Cleaner production indicator system of petroleum refining industry:From life cycle perspective

The Cleaner Production audit is a comprehensive method that aims to realize Cleaner Production throughout the life cycle industrial process of petroleum refining. The audit simultaneously measures the environmental impacts of the refinery, its upstream and downstream organizations and related auxiliary activities. At present, most research associated with the Cleaner Production indicator system of petroleum refining industry predominantly focuses on the production stage, while the environmental impacts of other stages, such as raw material supply, logistics and transportation, downstream sales, and product use, tend to be ignored. In addition, the imperfection of the indicator systems, the hysteresis quality of the evaluation standards, and the high subjectivity are the drawbacks of the Cleaner Production indicator systems of China's petroleum refining industry. This work analyzed the existing international pollutant emission standards and the Cleaner Production indicator systems of the petroleum refining industry from the microscopic life cycle thinking, and integrating a set of Cleaner Production indicator systems suitable for the current development of the petroleum refining industry of China. New ideas were proposed to improve the Cleaner Production indicator system by incorporating the Cleaner Production level of the partners into the Cleaner Production inspection of the refinery industry. In particular, the newly established indicator system places more emphasis on carbon emissions which are ignored in traditional ones. This review provides reflections on energy saving, pollution reduction, carbon neutral and sustainable development of the supply chain-wide, the addition of carbon emission indicators can promote the synergistic effect of Cleaner Production and carbon neutrality.

Automated summary

The Cleaner Production audit aims to achieve Cleaner Production throughout the entire life cycle of the petroleum refining industry. However, the current indicator systems in China's petroleum refining industry have drawbacks and tend to overlook the environmental impacts of different stages. This study proposes a new set of indicator systems that address these shortcomings and place greater emphasis on carbon emissions.