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Illegal oil refineries produce high-risk fuel, dump acid sludge to make toxic lakes
A recent drug crackdown exposed evidence that many illegal oil refineries still operate in China. These refineries sell home-processed diesel and oil to trucks and create safety hazards. Furthermore, leftover acid from the production process is illegally dumped, creating serious environmental issues.
At the end of November 2016, drug enforcement officers from Lüliang's Jiaocheng and Wenshui counties jointly cracked a narcotics trading and producing case. To their surprise, the dealers were selling some of the concentrated sulfuric acid they use to make methamphetamines to an illegal oil refinery in Jiaocheng.
Using concentrated sulfuric acid to "wash" highly impure waste engine oil to produce diesel is a traditional refining method. It has been used by China's oil industry on a large scale for more than a decade, bringing irreversible damage to the environment. After the oil refining process, highly acidic waste products are often dumped into valleys, thrown into creeks or buried in pits.
A ticking time bomb
The director of a Shanxi environmental protection company said the oil sold by illegal gas stations is of poor quality, and contains chemicals that can cause cancer, mutations and deformities, and can taint the environment for a long time.
"The oil quality is very poor. The trucks that are this oil emit lots of black smoke and these trucks are very dirty," said a worker at a Sinopec gas station.
Indeed, the acidic waste produced by the refineries is a ticking time bomb.
It's estimated that Shanxi produces more than 20,000 tons of acidic sludge annually, much of which is illegally dumped rather than reprocessed.
One ton of concentrated sulfuric acid used for the waste oil washing method produces 2 tons of acid sludge.
"Based on conservationists' estimations, more than 10,000 tons of concentrated sulfuric acid is used every year in Shanxi, producing more than 20,000 tons of acid sludge," a person familiar with the waste oil industry told the Southern Weekly newspaper on condition of anonymity.
In July 2016, an "acid lake" in the province entered public view for the first time.
According to locals, the lake first appeared in 2000 after refineries started dumping their sludge there. It is about four meters deep and covers an area of about 30 mu (two hectares).
More here: http://www.globaltimes.cn/conten…