UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
29 May 2007
ENGLISH
MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN
MED POL
Meeting of the MED POL National Coordinators
Hammamet (Tunisia), 25-28 June 2007
REGIONAL PLAN AND POSSIBLE MEASURES
FOR THE REDUCTION OF INPUT OF BOD BY 50%
BY 2010 FROM INDUSTRIAL SOURCES
UNEP/MAP
Athens, 2007
Contents
1.
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
1.1
1.2
2.
ANALYSIS OF AVAILABLE DATA ON BOD DISCHARGES .............................. 2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3.
SOURCE OF DATA ............................................................................................. 2
TOTAL DISCHARGES OF ORGANIC POLLUTION ..................................................... 2
RELEASE INTENSITY INDICATORS ...................................................................... 3
SECTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ORGANIC POLLUTION ............................................. 6
GAPS OF INFORMATION .................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY SECTORS ........................................................ 9
3.1
3.2
4.
BACKGROUND.................................................................................................. 1
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE .................................................................................. 1
GENERAL CRITERIA .......................................................................................... 9
PRIORITY SECTORS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION ....................................... 10
REVIEW OF OPTIONS TO ADDRESS REDUCTION OF BOD DISCHARGES .. 16
4.1
4.2
OVERVIEW OF OPTIONS .................................................................................. 16
DIRECT MEASURES ........................................................................................ 17
4.2.1
In-plant actions ...................................................................................... 17
4.2.2
End-of-pipe actions ............................................................................... 19
4.3
INDIRECT MEASURES ...................................................................................... 21
5.
4.3.1
Legal ..................................................................................................... 21
4.3.2
Technical............................................................................................... 23
4.3.3
Economic .............................................................................................. 24
4.3.4
Market based mechanisms.................................................................... 25
STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMME FOR THE BOD REGIONAL PLAN ......... 26
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
6.
GENERAL STRATEGY ...................................................................................... 26
SECTORAL ACTION PLANS .............................................................................. 27
HOT SPOTS ACTION PLANS ............................................................................ 28
TIME FRAMEWORK.......................................................................................... 29
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 30
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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1.
1.1
Introduction
Background
The Contracting Parties in their 13th meeting held in Catania, Italy 2003 adopted the
recommendation II.A.1.2(2) which stipulated the “adoption of the approach proposed by the
secretariat in the regional Plan for a 50% reduction in BOD from industrial sources
considering the target date of 2010 to be reviewed in 2007 (hereinafter ‘the BOD Plan’), and
to ask the secretariat to update the data and information included in the Plan on the basis of
the national baseline budget of pollutant releases”, in the framework of the implementation of
the LBS Protocol and the strategic Action Programme (SAP) .
In this context, the MEDPOL Secretariat has compiled and reviewed the data provided by the
CPs on BOD discharges from industrial sources (National Baseline Budgets), in order to
analyse the outcome of this information and accordingly suggest specific actions to address
the reduction of BOD industrial discharges.
1.2
Objectives and scope
The objectives of this document are the following:
(a) To analyse the available BOD data from NBB, on a country and sector basis.
(b) To identify a group of priority sectors, according to their total releases and representation
in the Mediterranean countries.
(c) To review the options to address reduction of BOD discharges, including direct measures
(in-plant actions, end-of-pipe actions) and indirect measures (legal, technical…).
(d) To suggest an overall strategic action programme to implement the BOD regional Plan.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 2
2.
2.1
Analysis of available data on BOD discharges
Source of data
The information on BOD discharges has been obtained from the National Baseline Budget
database available from the MEDPOL Secretariat, which integrates all the data reported by
Mediterranean countries. For the elaboration of the NBBs, the Secretariat provided to the
countries a guidelines report [16], indicating the scope and methodology to estimate
emissions, and the reporting format for the year 2003.
Some EU countries (France, Italy, Spain) have used the available data from the EPER
register1 to elaborate their NBB. In these cases, data is not available for BOD but for Total
Organic Carbon (TOC). This parameter also measures organic pollution of industrial
effluents, but relates to a different analysis2. The relation between both parameters will
depend on the specific effluents and sectors, and therefore TOC values cannot be converted
into BOD values.
2.2
Total discharges of organic pollution
In order to present national and total discharges of organic pollution (BOD or TOC) from
industrial sources, data available from the National Baseline Budgets have been collected
and put together in Table 1. As indicated above, for those countries using the EPER register
to elaborate the NBB, organic pollution is reported in terms of discharges of TOC instead of
BOD. Both parameters provide information about the organic load in wastewater, but they
are different analytical parameters and in principle should not be added together. In this
sense, in Table 1 information on BOD and TOC discharges is shown separately.
According to available data, the total annual load of organic pollution from industrial sources
in the Mediterranean region is about 2.5 million tonnes of BOD and 53,000 tonnes of TOC
(France, Italy and Spain). As expected, the contribution to this total load varies a lot, and
some countries can be identified as large emitters (Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon…) and other as
low emitters (France, Cyprus, Slovenia…).
Indeed, total BOD discharges from industrial sources can vary between countries according
to a range of factors. The size of the industrial activity would be expected to be the most
important factor, but other relevant factors can determine total discharges, like the profile of
national industrial sectors (some sectors are more intensive than others in the release of
organic pollution), the degree of adoption of BAT in industrial sectors, or the availability of
wastewater treatment plants.
1
European Pollutant Emission Register (http://www.eper.cec.eu.int/eper/ )
BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) measures the O2 required by aerobic micro-organisms in the stabilization
of the decomposable organic matter in a wastewater. On the other hand, a typical analysis for TOC (Total Organic
Carbon) measures both the total carbon present as well as the inorganic carbon (IC); organic carbon is then
obtained by subtracting the inorganic carbon from total carbon. It represents the most appropriate measure for
total organic content as it also determines the presence of organic carbon which does not respond to BOD or
COD tests. Repeatable empiric correlations between TOC, COD and BOD may be established independently
either for a given matrix or for a single effluent [2]. However, these empiric correlations should not be applied out
of the framework of each specific case. In consequence, total TOC values reported by some countries are not
directly convertible to BOD values. They are the sum of TOC values from different installations and sectors which
have different contributions of organic compounds and, as a consequence, different correlation between TOC and
BOD.
2
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 3
Table 1 Total discharges of organic pollution (BOD or TOC) from industrial sources in
Mediterranean countries (Source: NBB 2003).
Country
Albania
Algeria
Bosnia H.
Croatia
Cyprus
Egypt
France
Greece
Israel
Italy
Lebanon
Libya
Malta
Montenegro
Morocco
Palestine
Slovenia
Spain
Syria
Tunisia
Turkey
TOTAL
Discharges
(tonnes/yr)
BOD
TOC
54,405
395,834
93,501
19,383
1,334
1,403,460
470
30,629
5,944
27,236
156,082
64,421
5,935
8,032
6,869
2,270
2,396
25,517
45,190
10,900
266,169
2,572,754
53,222
The figures shown in Table 1 are considerably higher than those included in the Regional
Plan (about 410,000 tonnes/yr). This is consistent with the fact that when the Plan was
elaborated the only available data was BOD discharges from Hot Spots [14], which may
represent a portion of total regional discharges. However, although both sources of
information use different methodologies to estimate discharges (NBB versus Hot Spots), and
hence are not directly comparable, it is worth to mention that the relative contribution of
countries to BOD discharges shows some similarities, at least for the two major reported
emitters (Egypt and Algeria).
2.3
Release intensity indicators
In order to further analyse and compare the available data, total organic discharges (BOD or
TOC) have been related to industrial activity and population, which are the most common
release intensity indicators. Industrial activity can be measured in terms of the contribution of
industry to the national GDP (in current USD). However, it must be noted that economic data
is available for the total national industrial activity, while emission data included in the NBBs
relates to discharges from industries in the Mediterranean region. This mismatch in the
geographic scope of data could influence (decrease) the value of the release intensity
indicator in those countries where a significant part of the industrial activity is not placed in
the Mediterranean region. In terms of comparison, and on the basis of available information,
another release intensity indicator has been calculated using population data for
Mediterranean coastal regions. Results for both indicators are shown in Table 2 and Figure
2. Significant differences in the release intensity of organic pollution can be observed among
countries in both cases. Comparing total loads (Figure 2 – a) with loads relative to industrial
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 4
activity (Figure 2 – c), some ‘normalization’ effect can be appreciated, in the sense that a
group of countries with different total loads are grouped by a similar release intensity (i.e.
Egypt, Albania, Bosnia H. and Lebanon). Comparing to these countries, the others show
much lower release intensities. This variability is also observed when the release intensity is
calculated in relation to population from Mediterranean regions. In this case, a high value is
observed for Bosnia H., while for the rest of countries results varies gradually, without
suggesting any grouping. Again, higher release intensities are very different comparing to the
lower values.
As indicated above, these differences can be related with different industrial profiles or
different degree of implementation of end-of-pipe technologies, but even assuming these
factors, a lower variability would be expected for release intensity indicators. In any case,
release intensity indicators can be useful to identify different priority actions for different
countries or groups of countries. For example, the available data indicates that a group of
countries have a significant opportunity for the reduction of their release intensity.
Table 2 BOD-TOC discharges in relation to industrial activity and coastal population.
BOD-TOC
National GDP
- Industry
Population – BOD-TOC /
coastal
National GDP
region
Industry
(tonnes/yr)
(million
current USD)
(1000 inhab.)
Country
Albania
54,405
1,094
1,193
Algeria
395,834
37,909
12,271
Bosnia H
93,501
2,247
226
Croatia
19,383
8,669
1,529
Cyprus
1,334
3,293
785
Egypt
1,403,460
28,016
22,929
France
470
441,000
6,265
Greece
30,629
40,984
9,482
Israel
5,944
31,958
5,045
Italy
27,236
417,000
32,837
Lebanon
156,082
3,979
2,906
Libya
64,421
8,213
5,179
Malta
5,935
954
389
Montenegro
8,032
6,613
266
Morocco
6,869
12,935
3,233
Palestine
2,270
-1,119
Slovenia
2,396
9,712
101
Spain
25,517
248,255
15,560
Syria
45,190
6,140
1,533
Tunisia
10,900
7,025
6,762
Turkey
266,169
52,648
13,691
Source /
World Bank / BP-RAC /
Year:
NBB / 2003
2003
2000
(tonnes /
million
current USD)
49.71
10.44
41.61
2.24
0.41
50.09
0.00
0.75
0.19
0.07
39.23
7.84
6.22
1.21
0.53
-0.25
0.10
7.36
1.55
5.06
BOD-TOC /
coastal
population
(kg / inhab.)
45.60
32.26
413.72
12.68
1.70
61.21
0.08
3.23
1.18
0.83
53.71
12.44
15.26
30.20
2.12
2.03
23.72
1.64
29.48
1.61
19.44
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/
Page 5
(a)
(b)
Total BOD or TOC (t/yr)
Industrial GDP (million USD, 2003)
Egypt
1,403,460
Algeria
F ra nc e
395,834
441,000
It a ly
417,000
266,169
Turkey
S pa in
Lebanon
156,082
248,255
T urk e y
52,648
93,501
Bosnia & H.
G re e c e
Libya
64,421
Albania
54,405
Syria
45,190
Greece
Italy (TOC)
27,236
25,517
Croatia
19,383
Tunisia
10,900
Montenegro
8,032
Morocco
6,869
37,909
Is ra e l
31,958
E gypt
30,629
Spain (TOC)
40,984
A lge ria
28,016
M o ro c c o
12,935
S lo v e nia
9,712
C ro a t ia
8,669
Libya
8,213
T unis ia
7,025
M o nt e ne gro
6,613
S yria
6,140
Le ba no n
3,979
5,944
Israel
Malta
5,935
Slovenia
2,396
Palestine
2,270
Cyprus
1,334
C yprus
3,293
B o s nia a nd H
2,247
A lba nia
1,094
M a lt a
France (TOC)
954
470
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
0
800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,600,000
50,000
100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000
(d)
(c)
kg BOD-TOC / coastal inhab.
tonnes BOD-TOC (tonnes) / GDPind (million current USD)
E gypt
B o s nia H
50.09
A lba nia
B o s nia H
10.44
Libya
53.71
A lba nia
39.23
A lge ria
61.21
Le ba no n
41.61
Le ba no n
413.72
E gypt
49.71
7.84
45.60
A lge ria
32.26
M o nt e ne gro
30.20
S yria
S yria
29.48
7.36
S lo v e nia
M a lt a
23.72
6.22
T urk e y
T urk e y
19.44
5.06
M a lt a
C ro a t ia
15.26
2.24
T unis ia
C ro a t ia
12.68
Libya
12.44
1.55
M o nt e ne gro
1.21
G re e c e
G re e c e
0.75
M o ro c c o
0.53
C yprus
0.41
S lo v e nia
0.25
Is ra e l
0.19
S pa in
0.10
It a ly
0.07
F ra nc e
2.12
P a le s t ine
2.03
C yprus
1.70
S pa in
1.64
T unis ia
1.61
Is ra e l
1.18
It a ly
0.001
0
3.23
M o ro c c o
0.83
F ra nc e
10
20
30
40
50
60
0.08
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Figure 1 Relative position of countries on the basis of total loads of organic pollution (a), industrial activity (b), and discharges relative to
industrial activity (c) and population of Mediterranean regions (d).
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/
Page 6
2.4
Sectors contributing to organic pollution
The NBBs include data on the sources of industrial BOD discharges in each country,
organized on a sector basis. The industrial sectors included in the NBBs are those
listed in Annex I.A of the LBS Protocol, although some variations may occur depending
on the classification followed by each country to elaborate its NBB. The data on BOD
discharges provided by all countries have been integrated within a common group of
sectors, and the resulting contribution to organic pollution is shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Sectors contributing to organic pollution (BOD or TOC) in the Mediterranean
Region.
Sector
Oil refining
Kg/yr
%
1,492,995,186
56.85%
Food packing
554,778,671
21.13%
Farming of animals
186,114,684
7.09%
Urban wastewater treatment
133,036,421
5.07%
Textile industry
91,819,826
3.50%
Paper industry
32,822,294
1.25%
Organic chemicals
32,076,932
1.22%
Tanning
30,476,489
1.16%
Fertilizer industry
18,613,984
0.71%
Pharmaceuticals
13,063,153
0.50%
Manufacture of metals
10,162,137
0.39%
Waste management activities
7,742,581
0.29%
Tourism
6,352,954
0.24%
Other inorganic chemicals
4,768,577
0.18%
Aquaculture
4,033,244
0.15%
Agriculture
3,241,103
0.12%
Manufacture of cement
1,492,595
0.06%
Production of biocides
848,410
0.03%
Production of energy
531,921
0.02%
Transport
447,121
0.02%
Other industry
331,500
0.01%
Building and repairing of ships
109,622
0.00%
Manufacture of Wood
59,075
0.00%
Mining and quarrying
44,000
0.00%
Manufacture of electronics products
7,288
0.00%
Port services
6,834
0.00%
2,625,976,601
100.0%
TOTAL
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/
Page 7
In the table above, in order to facilitate the analysis and presentation of results, some
sectors have been aggregated within the category of ‘waste management activities’
(e.g. recycling activities, management of municipal solid waste, incineration…), due to
their relation and low contribution to BOD discharges according to reported data.
In the case of Spain, the information provided to the NBB classifies industrial sectors
according to the EPER register (IPPC codes), so the equivalencies between NBB
codes and IPPC codes were established in order to transfer the Spanish data to the
common database.
For those countries that have reported sector discharges using the TOC parameter
instead of BOD (France, Italy, Spain), the data has been directly transferred to the
database. Although TOC and BOD data is not directly comparable (as discussed
previously), both parameters provide information of total loads of organic pollution.
Moreover, the combination of both types of data does not affect significantly the
identification of priority sectors.
The results obtained (Table 4) indicate that a few sectors concentrate most of regional
discharges of organic pollution. As it can be observed in Figure 2, oil refining and food
packing account for more than 75% of total discharges, followed by farming of animals
(which includes slaughterhouses) (7.1%), urban wastewater treatment (5.1%), and
textile industry (3.5%). As a whole, according to available data, 10 sectors out of 26
account for 98.5% of total discharges in the Mediterranean region.
Organic chemicals
1.2%
Paper industry
1.2%
Textile industry
3.5%
Tanning
1.2%
Fertilizer industry
0.7%
Pharmaceuticals
0.5%
Other sectors
1.5%
Urban
w astew ater
treatment
5.1%
Farming of animals
7.1%
Oil refining
56.9%
Food packing
21.1%
Figure 2 Main sectors contributing to organic pollution (BOD-TOC) in the
Mediterranean region.
It must be noted that some discharges are also highly concentrated in some countries.
For example, the oil refining discharges have been reported basically in the Egypt
NBB. Detailed data on the contribution of each sector in the different countries is
included in Table 4 (total loads) and Table 5 (relative contributions).
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/
Page 8
Table 4 Discharges of organic pollution (BOD or TOC), per sector and country (kg/year).
SECTOR
Albania
Algeria
Bosnia H.
Croatia
Cyprus
Egypt
France
Greece
Israel
Italy
Lebanon
Libya
Malta
Montenegro Morroco
Palestine Slovenia Spain
Syria
Tunisia
Turkey
Agriculture
2,091
1,702
55,628 1,334,000
12,160
1,835,522
Aquaculture
25,560
146,846
150,181
40,200
9,290
112,170
92,099
262,898
3,194,000
Building and repairing of ships and boats
74,951
672
34,000
Farming of animals
3,251,310
17,482,950
2,177,132
236,605
905,757
105,851,100
4,354 1,161,905 20,779,000
34,264,572
Food packing
407,782
248,436,866
80,883,820
475,404
15,157,936
1,330,400
5,041,551
77,472 1,689,356
357,925 3,697,845
5,464,635 4,239,200 187,518,480
Manufacture and formulation of biocides
538
847,872
Manufacture of cement
14,300
704,257
8,292
745
765,000
Manufacture of electronics products
7,288
Manufacture of fertilizers
70,800
12,403,500
157,200
5,520,000
111,484
351,000
Manufacture of metals
3,093
206,240
7,442,300
3
161,295
721,205
1,628,000
Manufacture of other inorganic chemicals
15,354
3,991,300
8,849
696,073
57,000
Manufacture of other organic chemicals
400
14,587
470,000
118,913
3,932,400
25,000
271,103
5,937 9,157,592 17,760,000
321,000
Manufacture of paper
149,896
1,734
13,543,111
1,125,908 1,750,000
2,708,500
921,456
2,551,159
6,939,130
3,131,400
Manufacture of pharmaceuticals
11,163,520
23
259,482
734,600
778
457,750
447,000
Manufacture of refined petroleum products
74,300
66,382,500
389,076
1,362,646,238
2,824,721
950,000
58,820,000
6,682
61
683,609
218,000
Manufacture of textiles
51,115,640
2,496,500
46,842
14,618,347
8,942,200 4,193,750
1,171,000
39,500
15,900
1,813,571
736,963
610,000
567,475
5,452,139
Manufacture of Wood
59,075
Mining and quarrying
44,000
Other
256,500
75,000
Port services
6,834
Production of energy
1,235
399,800
16,533
288
29,065
85,000
Tanning and dressing of leather
327,000
1,029,530
249,038
161,879
418,000
227,900
1,478,200
26,584,942
Tourism
14,400
1,303,507
4,760,802
253,545
20,700
Transport
10,088
173,900
109,133
154,000
Treatment of urban wastewater
50,316,650
7,928,800 16,587,303
44,000,000
5,645,203
2,195,000 1,927,065
4,352,400
84,000
Waste management activities
3,826,300
3,194,060
278
166,183
555,760
TOTAL
54,404,693
395,833,804
93,500,652 19,383,407 1,334,000 1,403,460,234
470,000 30,629,247 5,943,750 27,235,700 156,081,507 64,421,100 5,934,879
8,032,398 6,869,340 2,270,000 2,396,012 25,516,555 45,190,095 10,900,173 266,169,054
TOTAL
3,241,103
4,033,244
109,622
186,114,684
554,778,671
848,410
1,492,595
7,288
18,613,984
10,162,137
4,768,577
32,076,932
32,822,294
13,063,153
1,492,995,186
91,819,826
59,075
44,000
331,500
6,834
531,921
30,476,489
6,352,954
447,121
133,036,421
7,742,581
2,625,976,601
Table 5 Discharges of organic pollution (BOD or TOC), per sector and country (relative contributions).
SECTOR
Albania
Algeria
Bosnia H.
Croatia
Cyprus
Egypt
France
Greece
Israel
Italy
Lebanon
Libya
Malta
Montenegro Morroco
Palestine Slovenia Spain
Syria
Tunisia
Turkey
Agriculture
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.7%
Aquaculture
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
1.6%
0.0%
3.8%
0.0%
0.0%
2.4%
1.2%
Building and repairing of ships and boats
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Farming of animals
6.0%
4.4%
2.3%
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.0%
0.0%
0.0%
67.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
4.6%
46.0%
0.0%
12.9%
Food packing
0.7%
62.8%
86.5%
2.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
49.5%
0.0%
4.9%
3.2%
0.0%
0.0%
1.0%
24.6%
0.0%
14.9%
14.5%
12.1%
38.9%
70.5%
Manufacture and formulation of biocides
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Manufacture of cement
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
Manufacture of electronics products
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Manufacture of fertilizers
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
0.0%
8.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Manufacture of metals
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.7%
0.0%
27.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
Manufacture of other inorganic chemicals
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
14.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Manufacture of other organic chemicals
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
100.0%
0.4%
0.0%
14.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.9%
0.0%
0.2%
35.9%
39.3%
0.0%
0.1%
Manufacture of paper
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.0%
0.0%
3.7%
29.4%
9.9%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
37.1%
0.0%
0.0%
27.2%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
Manufacture of pharmaceuticals
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
0.0%
2.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
Manufacture of refined petroleum products
0.1%
16.8%
0.0%
2.0%
0.0%
97.1%
0.0%
9.2%
0.0%
3.5%
0.0%
91.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Manufacture of textiles
0.0%
12.9%
2.7%
0.2%
0.0%
1.0%
0.0%
29.2%
70.6%
4.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
26.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2.9%
1.3%
5.2%
2.0%
Manufacture of Wood
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Mining and quarrying
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Other
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.3%
0.0%
0.0%
3.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Port services
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Production of energy
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Tanning and dressing of leather
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
0.0%
1.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
13.6%
10.0%
Tourism
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
6.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
59.3%
3.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Transport
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Treatment of urban wastewater
92.5%
0.0%
8.5%
85.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
28.2%
0.0%
95.1%
0.0%
0.0%
96.7%
80.4%
0.0%
0.0%
39.9%
0.0%
Waste management activities
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
14.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
39.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.7%
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
TOTAL
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
TOTAL
0.1%
0.2%
0.0%
7.1%
21.1%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.7%
0.4%
0.2%
1.2%
1.2%
0.5%
56.9%
3.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.2%
0.2%
0.0%
5.1%
0.3%
100.0%
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/
Page 9
3.
3.1
Identification of priority sectors
General criteria
The objective of this section is to identify those sectors with a major priority to be
addressed in the Mediterranean region to reduce the overall input of BOD, on the basis
of available data. To this aim, different criteria can be used:
- Total discharges. The total amount of BOD discharged by each sector is the key
criteria to be considered in a Plan intended to reduce the input of regional BOD
inputs from industrial sources.
- Representation / frequency at regional level. Besides total load, considering the
regional dimension of the Plan, it is also recommended to identify the main
discharging sectors in a major number of countries.
- Release intensity / effluent concentrations. Sectors whose effluents typically
contains a major concentration of organic pollution should be specially considered,
as these will have a major potential to create an impact on the receiving
environment, and at the same time these offer the opportunity to achieve major
reductions on total loads. These sectors are in fact well known and already
mentioned in the SAP and the BOD Plan:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
Food industry (including slaughtering)
Manufacture of textiles
Tanneries
Pulp and paper industry
Fertilizer industry (phosphates)
Pharmaceutical industry
Chemical industry
On the basis of available information from NBBs, the first and second criteria (total
loads and frequency) have been chosen to be applied for the identification of priority
sectors. In any case, sectors with high release intensities of organic pollution are
already identified a priori, and will be similar to those accounting for major total loads.
It must be noted that the above criteria are intended to identify priority sectors at
regional level, which is the scope of the Plan. However, other site specific criteria can
be used in each country to further identify the priority sectors or subsectors, such as:
- Ability and opportunity to abate discharges (cost-effectiveness). Those sectors (or
facilities) with high release intensities and/or low adoption of wastewater treatment
technologies, will offer a key opportunity to reduce total loads.
- Sensitivity of the receiving environment. Those sectors (or facilities) discharging
BOD in sensitive areas (that is, confined areas of the sea such as estuaries,
lagoons, close narrow bays or sea enclosures) should be paid a major attention to
abate loads of BOD, especially in those cases where domestic discharges are
already taking place.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 10
3.2
Priority sectors in the Mediterranean Region
a) Total discharges
Total sector contributions at regional level have already been presented previously in
Table 3. According to results obtained from the aggregation of available data, the top
10 sectors accounting for the majority (98.5%) of discharges in the Mediterranean
region are the following:
1. Oil refining
2. Food packing
3. Farming of animals
4. Urban wastewater treatment
5. Textile industry
6. Manufacture of paper
7. Organic chemicals
8. Tanning
9. Fertilizer industry
10. Pharmaceuticals
Oil refining
1,492,995
Fo o d packing
554,779
Farming o f animals
186,115
133,036
Urban wastewater treatment
91,820
Textile industry
P aper industry
32,822
Organic chemicals
32,077
Tanning
30,476
18,614
Fertilizer industry
13,063
P harmaceuticals
M anufacture o f metals
10,162
Waste management activities
7,743
To urism
6,353
Other ino rganic chemicals
4,769
A quaculture
4,033
A griculture
3,241
M anufacture o f cement
1,493
P ro ductio n o f bio cides
848
P ro ductio n o f energy
532
Transpo rt
447
Other
332
B uilding and repairing o f ships
110
M anufacture o f Wo o d
59
M ining and quarrying
44
Electro nic pro ducts
7
7
P o rt services
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
t /yr
Figure 3 Sectors contributing to organic pollution (BOD or TOC) in the Mediterranean
Region.
b) Frequency of high discharging sectors
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 11
According to the previous criteria, it can happen that a sector which has been identified
as a priority one according to their total loads, is in practice concentrated in a single
country. Considering the regional dimension of the Plan, it is also proposed to identify
those sectors which are most commonly identified as large emitters in more than one
country. To this end, the ‘top 3’ emitting sectors in each country have been identified.
As a result, sectors frequently included within the top 3 emitting sectors (in at least 2
countries) have been identified as the following:
1. Food packing
2. Urban wastewater treatment
3. Manufacture of textiles
4. Farming of animals
5. Manufacture of paper
6. Oil refining
7. Organic chemicals
8. Aquaculture
9. Other
10. Tanning
11. Tourism
Fo o d packing
Urban wastewater treatment
M anufacture o f textiles
Other o rganic chemicals
Oil refining
M anufacture o f paper
Farming o f animals
To urism
Tanning and dressing o f leather
Other
A quaculture
Waste management activities
P ro ductio n o f energy
Other ino rganic chemicals
M anufacture o f metals
M anufacture o f fertilizers
A griculture
Transpo rt
P ro ductio n o f bio cides
P o rt services
P harmaceuticals
M ining and quarrying
M anufacture o f Wo o d
M anufacture o f cement
Electro nic pro ducts
B uilding and repairing o f ships and bo ats
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Nr of countries
Figure 4 Frequency of sectors included within top 3 country discharging sectors.
As it can be observed, the oil refining sector, which accounts for the majority of total
organic discharges (57%), is not as frequently identified as a major emitter as other
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 12
sectors, like the food industry. This means that oil-refining discharges are concentrated
in a limited number of countries. On the other side, the textile industry is a common
discharging sector in Mediterranean countries, while their total contribution (3.5%) is
not as high as other sectors. The main discharging sectors identified in each country
are shown in Table 6.
Table 6 Top 3 sectors accounting for major BOD - TOC discharges in each country.
COUNTRY
Top 3 sectors
ALBANIA
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Farming of animals
3. Food packing
ALGERIA
1. Food packing
2. Oil refining
3. Manufacture of textiles
BOSNIA H
1. Food packing
2. Treatment of urban wastewater
3. Manufacture of textiles
CROATIA
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Tourism
3. Food packing
CYPRUS
1. Agriculture
EGYPT
1. Oil refining
2. Manufacture of textiles
3. Manufacture of paper
FRANCE
1. Other organic chemicals
GREECE
1. Food packing
2. Manufacture of textiles
3. Oil refining
ISRAEL
1. Manufacture of textiles
2. Manufacture of paper
ITALY
1. Manufacture of metals
2. Other inorganic chemicals
3. Other organic chemicals
LEBANON
1. Farming of animals
2. Treatment of urban wastewater
3. Food packing
LIBYA
1. Oil refining
2. Manufacture of fertilizers
3. Aquaculture
MALTA
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Other
3. Production of energy
MONTENEGRO
1. Tourism
2. Waste management activities
3. Food packing
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 13
COUNTRY
Top 3 sectors
MOROCCO
1. Manufacture of paper
2. Manufacture of textiles
3. Food packing
PALESTINE
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Other
SLOVENIA
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Food packing
3. Aquaculture
SPAIN
1. Other organic chemicals
2. Manufacture of paper
3. Food packing
SYRIA
1. Farming of animals
2. Other organic chemicals
3. Food packing
TUNISIA
1. Treatment of urban wastewater
2. Food packing
3. Tanning and dressing of leather
TURKEY
1. Food packing
2. Farming of animals
3. Tanning and dressing of leather
c) Combination of criteria
It is proposed to combine both criteria presented above to identify the priority sectors to
be addressed by the regional Plan. This combination is presented in Table 7, and the
resulting priority sectors are indicated below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Oil refining
Food packing
Farming of animals
Urban wastewater treatment
Textile industry
Manufacture of paper
Organic chemicals
Tanning
Table 7 Combination of criteria to identify priority sectors (green coloured) in the
Mediterranean region.
Criteria 1: TOTAL LOAD (Sector
Criteria 2: REGIONAL
discharges accounting >0.5% of overall REPRESENTATION (Sectors within top 3
regional discharges)
discharging sectors in at least 2 countries)
Sector
%
Sector
Oil refining
56.9% Food packing
Nr of
countries
13
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 14
Criteria 1: TOTAL LOAD (Sector
Criteria 2: REGIONAL
discharges accounting >0.5% of overall REPRESENTATION (Sectors within top 3
regional discharges)
discharging sectors in at least 2 countries)
Sector
%
Sector
Food packing
21.1%
Urban wastewater
treatment
Nr of
countries
8
Farming of animals
7.1% Manufacture of textiles
6
Urban wastewater
treatment
5.1% Farming of animals
4
Textile industry
3.5% Manufacture of paper
4
Manufacture of paper
1.2% Oil refining
4
Organic chemicals
1.2% Organic chemicals
4
Tanning
1.2% Aquaculture
2
Fertilizer industry
0.7% Other
2
Pharmaceuticals
0.5% Tanning
2
Tourism
2
So, after applying the criteria proposed above, and on the basis of available data, 8
priority sectors out of a total of 26 analysed sectors have been identified. This group of
sectors account for 97.3% of total discharges of organic pollution in the Mediterranean
region.
One of these sectors appears to be the treatment of urban wastewater. It is not strictly
an industrial sector, but in many countries is one of the main contributors to total
organic discharges. In this sense, it could be considered as a priority sector in the
sense that an increase in the efficiency of urban wastewater treatment can lead to
significant reductions of BOD discharges in several countries.
In general, these priority sectors are in agreement with the sectors identified by the
SAP (section 5.2.5) as the most important sources of BOD, except for the exclusion of
the fertilizer and pharmaceutical industry, and the inclusion of oil refining, the organic
chemical industry, and the treatment of urban wastewater.
d) Distribution of priority sectors among countries
From a regional perspective, and to achieve the objectives of the Plan, it is not
necessary that all countries address all sectors. According to available data, it can be
observed that if priority sectors are addressed by those countries where these sectors
are more important (as identified in Table 6), the majority of organic discharges
(95.6%) will be addressed in the Plan. This can be observed in Table 8.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 15
Table 8 Distribution of priority sectors among countries.
Sector
coverage (%)
Priority sectors
Priority countries
Oil refining
Algeria, Egypt, Greece, Libya
99.8%
99.8%
Food packing
Albania, Algeria, Bosnia H., Croatia,
Greece, Lebanon, Montenegro,
Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria,
Tunisia, Turkey
Farming of animals
Albania, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
88.2%
Urban
treatment
wastewater Albania, Bosnia H., Croatia, Lebanon,
Malta, Palestine, Slovenia, Tunisia
99.9%
Textile industry
Algeria, Bosnia H., Egypt, Greece,
Israel, Morocco
90.6%
Paper industry
Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Spain
75.5%
Organic chemicals
France, Italy, Spain, Syria
97.6%
Tanning
Tunisia, Turkey
92.1%
TOTAL
95.5%
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 16
4.
4.1
Review of options to address reduction of BOD discharges
Overview of options
This section includes an overview of the different options that can be taken into
consideration to address the reduction of BOD discharges. As shown in Figure 4, two
basic types of measures can be distinguished:
a) Direct measures: those actions that will result in an effective reduction of BOD
discharges. These include the reduction of BOD load or concentration in process
effluents (through the adoption of BATs and BEPs), and the implementation of endof-pipe technologies for the treatment of process effluents, to abate the final load of
BOD discharged to the sewer network or directly to water bodies.
b) Indirect measures: those actions which will ‘motivate’ and facilitate the adoption of
adequate direct measures to reduce BOD discharges. These kind of measures
include legal actions (e.g. adoption and enforcement of emission limit values),
technical (e.g. elaboration of guidelines for the adoption of BATs/BEPs), economic
(e.g. subsidies, taxes…), or market-based mechanisms (e.g. promotion of
Environmental Management Systems).
DIRECT
MESASURES
INDIRECT
MESASURES
In-plant actions
Legal
Change in raw materials
Process changes
Streams segregation
Equalization/retention
tanks
Good housekeeping
Emission standards
Permits / enforcement,…
Technical
Guidelines
Capacity building,…
Economic
End-of-pipe actions
Subsidies
Taxes,…
New WWTP
Market-based
Upgraded WWTP
EMS
Voluntary agreements,…
Figure 5 Options to address the reduction of BOD discharges from industrial sources.
It is important that a regional Plan takes into consideration indirect measures, as
specific direct measures will be needed to be rather evaluated at local level, for each
facility or industrial area.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 17
4.2
Direct measures
4.2.1
In-plant actions
The main type of actions that can reduce the BOD load and concentration in process
effluents of industrial facilities include [17]:
-
Change in raw materials, product design.
Process changes to eliminate or reduce the BOD content of effluents
Segregation of process streams, to facilitate the re-use and treatment of
wastewater.
Equalization or retention tanks or basins, which provide for the controlled release of
large quantities of chemicals to the sewers or receiving waters.
Good housekeeping, including proper maintenance of plant and machinery, and
prevention measures for accidental spills.
A good identification and quantification of sources of BOD pollution and the adoption of
a monitoring system, can facilitate the identification of alternatives for reduction of BOD
discharges.
A comprehensive review of potential in-plant actions for most of identified priority
sectors can be obtained from the BOD Plan [17] and especially from the UNEP/MAP
report on ‘Guidelines for the Application of Best Available Techniques (BATs) and Best
Environmental Practices (BEPs) in Industrial Sources of BOD, Nutrients and
Suspended Solids for the Mediterranean Region’ [18]. Another source of information is
the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (EIPPCB) [3], which
elaborates the Reference Documents on Best Available Techniques (BREFs) for a
range of sectors (more than 30 sectors have already been addressed). Additional
information can be obtained from sector associations, like CONCAWE for the oil
refining sector [1], and cleaner production sector guidelines elaborated by the CP/RAC
and UNIDO.
In general, the adoption of BATs and BEPs will reduce the BOD emission factor, that
is, the average emission rate of BOD relative to units of activity, which would be a key
objective to be pursued in priority sectors. The above sources of information have
been reviewed in order to collect the typical emission factors of BOD in the priority
sectors (see Table 9), as well as the target emission factor to be achieved in modern
facilities or facilities adopting BAT and BEPs (‘BAT target’).
Table 9 Emission factors for BOD in priority sectors.
BOD Pollution load
SECTOR
Unit
OIL REFINING
FOOD
FARMING (Slaughtering)
TEXTILE
PAPER INDUSTRY
kg / t oil processed
Kg / t raw material or
product
Kg / t carcass
Kg / t textile
Kg / Adt pulp
Typical
Range
0.01
< 2.5 - 50
2 - 26
16 - 156
12 - 25
BAT target
0.006
1 – NA
NA
NA
4 - 10
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 18
BOD Pollution load
SECTOR
Kg / t
Typical
Range
NA
Kg / t raw hide
40-100
Unit
ORGANIC CHEMICALS
TANNING
BAT target
NA
10-12
As it can be observed, emission factors vary among sectors and even within
subsectors. For example, within the food and drink sector, as shown in Table 10, the
dairy industry has a lower emission factor than the sugar manufacturing, and different
ranges of BOD concentration in process effluents (before treatment) can be
appreciated. The unit of activity will vary among subsectors, which can be related to
production (e.g. in vegetal oil processing) or to raw material (e.g. in fish processing), so
in fact they cannot be directly compared. Accordingly, it is important to analyse
emissions and to establish target emission factors on a subsector basis. However,
detailed information is not always available, especially for target emission factors, as it
depends on many factors.
Table 10 BOD emission factors and effluent concentrations in the food and drink
sector.
SECTOR
FOOD
Dairy industry
Breweries
Vegetal oil
processing
Fish processing
Sugar
manufacturing
BOD effluent
concentration
BOD Pollution load
mg / L
Unit
Typical
Range
3,000 – 5,000
1,000 – 1,500
20,000 – 35,000
Kg / t milk
Kg / m3 beer
< 2.5
5 - 15
Kg / t product
< 2.5
Kg / t raw
material
9 - 50
NA
Kg / t sugar
10 - 24
NA
2,000 – 28,000
1,700 – 7,000
BAT target
1 – 1.5
NA
1 – 1.5
It must be emphasized that previously to dispose an end-of-pipe treatment technology,
it is strongly recommended to analyse all the feasible options to reduce the BOD load
of process wastewater. Specific case studies on cleaner production in the
Mediterranean region, as those published by the CP/RAC (the ‘MedCleans’) show how
the adoption of in-plant actions can lead not only to significant reductions of BOD
discharges, but also to significant economic savings. Some of these examples are
shown in Table 11.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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Table 11 Case studies of cleaner production actions leading to reduction of BOD
discharges.
Sector /Country
Action
Reduction in
organic
pollution
Investment
(EUR)
Payback
(years)
Brewery
(Spain)
New installations for the
wastewater process and
improvements in process
18% COD
252,425
2.1
Textile (Spain)
Process control
20% COD
327,625
6.6
Food (milk)
(Spain)
Slaughterhouse
(Bosnia H.)
Food (oil and
soap) (Egypt)
Improvement the use of
detergent
23% COD
23,200
0.11
Modification of the process
42% BOD
Low
<1
month
Oil and fats recovery
85% BOD
180,547
1
Tanning
(Croatia)
Introduction of low pollution
processes (hair savings)
25% BOD
49,384
1
4.2.2
End-of-pipe actions
End-of-pipe treatment methods to abate BOD discharges are already reviewed in the
BOD Plan [17]. Many different treatments can be implemented, including physical and
biological methods. Physical methods include screening and settling tanks. Biological
methods include stabilization ponds and mechanically aerated lagoons, activated
sludge and trickling filters.
According to the BOD Plan, the use of municipal wastewater treatment plants is the
most practical and economic solution for dissolved organic wastes, provided that:
1. secondary treatment is provided by the facility;
2. there is sufficient excess oxidative capacity above that required for domestic
sewage; and
3. the organic wastes are readily biodegradable.
Generally, sewer networks are governed by local sewer ordinances, which regulate the
discharge of industrial wastewater and usually specify the manner by which the
effluents may be admitted. Pre-treatment may be required to remove toxic substances,
flammable compounds, heavy metals, or to adjust pH prior to discharge to the sewers.
Joint municipal-industrial treatment has the advantage of lower costs, and dilution and
addition of nutrients that speed biological processes which break down the wastes to
harmless substances. Nevertheless, extensive pilot plant or laboratory work is
frequently needed to determine properly the treatment method(s) for a given waste
prior to discharge to receiving water.
When industrial wastewaters need to be treated before being discharged to the sewer
system, specific methods will be required at facility level. The BOD Plan reviews the
most common treatments used in the different sectors. Detailed information on current
BAT for wastewater treatment can also be collected from the Reference Documents on
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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Best Available Techniques (BREFs) [3], which are available for the different priority
sectors identified.
The method to be applied in each case will depend on a range of factors, such as the
total BOD load, the need to abate other pollutants, the local ordinances to discharge in
the sewer network, the receiving water body, etc. The more removal of BOD is
required, the more combination of treatments (primary + secondary) will be needed.
This is illustrated for the tanning sector in Table 12.
Table 12 Different treatments in the tanning sector.
BOD removal
efficiency (%)
SECTOR
Treatment
TANNING
Mixing + sedimentation
Mixing
+
chemical
treatment
+
sedimentation
Mixing + chemical treatment + flotation
Primary or chemical + extended aeration
Primary or chemical + Extended aeration
with nitrification and denitrification
25-35
50-65
55-75
90-97
90-97
Source: BREF [6]
As for the identification of target emission factors, the analysis of treatment options
need to be done on a subsector basis, as the organic load and effluent characteristics
can be very different within a general sector like the food and drink industry (see Table
13). In each subsector, the achieved BOD effluent concentration will depend on the
selected method. Some examples are shown in Table 13.
Table 13 Different treatments and achieved BOD effluent concentrations in the food
sector.
BOD effluent concentration (mg / L)
SECTOR
Dairy industry
Breweries
Typical range
(without
treatment)
3,000 – 5,000
1,000 – 1,500
Vegetal oil
20,000 –
processing
35,000
Sugar 1,700 – 7,000
manufacturing
Source: BREF [4] and MAP/MEDPOL [17] / [18]
FOOD
Treatment
Anaerobic
Activated
Sludge
DAF precipitation
Anaerobic +
aerobic
Range
(after
treatment)
5 – 20
15 – 25
500 – 300
0.01 – 2
For the different priority sectors previously identified, potential target BOD effluent
concentrations after the adoption of BATs and BREFs to prevent and treat organic
loads, have been reviewed from the available sources of information and are presented
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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in Table 14. As indicated above, these targets should be detailed at a subsector level,
but can serve as a starting point to define the achievable targets in the Mediterranean
region.
Table 14 Potential reductions of BOD effluent concentrations in the priority sectors.
BOD Effluent concentration (mg/L)
SECTOR
OIL REFINING
FOOD
FARMING (Slaughtering)
TEXTILE
PAPER INDUSTRY
ORGANIC CHEMICALS
Typical range
(without
treatment)
150 - 250
1,000 – 35,000
600 – 8,000
700 – 2,000
250 – 1,000
NA
TANNING
900 – 6,000
Source: BREFs [3] and MAP/MEDPOL [17] / [18]
4.3
4.3.1
Target range
(after treatment)
<30
<50
10 – 40
<50
10 - 25
< 20
<20
Indirect measures
Legal
Legal initiatives are the measures which can have a major effect on the adoption of
direct actions to reduce BOD loads in industrial facilities. From the regulatory point of
view, the most common approach to address the prevention and control of wastewater
discharges is the setting and enforcement of emission standards:
a) Setting of emission standards
Environmental regulation is usually characterised by two approaches: environmental
quality regulation and technology regulation. The environmental quality approach
attempts to regulate on the basis of the assimilative/carrying capacity of an ecosystem
while the technology strategy focuses on minimising emissions. The two approaches
are not mutually excluding; they are rather used simultaneously by governments when
establishing standards.
Emission standards may be set numerically (either in legislation or administratively) as
parts of a substance per million of effluent (Emission Limit Values) or per unit of output
(Emission Factors), as we have seen previously. Alternatively an obligation may be
placed on the discharger to use the ‘best available techniques’ for reducing emissions
or ‘to attempt the waste minimization’.
On the other hand, emission standards may be set individually for each discharge, or
uniformly for a particular type of discharge (e.g. for a sector or subsector) within a
whole area or country. In the previous section several examples of typical and target
BOD emission standards (both emission factors and emission concentrations) in
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priority sectors have been reviewed. These achievable emission standards are taken
into consideration when setting legal standards and permits. As an example, Emission
Limit Values for BOD have been reviewed for some Mediterranean countries, which are
shown in Table 15. As it can be observed, emission limit values in Algeria (general
limits) and Spain (regarding discharges into surface waters) are the same, while
Lebanon shows even more restrictive values for new facilities.
Table 15 BOD Emission Limit Values (ELV) in some Mediterranean countries.
Country
Algeria
Lebanon
ELV for
BOD5 (mg/l)
40
Existing
100
New
facilities
25
Spain
40
It must be noted that feasible environmental standards will determine the effectiveness
of regulations. To this end, the process of establishing environmental standards is
essential, as an appropriately designed procedure ensures the legitimacy of the
requirements and their acceptance by the regulated community. It is therefore
important that environmental standards are established through a process of
deliberation which seeks to meet a multiplicity of constraints and viewpoints.
Otherwise, the compliance and enforcement of standards can be very difficult to be
achieved.
b) Permitting and enforcement
Permits, compliance and enforcement represent the mechanisms by which standards
are effectively adopted by industry, and therefore constitute a critical element in the
process of reducing pollution from industrial sources. Monitoring will also be essential
to evaluate the progress on adoption of standards and the need to review the system,
as illustrated in Figure 7.
Monitoring
Pollution
abatement
Emission standards
Permitting
Compliance &
Enforcement
Figure 6 Regulatory mechanisms to implement emission standards in industry [12].
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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Different factors may be considering when establishing specific permits for wastewater
discharges. A general trend is observed towards integrated permits, as approached by
the EU IPPC Directive. However, as warned by Macia, V. [12], the IPPC approach
applies only to certain (potentially large pollutant) industries, it has proven to be a
difficult concept to implement even within EU countries, and it is institutionally and
economically costly. Lessons learned from IPPC experiences allow launching some
other recommendations on permitting procedures, such as:
-
Be flexible and not only relay on end of pipe solutions. Promote pollution
prevention.
Include not only emission limits but also other conditions related to self-monitoring,
reporting, efficiency on the use of raw materials and energies, etc.
Limits for each installation based upon cost effective BATs and environmental
standards.
Let a gate open to the request of specific improvements
Available for public review
Compliance is the full implementation of environmental requirements, and it occurs
when these requirements are met and desired changes are achieved. Enforcement is
the set of actions taken to achieve compliance (inspections, negotiations, legal actions,
promotion activities [e.g., technical assistance], non-compliance response policies,
etc.). It is well known that enforcing a regulation is sometimes more difficult than
elaborating it.
There is a direct and interdependent relation between the quality of permitting schemes
and the control/inspectorate activities and effectiveness. Enforcement bodies must be
aware of regulatory requirements and permits contents in order to check if compliance
fits particular conditions or to suggest others to be imposed.
4.3.2
Technical
a) Technical guidelines
The review and publication of technical guidelines is another key mechanism to
facilitate the adoption of measures by industrial facilities to reduce BOD discharges. As
mentioned previously, several publications are already available concerning the
adoption of BATs and BEPs and technologies for wastewater treatment. The main
sources of information identified are the following:
-
UNEP/MAP – Technical Report Series. In particular, Nr 142 and 144, specific for
BOD discharges. (www.unepmap.org)
-
UNEP/MAP – CP/RAC Sectoral Studies (which include many of identified priority
sectors): www.cprac.org
-
European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (EIPPCB).
Reference Documents on Best Available Techniques (http://eippcb.jrc.es/). BREFs
are available also for most of priority sectors.
-
Other: UNIDO, World Bank, sector associations (CONCAWE, CEFIC…), etc.
Most of these sources of information include description of techniques to prevent BOD
discharges. However, information for some priority subsectors could be lacking for the
Mediterranean region. Additionally, information on emission factors and cost figures is
not so frequent, except when case studies are included.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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b) Capacity building
Although techniques and methods to reduce BOD discharges exist, and technical
guidelines are available, it is of crucial importance to ensure their dissemination and
the capacity building of industrial operators. Training programmes need to be
encouraged at regional level and promoted at national level by industrial and
environmental authorities.
It is also highly recommended to undertake dedicated working groups in the
Mediterranean region, to address specific issues on the opportunities and difficulties to
reduce industrial BOD discharges. These working groups should be output oriented, to
produce specific and publishable recommendations.
4.3.3
Economic
The ‘economic’ or ‘market’ instruments can be a useful environmental policy tool to
complement regulations, under a certain effectiveness conditions, among which:
-
previous studies on its effectiveness, cost, benefit and equity
participation of economic authorities
public consultation
gradual implementation
benefits reverting to the environment
Economic instruments can be classified as [12]:
-
-
Property rights
Market creation: Tradable permits, Consume incentives,
Taxes, Charges & Financial:
 Subsidized prices reduction/elimination;
 Eco-labeling taxes reduction,
 Taxes/charges on products, substances, or emissions.
 User’s taxes. Levies. Taxes rebates.
 Grants.
 Soft loans.
 Accelerated depreciations, etc.
Others: Mandatory insurances, Deposit-refund systems, Warrants, etc.
The impact of economic instruments is strongly influenced by the economic and social
context in which they are introduced.
The economic instruments expected to be used to facilitate the reduction of BOD
discharges can be both dissuasive (e.g. a charging system on incremental BOD
discharges) or of incentive nature (e.g. subsidies to adopt cleaner production
techniques; soft loans to build or upgrade wastewater treatment plants, etc.).
A comprehensive review of economic instruments, its advantages and disadvantages,
including examples being used in the Mediterranean region, has been carried out by
the PAP/RAC [13].
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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4.3.4
Market based mechanisms
a) Environmental Management systems
The implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) is a voluntary
option usually motivated by the competitive advantages that it offers as a result of the
improvement of efficiency in company activities, as well as a better perception from
stakeholders. An indirect effect can be expected on BOD discharges, considering that
implementing an EMS implies to review all legal requirements and assess and improve
the environmental impacts. The most common EMS are ISO14001 and EMAS (in the
EU). In some cases, the adoption of EMS is promoted and subsidised by
environmental authorities.
b) Voluntary agreements
Voluntary agreements (which can also be considered some kind of economic
instruments), under certain circumstances and conditions can ease the adaptation of
companies to environmental requirements or promote industrial behaviour going
beyond legal requirements. In this sense, voluntary agreements could be established
with priority sectors to achieve target BOD emission standards.
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5.
5.1
Strategic Action Programme for the BOD Regional Plan
General strategy
The Strategic Action Programme (SAP MED) to address pollution from land-based
activities includes as a target a 50% reduction of BOD inputs from industrial sources in
the Mediterranean region. To address this target, the BOD regional Plan was adopted
by the Contracting parties at their 13th meeting held in Catania in 2003. This adoption
implied a review of the Plan in 2007, as well as an update the information on the basis
of available data from the National Baseline Budget (NBB).
Additionally, it was stated that the reduction of BOD from industrial sources had to be
achieved taking into consideration the SAP Operational Plan1 and the guidelines for the
preparation of National Action Plans (NAPs), under which any targeted reduction are to
be implemented only in industrial sites which are not in compliance with the related
national and/or international standards.
The analysis of available data from NBB has shown that there is a limited group of
industrial sectors which account for the majority of BOD discharges in the
Mediterranean region. The SAP Operational Plan suggests that the achievement of
some target emission standards in these sectors would be an appropriate approach to
address the overall reduction of BOD discharges. Furthermore, the analysis of NBB
data also indicates that for each priority sector there is a limited group of countries
accounting for the majority of discharges. This also suggests that actions could be
focused in different groups of countries depending on the sector.
According to this framework, a sector-based approached is proposed, which can be
made operational through specific Sector Action Plans. These Sector Action Plans
would include the setting of reference emission standards for each priority sector or
subsector, and the specific options recommended for reducing BOD discharges.
Besides this sector approach, an integrated BOD Plan should also include those
actions needed to address urgent reductions of BOD loads, as those taking place in hot
spots. Many of these hot spots have already been identified in regional programmes
[14] and in the National Action Plans. These sources of information can facilitate the
identification of those areas which require specific Hot Spots Action Plans to reduce
BOD loads.
The overall strategy is presented in Figure 8. A description of the Action Plans to be
considered by the BOD Regional Plan is presented in the next sections.
1
Adopted by CPs at their 12th Meeting in Monaco, 2001.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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Regional Plan to address SAP target:
Reduction 50% BOD inputs (industrial)
Adopted at the 13th CP
meeting, provided that:
Reviewed in 2007, and
updated according to
NBB data
Targets are approached
according to SAP
Operational Plan
NBB: Identification of
regional priority sectors
Reductions in industrial
sites above standards
Sectoral
Action Plans
Hot Spots
Action Plans
List of Hot Spots
National Action Plans
Figure 7 General strategy to address reduction of BOD discharges in the
Mediterranean region.
5.2
Sectoral Action Plans
-
Objective: to address the overall regional reduction of BOD inputs from industrial
sources through the achievement of common emission standards on a sector
basis.
-
Scope of action: to focus actions on the priority industrial sectors, identified
according to current BOD discharges reported on NBBs. Actions should be
specially addressed in those priority countries identified for each sector, although
all countries are expected to promote the reduction of pollution in the overall
industry. According to available data, a preliminary identification of priority ‘sectorcountries’ has been obtained (covering >95% of total regional discharges, see
Table 8).
-
Key measures to reduce BOD inputs: to achieve common sector standards for
Emission Limit Values (ELV), emphasizing the adoption of BATs and BEPs in each
sector, but also the most adequate wastewater treatment technologies.
PROPOSED ACTION PROGRAMME:
1.
Review of BATs and BEPs. For each priority sector, national experts and sector
experts should work together to review and agree on the most suitable BEPs and
BATs to reduce the BOD load. Several sources of information on this topic are
already available, but a further effort would be needed to focus on BOD, to
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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consider the different subsectors, and to adapt to industry in the Mediterranean
region. Costs of adoption of BEPs/BATs and achievable reductions should be
compiled.
2.
Review of WWT technologies. A similar initiative as above is recommended to
determine the state of the art in wastewater treatment technologies to abate BOD
discharges in the different priority sectors, and the most appropriate systems in
the Mediterranean region. As above, cost figures and BOD removal potential for
each system should be reviewed.
3.
Determine reference emission standards. On the basis of the tasks developed
above, an integrated assessment of achievable BOD emission standards
(Emission Factors and Emission Limit Values) for each priority sector (and
subsectors) should be undertaken. To this end, available BATs and BEPs, WWT
technologies, costs and expected reductions should be taken into consideration
to determine the group of reference BOD emission standards in the
Mediterranean region. Some examples of target emission standards collected
from literature have been shown in this report (Table 9 and Table 14).
4.
Adoption of emission standards. Reference BOD emission standards should be
adopted by priority sectors, through their inclusion into national legislation
(specially in priority countries) or through voluntary agreements. To this end,
appropriate financial, technology transfer and capacity building mechanisms
should be facilitated at regional level.
5.
Monitoring and assessment. In order to track the progress of the Plan, periodic
reporting on the actions developed as well as updating of the National Baseline
Budget will be needed. The assessment of the progress and results can suggest
adjusting mechanisms during the process of implementation.
5.3
Hot Spots Action Plans
-
Objective: to urgently address the reduction of BOD inputs from industrial sources
in specific areas with large concentration of BOD loads.
-
Scope of action: to focus actions on those Hot Spots with a major concentration of
BOD industrial discharges in the Mediterranean region. Actions should be specially
addressed in those Hot Spots where large domestic discharges are also taking
place and the geographic conditions make the area especially sensitive (confined
areas).
-
Key measures to reduce BOD inputs: to connect all industrial discharges to sewer
networks and to new or improved wastewater treatment plants. Initiate actions to
adopt BEP and BATs oriented to reduce BOD loads in all industrial facilities in the
Hot Spot area.
PROPOSED ACTION PROGRAMME:
1. List of BOD priority Hot Spots. As a first step, to analyse all available information on
Hot Spots to identify those areas with a major priority to initiate actions according to
their total industrial BOD loads, domestic discharges, and sensitivity of the
receiving environment. This information should be available from the
MAP/MEDPOL Hot Spots reports [14] and National Action Plans.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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2. dividual Hot Spots action plans. For each of the priority BOD Hot Spots identified,
to elaborate a specific action plan according to the existing wastewater treatment
practices and the industrial facilities placed in the area. The plan should include
recommended urgent actions, required investments and potential sources of
finance. Some of this analysis and information may already be included in National
Action Plans.
3. Implementation of priority actions. Those actions identified in the previous task
should be implemented as a matter of urgency. To this end, appropriate financial,
technology transfer and capacity building mechanisms should be facilitated at
regional and national level.
4. Monitoring and assessment. Progress on actions developed and achieved results
should be tracked in order to allow for a periodic assessment of the overall
programme.
It must be noted that any action on Hot Spots intended to abate BOD discharges will
also be linked to the reduction of other similar pollutants, like nutrients and suspended
solids. In fact, this Plan should not be disconnected from other sector plans addressing
reduction of land-based sources of pollution.
5.4
Time framework
A possible time framework for the development of the above action plans is proposed
below:
SAP BOD PLAN
SECTORAL ACTION PLAN
1. Review of BATs and BEPs
2. Review of WWT technologies
3. Determine reference emission
standards
4. Adoption of emission standards
5. Monitoring and assessment
HOT SPOTS ACTION PLAN
1. List of BOD priority Hot Spots
2. Individual Hot Spots action plans
3. Implementation of priority actions
4. Monitoring and assessment
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
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6.
References
[1]
CONCAWE (1999) Best available techniques to reduce emissions from
refineries. CONCAWE Document 99/01, Brussels, May 1999.
[2]
Constable, T.W., McBean, E.R. (1979) BOD/TOC correlations and their
application to water quality evaluation. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 11, 363-365.
[3]
European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (EIPPCB).
Reference Documents on Best Available Techniques. http://eippcb.jrc.es/
[4]
EC-JRC (2006) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Drink
and Milk Industries. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EIPPCB).
January 2006.
[5]
EC-JRC (2005) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the
Slaughterhouses and Animal By-products Industries. European CommissionJoint Research Centre (EIPPCB). May 2005.
[6]
EC-JRC (2003) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for the
Tanning of Hides and Skins. European Commission-Joint Research Centre
(EIPPCB). February 2003.
[7]
EC-JRC (2003) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for the
Textiles Industry. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EIPPCB). July
2003.
[8]
EC-JRC (2003). Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for Mineral
Oil and Gas Refineries. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EIPPCB).
February 2003.
[9]
EC-JRC (2001) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Pulp
and Paper Industry. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EIPPCB).
December 2001.
[10] EC-JRC (2003) Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in Common
Waste Water and Waste Gas Treatment/ Management Systems in the Chemical
Sector. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EIPPCB). February 2003.
[11] Kontogianni AD, Skourtos MS, Papandreou AA (2006) Shared waters – shared
responsibility. Application of the principles of fairness for burden sharing in the
Mediterranean. Int Environ Agreements, 6 (2006), pp 209-230.
[12] Macià V (2005) Regional Assessment on the National and Regional regulations
for releases of pollutants from industrial installations. MED POL Agreement No.
4-04074. February 2005
[13] PAP/RAC (2002). Report of the Instructive Seminar on Introduction and
Development of Economic Instruments for the Sustainable Implementation of the
SAP MED (Split, November 9-10, 2001). Split, 2002.
[14] UNEP/MAP (1999) Identification of Priority Hot Spots and Sensitive Areas in the
Mediterranean. MAP Technical Report Series Nr. 124. UNEP/MAP, Athens 1999.
UNEP(DEPI)/MED WG. 316/5
Page 31
[15] UNEP/MAP (1999) Strategic Action Programme to Address Pollution from Landbased Activities (SAP MED). Athens, 1999.
[16] UNEP/MAP (2002). Guidelines for the Preparation of the Baseline Budget of
Pollutants Releases. Athens.
[17] UNEP/MAP (2004) Plan on Reduction of Input of BOD by 50% by 2010 from
Industrial Sources for the Mediterranean Region. MAP Technical Report Series
Nr. 144. Athens 2004.
[18] UNEP/MAP (2004) Guidelines for the Application of Best Available Techniques
(BATs) and Best Environmental Practices (BEPs) in Industrial Sources of BOD,
Nutrients and Suspended Solids for the Mediterranean Region. MAP Technical
Report Series Nr. 142. Athens 2004.