Synergy and Co-benefits of Reducing CO2 and Air Pollutants Emissions by Using Waste Heat Recovery in China’s Refineries

The Refineries in China face pressing local air pollution and CO2 control issues. This study explores the solution of synergistic reduction of atmospheric pollutants and carbon dioxide in the context of the Chinese petrochemical enterprises. Specifically, we present an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power generation method to reuse the low-temperature residual heat from the Aromatics Complex units, which typically accounts for the highest proportion of waste heat resources in refineries. The results show that the refineries’ massive waste heat will generate remarkable mutual interest, through re-utilization, the NOx, SO2, PM10, and carbon emissions reduced by 1632 t, 3264 t, 29596 t and 104455 t, respectively. Our research findings provide a potential solution for Chinese refineries and other energy companies with the same demand to co-control of air pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions in the future.