SAIC Wuxi improves VOCs treatment for environment protection

SAIC MAXUS Wuxi Branch has invested around 25 million yuan ($3.66 million) in improving the disposal technology of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in recent years, as part of efforts to fulfill its corporate responsibility of protecting the local environment.

"As a major state-owned auto company in Wuxi, we feel it a great responsibility for us to set an example in answering the government's call to ease the air pollution and protect the local environment," said Su Bin, senior deputy manager of SAIC MAXUS Wuxi Branch.

Besides from PM2.5 and PM10, VOC is now one of the main air pollutants and is largely produced in automobile coating, chemical engineering and textile printing. If exposed to for significant periods of time, it can be detrimental to human health.

The 13th national Five-Year Plan has made VOCs prevention and treatment a top priority, and the local government has also launched special measures in this regard.

To better address the problem of VOCs, the company has replaced the traditional method of activated carbon absorption with Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) technology, the most advanced VOCs disposal technology in the world, which is safer and more efficient than the former.

It works by heating the condensed VOCs to above 760 degrees and decomposing them into CO2 and H2O, during which the heat generated will also be stored by a ceramic unit and be used for heating the VOCs, thus reducing the energy consumption.

With the technology, the company has managed to dispose of over 95 percent of VOCs, reducing the emissions of VOCs by 300,000 tons per year, contributing greatly to the improvement of the local air quality.

The RTO technology does however come with a cost. In addition to the 25 million yuan for the device installation, the cost of the annual maintenance will be at least 1.5 million yuan, according to Su.

SAIC MAXUS Wuxi Branch, established in 2011 in Huishan district, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is the largest production base of SAIC MAXUS in China, with a production capacity of 200,000 units per year.

Despite its huge cost, The company took the lead in applying RTO technology to address the problem of VOCs in Wuxi two years ago. It has been considered a success, and so other local companies have since followed suit.