Green Factory "Green" means abundant products | Green | Factory
An enterprise in Jinma Industrial Park, Lin'an District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, installed photovoltaic power generation equipment on the roof. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yu
On June 17, workers work in a high-efficiency solar cell workshop at Sunshine Zhongke Energy Co., Ltd., a national green factory enterprise in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yongzhen
Recently, workers were busy in the national green factory quality inspection workshop located in Hengli Industrial Park, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. Photo by Xu Congjun
On June 12th, construction workers were painting the outdoor facilities at China Baowu Ma Steel Special Steel Plant, a garden style ecological urban steel plant located in Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province. Photo by Luo Jisheng
This year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the list of green manufacturing for 2022, including 874 green factories, 47 green industrial parks, 112 green supply chain management enterprises, and 643 green design products selected. This means that China's green manufacturing system construction has made new progress once again.
According to the National Standard for Evaluation of Green Factories, green factories are factories that have achieved land intensification, harmless raw materials, clean production, waste resource utilization, and low-carbon energy. The reporter found through interviews that by creating a green environment, upgrading green production lines, and developing green products, the manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly "green".
The garden style factory area is full of green vitality
Looking down from the sky, the Midea refrigerator factory located in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, is prominently displayed with rows of neatly arranged solar photovoltaic panels on the roof. Midea Refrigerator Jingzhou Factory is the largest production base for individual refrigerators in China. With its advanced level of lean and flexible manufacturing, the factory was awarded the title of "Lighthouse Factory" in 2022 and was also selected as the 2022 Green Factory by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It has achieved high scores in both green and intelligent fields.
Li Zhen, General Manager of Hubei Midea Refrigerator Co., Ltd., introduced to reporters that a complete set of green solutions was designed during the construction planning of the new park. Taking rooftop photovoltaics as an example, the usable area of the first phase of the factory building is 65000 square meters, with 6 megawatts of installed photovoltaics. "The photovoltaic project was completed and connected to the grid for power generation on September 8, 2022. According to the actual sunlight in Jingzhou, the annual power generation reached 5.4 million kilowatt hours. Converted to this, the annual carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by about 3768.36 tons, and the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by about 94200 tons throughout the entire life cycle." Li Zhen said that this project adopts a "spontaneous self use, surplus electricity grid" mode, and the electricity generated by the factory on rest days will be directly transmitted to the State Grid, which will pay the corresponding fees to the factory based on the power generation. ". At present, the proportion of green electricity used in the factory has reached 40%.
Utilizing the roofs of industrial park factories not only generates electricity but also allows for vegetable cultivation.
At the production plant of Chongqing Meixin Group, the rooftop is a lush scene. The entire rooftop was divided into small vegetable plots, with a variety of garlic sprouts, scallions, potatoes. According to the introduction, employees can plant vegetables, fruits, grains, flowers, etc. in this "Happy Farm" with an area of over 20000 square meters. Everyone voluntarily claims the vegetable field and can come to plant it in their free time.
Looking from the roof, the entire factory area is lush green, with flowers blooming and birds chirping incessantly. It's hard to imagine that this is a manufacturing enterprise that produces doors and windows. It is understood that Chongqing Meixin Group has created an open small and micro "pocket park", which not only beautifies the factory environment, but also attracts many citizens and tourists to come and admire flowers, take photos, and visit. Developing green manufacturing not only enhances economic benefits, but also drives the doubling of social benefits.
Nowadays, more and more enterprises are promoting green transformation, factories are no longer noisy and dusty, and the park environment has become full of green vitality.
In the cement branch of Xinjiang Qingsong Building Materials and Chemical Co., Ltd., the original sewage pool has been treated and transformed into an artificial lake, becoming a swimming pool for koi. Sheep have been raised on the planted lawn, and vegetables have also been planted on the idle and useless land... The factory, which used to be shrouded in smoke and dust all year round, has now become a garden style factory. The sky is blue, the water is transparent, the trees are shaded, and the lawn is like a carpet, and every photo taken is full of scenery. The employees said that working in the factory area surrounded by fresh air and green plants every day feels very happy.
In the Circular Economy Industrial Park of Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province, production is booming in the park, with abundant water and grass in the surrounding water system, and fish swimming freely. The person in charge of a company in the park sighed, saying that the production wastewater is treated and recycled in the park, achieving zero discharge. Aquaculture with clean water is the best example of ecological improvement.
Experts point out that garden style factories ensure a high greening rate, not only maintaining a good ecological environment, but also installing a layer of "protective cover" for the factory area to reduce noise and keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.
The surging green energy on the production line
A green factory not only depends on its appearance, but also on its intrinsic green content. According to the national green factory standards and related requirements, green factories should introduce a lifecycle approach while ensuring product functionality, quality, and occupational health and safety during the production process. Priority should be given to selecting green raw materials, processes, technologies, and equipment to meet the comprehensive requirements of the standards, and continuous improvement should be carried out.
At Qianhe Weiye Food Co., Ltd. located in Meishan City, Sichuan Province, the black brown soy sauce is produced by a green factory.
The introduction of advanced green technology equipment is the starting point for Qianhe to become "green". In the late 1990s, companies invested heavily in introducing advanced sewage treatment systems. The high investment at that time saved costs for the next 20 years. The sewage treatment system enables enterprises to meet the first level standard for sewage discharge, eliminating the need for additional sewage treatment fees. In addition, equipment such as fully automatic sauce dispensers, fully automatic pressing systems, and intelligent filling lines can reduce labor costs, improve production efficiency, and ensure product quality, making the production process more green and scientific.
"To build a green factory, enterprises need to find a balance between green investment and cost savings." The person in charge of Qianhe Flavor Industry gave an example, saying that the soy sauce brewing process requires a large amount of energy consumption. After the "coal to gas" conversion, the annual cost of the enterprise will be higher by tens of millions of yuan. What should we do? It's within the factory area. For example, the metabolites produced by microbial fermentation can form biogas, which can partially replace the natural gas required for canteen operation, achieving self production and self use.
How can ecology and development achieve dual harvests? Li Nanping, Chairman of Jiangsu Ronghui General Lithium Industry Co., Ltd., has a deep understanding of this issue. He believes that investing in green development should not be seen as an expense, but rather as an unexpected surprise that it will bring behind it. Adopting innovative patented technology for mother liquor recycling, maximizing the utilization rate of raw materials and keeping the product recovery rate at the forefront of the industry; The introduction of SCR dust and nitrate integrated treatment facilities has greatly reduced the emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide... After years of deep cultivation in the industry, this enterprise has adhered to clean production, energy conservation and emission reduction, and achieved industry-leading production capacity per unit energy consumption. It has been selected as a green factory by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the year 2022.
At Hubei Midea Refrigerator Co., Ltd., the concept of green ecology runs through many aspects of the production line: building a two-layer platform for air logistics to save land, achieve harmless product raw materials, replace traditional welding with flameless welding, recycle packaging cardboard boxes, and fully recover residual heat... Li Zhen introduced that based on intelligent technology, the energy control of the entire factory is more refined. For example, in traditional production methods, it is necessary to manually conduct on-site inspections to see if there are any abnormalities in parameters such as temperature and pressure. Now, with the Energy Carbon Intelligent Control System, the system can automatically generate warning content, and relevant responsible persons can receive information and process it in a timely manner. This can accurately control the start and stop of energy consuming equipment, thereby reducing energy waste in the process.
In interviews, many companies stated that manufacturing is the key to the green and low-carbon transformation of production methods and industrial structures. Green manufacturing is an inherent requirement for building a "manufacturing powerhouse" and a necessary path to achieve the "dual carbon" goals in the industrial sector.
Product research and development permeates green concepts
1/16 of the diameter of the hair - this is the thickness of ultra-thin aluminum foil produced by Yunnan Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd. in Kunming, Yunnan Province. This ultra-thin aluminum foil is mainly used in high-end power and electronic capacitor products, and the products are exported overseas.
Ultra thin aluminum foil is not only technologically advanced, but also full of green elements. It is reported that ultra-thin aluminum foil adopts the unique casting and rolling process of Yunnan Aluminum, which is directly cast and rolled with electrolytic aluminum liquid. Compared with traditional hot rolling methods, it has advantages such as shorter process, which can save production time, significantly reduce energy consumption, and reduce greenhouse gas and exhaust emissions.
In recent years, Yunaluminum has actively developed various green products, directly producing raw aluminum liquid into aluminum alloy products, continuously reducing metal burning and energy consumption, and reducing carbon emissions in intermediate links. At the same time, Yunaluminum has also developed and constructed a product lifecycle evaluation system, which conducts full process carbon footprint accounting for all production links in the company's entire industry chain. Authoritative third-party organizations are invited to verify and certify, and corresponding product carbon footprint certificates are issued. The result is obvious, in recent years, the carbon footprint value of similar aluminum products from Yunnan Aluminum has significantly decreased.
Midea refrigerators have also put a lot of effort into product performance design, such as the multi gun injection technology currently used, which makes the insulation layer of the refrigerator more uniform and insulated during the foaming process. Midea Refrigerator has established a special technical team to take the lead in overcoming the industry's 8mm extreme flow channel and uneven foaming flow, reducing daily energy consumption of refrigerators by 15%. In terms of heat pump defrosting technology, a low-temperature circuit heat transfer design is used to utilize the heat recovery and utilization of the refrigeration system itself for defrosting, reducing the defrosting increment by 70% and improving energy consumption by 8%.
"Product design should not only meet the current needs of consumers, but also consider the requirements of green and environmental protection. It is the responsibility of enterprises to use more low-carbon materials." Wang Jiandong, the product management manager of Hefei Midea Refrigerator Co., Ltd., said that based on the two core themes of energy conservation and low-carbon, in the research and development of green products, Midea Refrigerator will take the lead in overcoming the structural design problem of door seals in 2023. The design of the 6mm ultra-thin door seal not only ensures the beauty of the appearance, but also improves the sealing effect and performance. A single product can save energy by 3%. This product will be launched in 2024.
By integrating green concepts into product development, on the one hand, the cost and energy consumption of enterprises have been reduced, and on the other hand, the quality and competitiveness of products have been improved.
Dehua Rabbit Baby Decoration New Materials Co., Ltd., located in Luoshe Town, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, has been selected as one of the fourth batch of industrial product green design demonstration enterprises announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. For many years, the company has been promoting product innovation and upgrading around the requirements of green, health, environmental protection, and people-oriented. In 2022, the company utilized 3D restructuring technology to manufacture multiple low-carbon technology wood products that do not require dyeing, improving the utilization rate of natural wood veneer. "Compared to traditional technology wood products, low-carbon technology wood products have increased economic benefits by nearly 50%, and have also increased the comprehensive utilization rate of wood to over 86%, truly helping factories save energy and reduce consumption." The relevant person in charge of the company said.
Shengtong Technology Group Co., Ltd., selected as a green factory by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the year 2022, is located in Xiangjiang New Area, Hunan Province. The company has launched food grade packaging bags made of pure aluminum materials, which are expected to replace 15 billion plastic fresh-keeping bags within 5 years. At present, this product is sold to more than 70 countries and regions worldwide.
Experts say that green products are closely related to green consumption, which requires a large supply of green products and services. Green product certification provides proof of green products, allowing the market to follow suit. By meeting the requirements of green product indicators and transmitting them to the supply chain, enterprises can be guided to adopt green and low-carbon production processes, environmentally friendly designs, economical and environmentally friendly materials, etc., which can promote green manufacturing from the demand side.
