in Chile, where all plastic bags are banned. The innovation compares comparatively with other innovations in its line and is appropriated because of its simplicity in disposing of the used bags. The innovation in oil and gas of reducing Sulphur and oil and gas emissions have been implemented by various oil and gas companies in the region. However, Sinopec has been consistent in its research and development to improve its operations in line with the environmental regulations. The innovation is a success as it has led to a 19% YoY increase in natural gas production and an annual build up capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. Both innovations address the sustainable development goal number 13 on climatic action as they help to combat actions that may result in negative climatic changes.

References

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