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This study analyzes two concepts used to reduce environmental impacts and to improve environmental performance of industrial activities. The concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) is used in many countries as the major regulatory one, while the concept of Best Environmental Management Practices falls under the category of voluntary approaches, promoted by the European Union (EU). BEMP is understood as the most effective way to implement the Environmental Management System (EMS) to achieve the best environmental performance. Whereas Reference Documents on BAT have been drawn up, reviewed and used since the 1990s, Sectoral Reference Documents (SRD) on BEMP developed since 2009, are much less known, especially outside the EU. Priority sectors for SRD are set by the European Commission (EC) and include both "heavy" industrial sectors regulated by BAT-related legislation and such areas as Public Administration, Tourism, and Telecommunications. Several examples of BEMP implemented by Russian companies are presented. Some of them develop BEMP as EMS voluntary procedures relevant from the point of view of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Russia, Best Available Techniques (BAT) are considered to be Environmental Industrial Policy instruments, used both by environmental and industrial authorities. The Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment (Minprirody) and the Federal Supervisory Natural Resources Management Service (Rosprirodnadzor) are responsible for the development of environmental legislation and its enforcement. The Ministry for Industry and Trade (Minpromtorg) works out industry-related acts, sectoral and regional programmes, and uses financial instruments stimulating implementation of BATs.In 2019, first Integrated Environmental Permits (IEP) based on BATs and BAT-Associated Emission Levels (BAT-AELs) were granted to Russian CategoryI installations (similar to the European Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, IPPC) installations.Procedure used in 2019 was worked out as the result of the five-year collaboration of environmental, industrial authorities, business, and civil society.In Russia, Environmental Performance Enhancement Programmes (EPEPs) have to be worked out by installations not fully meeting BAT-AEL requirements. Of 17 CategoryI installations granted IEPs in 2019, seven prepared EPEPs to be implemented for 7years. Draft EPEPs were assessed by the Inter-Departmental Commission(IDC). BAT experts (leading professionals who participated in the development of BAT Reference Documents, BREFs and national BAT standards) supported the assessment processes, reviewed draft EPEPs and provided conclusions used by IDC.Though most CategoryI installations, which obtained IEPs are existing industrial installations, they had to run Environmental Impact Assessment Procedures (EIA), public hearings and undergo State Environmental Reviews (SER). This resulted in long “preparatory” periods (more than 5 months), and the actual assessment of IEP applications appeared to be extremely short (less than 2 weeks). Industrial managers focused on EIA procedures paid less attention to the preparation of IEP applications and hoped that consulting companies experienced in EIA procedures would manage preparing applications for them. BAT experts supported Rosprirodnadzor both at the stage of the State Environmental Review and during the assessment of IEP applications. In 2020, the IEP granting procedure will be changed to exclude the SER and to add IEP assessment by public health, water resources, fishery management, and other authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is focused on the analysis of energy efficiency enhancement potential of Russian energy intensive industries and approaches to setting energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions national objectives. In 2019-2020, new legislation on regulating greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be passed in Russia. To set realistic, achievable but ambitious objectives, it is necessary to evaluate current energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions related characteristics and opportunities to improve both technological processes and energy management practices of energy intensive industries. This study considers opportunities for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing production greenhouse gas emissions of ammonia, cement, ceramic materials and ferrous metals processing industry in Russia. It is shown that the implementation of Best Available Techniques in Russian industry opens opportunities not only for reducing emissions of conventional pollutants, but also for enhancing resource efficiency of technological processes, using renewable energy sources as well as finding solutions for controlling process-related greenhouse gas emissions. Still, the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control regulation (based on mandatory implementation of Best Available Techniques) and greenhouse gases regulation (based on applying market instruments) should act as independent regulatory constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Russia, the national Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Act introducing the concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) was adopted in 2014. Since then, applying BATs and complying with BAT-associated Emission Levels (BAT-AELs) has become an issue of great importance for the industries concerned and has implied obligations at two levels. Firstly, the Ministry for Industry and Trade (MIT) and the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) had to set out the appropriate process for drawing up and reviewing sector-specific and inter-sectoral Reference Documents on BAT (BREFs) and respective sector-related BAT-AELs. Secondly, regional environmental authorities (MNRE units) and operators have to compare performances of industrial installations with the information contained in BREFs and established in special MNRE orders approving sectoral BAT-AELs. In total, there are over 7,000 IPPC installations in Russia (called Category I installations); 300 of them (largest polluters) have to demonstrate the compliance with the new IPPC/BAT legislation in 2019-2022. It is expected that at least 120-130 installations of 300 are not fully compliant with the new BAT-AEL requirements and will therefore be obliged to work out and implement Environmental Performance Enhancement Programmes (EPEPs). EPEPs contain sets of technological (primary), technical (end-of-pipe) and organisational solutions aimed at achieving applicable BAT-AEL requirements. According to the legislation, an EPEP has to be implemented in 7 years maximum; during this period the installation concerned can be operated under ‘softened’ requirements; after 7 years operators have to demonstrate that their emission limit values (ELVs) are compliant with sectoral BAT-AELs. At the installation level, the decision on working out an EPEP is made as the result of the self-assessment (internal technological audit and Environmental Management System audit for which applicable BATs and BAT-AELs are used as the priority criteria). BAT expert support is needed at this stage since most operators are not yet experienced in BAT-related requirements. When a draft EPEP is formed, it has to be submitted to the Inter-Departmental Commission managed by MIT. This Commission (consisting of the representatives of interested authorities and supported by BAT experts)makes decisions on the quality of EPEPs and thereby issues ‘semi-permits’ for not fully compliant installations. These documents should be included in the applications for integrated environmental permits (IEPs)and in order to prove that operators are prepared to implement EPEPs and achieve full compliance with BAT-related requirements in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement is the second most-consumed resource in the world, with more than 4 billion tonnes of the material produced globally every year. The cement production is considered to be one of major polluters regulated by Best Available Techniques (BAT) both in Europe and the Russian Federation. At the same time, cement industry generates greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions both of the ‘energy’ and ‘process’ origin. In Russia, climate legislation is just being formed, but operators of cement installations have already begun looking for economically feasible solutions for reducing CO2 emissions. In Europe, conventional fuels are often replaced by waste fuels, derived from pretreated and sorted waste fractions including solid and liquid recovered fuels, and/or biomass. The use of waste (to partially substitute raw materials as well as conventional fuels) is considered to be BAT for the cement manufacturing process. For Russian cement plants, this fact opens economic advantages as well as opportunities for greening production, though practitioners are concerned about the possible growth in emissions of ‘ordinary’ pollutants such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides as well as dust. The article describes results of quantitative estimation of emissions (CO2, SO2, NOx) after the partial replacement of the natural gas with wood chips, wood powder and sunflower pellets (burnt exclusively in the calciner). The calculations were made under the assumption that the specific heat consumption (heat rate) does not change while obtaining 7 – 15% of heat needed by burning the alternative fuel. The estimated data show that the replacement of natural gas with 7.5 – 15% of alternative fuel leads to a decrease in the total end-of-pipe gas emissions by 0 – 0.56% (mass) and 0.09 – 1.04% (volume release). The use of wood chips in 7.5 to 15% amount out of the total heat rate for firing 1 kg of clinker leads to the decrease in total gas emissions (by mass) from the kiln system by 0 –0.49%, SO2 emissions: by 0.16 – 0.27%, NO2 emissions: by 0.29 – 0.67% and NO emissions: by 0.25 – 1.24%. Emissions of CO2 will reduce by 0 – 0.52 % physically and 7.5 – 15.5 % reporting wise. The use of sunflower pellets in 7.5 to 15% amount out of the total heat rate for burning 1 kg of clinker leads to a decrease in total gas emissions (by mass) from the kiln system by 0.28 – 0.56%, SO2 emissions: by 0.55 – 0.97%, NO2 emissions: by 0.48 – 1.06, and NO emissions: by 0.43 –1.54%. Emissions of CO2 will https decrease by 0–0.26%; for reporting purposes, the decrease will reach 7.5–15.76 %.The use of wood powder in5 to 15 % amount out of the total heat rate for firing 1 kg of clinker leads to the decrease in total gas emissions (by mass) from thekiln system by 0.23-0.68 %, СО2 emissions: by 0.25 –0.76 % while simultaneously increasing SO2 emissions by 0.23 –0.68 %. NOx emissions decrease in proportion to the amount of main process fuel burned in the nozzle of a rotary kiln.Since alternative fuels will be supplied to the rotary kiln zone with a temperature of 1100–1200 °C and excess air (oxygen) content in a vaporous phase, the phenol-formaldehyde resins within wood fuel additives will undergo the process of complete oxidative decomposition and combustion. No additional emissions of organic substances (phenol-formaldehyde resins decomposition products) are expected. Kiln dust emissions depend primarily on the efficiency of end-of-pipe techniques used to treat stack gases, and will not change when replacing natural gas with fuel additives. At the same time, using fuel additives will contribute towards reducing GHG emissions of cement production and meet requirements of the emerging GHG legislation (regulation system) to be introduced in 2019-2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]