Policy interpretation | Release of four standards including Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Printing Industry

The standard name and number are as follows:
1、 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Printing Industry (GB 41616-2022)
2、 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Glass Industry (GB 26453-2022)
3、 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Mineral Wool Industry (GB 41617-2022)
4、 Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Lime and Calcium Carbide Industry (GB 41618-2022)
According to relevant laws and regulations, the above standards have the force of enforcement.
The above standards will be implemented as of January 1, 2023.
Interpretation of Emission Standard of Air Pollutants for Printing Industry (GB 41616-2022)
1、 What is the background of the standard?
The Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention clearly pointed out that during the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" period, we should vigorously strengthen the coordinated control of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors for the formation of PM2.5 and ozone, and some VOCs are toxic substances and malodorous substances, which are binding indicators of the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan". Printing industry is an important industry of VOCs emission. The overall scale of China's printing industry ranks second in the world, with nearly 100000 enterprises and a total output value of 1.4 trillion yuan. At present, the management of air pollutant emission in the printing industry is implemented in accordance with the Integrated Emission Standard of Air Pollutants (GB 16297-1996) and the Control Standard for the Unorganized Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (GB 37822-2019). The industry is not targeted, and the requirements for organized emission control are loose, which cannot support the current demand of China for the control of industrial VOCs in the whole process. It is urgent to formulate special industry standards to implement precise, scientific Further standardize the management of industrial pollution discharge according to the requirements of pollution control according to law.
2、 What are the characteristics of this standard in terms of emission control?
This standard is based on the whole process management and control idea from source reduction, process control to end treatment. Organized emission and unorganized emission control work together to further regulate the emission behavior of printing enterprises.
（1） It is difficult to control VOCs in the printing industry to strengthen source and process control and standardize unorganized emission management. According to the process characteristics, the standard specifies the requirements for the measurement control of the storage, transfer and transportation of VOCs such as ink, thinner, fountain solution, adhesive, and other processes before printing, printing, and after printing. In addition, this standard proposes the recommended concentration limits for monitoring VOCs in the plant area, which will be independently implemented by the local government according to the needs of local environmental protection to monitor the unorganized emissions in the plant area. Through the above control measures, the whole process control of unorganized emission is realized.
（2） Implement concentration and total amount control, improve organized emission control. The air pollutants generated during printing production are mainly VOCs and particulates, of which the amount of particulates is small. VOCs are the main pollutants, and most of them are toxic substances. In order to comprehensively control the emission of air pollutants from the printing industry and at the same time simplify the pollutant control project as much as possible, the form of "comprehensive indicators+characteristic pollutants" is adopted to ensure the strictness of emission supervision. The comprehensive index is non methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), which controls the total emission of VOCs. The project of characteristic pollutants highlights the key points, considers photochemical reactivity and toxicity, and controls benzene and benzene analogues.
The standard adopts the emission concentration limit control method, while further implementing differentiated control according to the initial emissions of the enterprise. For enterprises with large emissions, the dual control of emission concentration and removal efficiency shall be implemented; For enterprises with small emissions, they only need to meet the requirements of concentration indicators. In addition, enterprises that use raw and auxiliary materials in line with the national regulations on low VOCs content products do not implement the requirements for treatment efficiency, and enterprises are encouraged to use water-based ink and other source measures to reduce total emissions.
3、 How feasible is the implementation of the standard?
In recent years, Beijing Tianjin Hebei and its surrounding regions, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and other regions have issued relevant local standards. Printing enterprises in the region have taken the lead in upgrading process equipment and environmental protection facilities, accumulating mature cases of up to standard technologies, laying a technical foundation for the implementation of standards. The industry association and relevant experts agreed that this standard can reflect the industry's concerns, has strong guidance and operability, and is eager to issue the standard. At present, publication printing enterprises can achieve emission standards through source prevention technologies such as replacement of raw and auxiliary materials, without further upgrading; Some packaging and printing enterprises need to implement standard transformation according to their own conditions, which will correspondingly increase production costs, but will not have a contraction effect on supply or demand, and is at an acceptable level in the industry. In the process of standard formulation, we have solicited public opinions and fully communicated with industry associations and relevant enterprises. The market has expected that relevant enterprises have begun to prepare for transformation. The existing enterprises will implement the standard from July 1, 2024, giving them sufficient time for upgrading.
4、 What are the environmental and social benefits of standard implementation?
The implementation of this standard has good environmental benefits, can effectively reduce toxic and harmful substances discharged into the environment, is conducive to protecting the health of the surrounding public, has a positive role in improving ambient air quality, and meets the public's demand for a good ecological environment. The implementation of this standard will further promote fair competition in the industry, effectively solve the problem of "bad money drives out good money", and help to establish a more fair and orderly market environment. At the same time, it will guide printing industry enterprises to adopt source, process and end treatment measures to reduce organic waste gas emissions and promote green development of the industry.  
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