Industry Emission Reduction Options

Emission reduction options for almost all industries revolve around two general approaches: pollution prevention and "end of pipe" pollutant removals.

Some pollution prevention approaches include:

Additional Sources of Pollution Prevention Information for Industry:

Canadian Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse - web site and online database containing over 1500 pollution prevention resources including case studies, fact sheets, guidelines, and training manuals as well as information on new technology, legislation, funding, and more.
Canadian Pollution Prevention Success Stories - a database where Canadian organizations, companies and individuals who are making a difference are recognized. Access the inventory of over 90 pollution prevention success stories and get project descriptions, environmental and economic benefits and contacts that you can reach for more information.

Some "end of pipe" approaches include:

Pollution Reduction Technologies

Although all these approaches help reduce pollution concerns, they are not equal. It is more effective to reduce the creation of pollution in the first place, than to spend resources cleaning up pollution once it has been made. It is also more effective to reduce resource use than to keep consumption levels high, even in cleaner ways.

As a result, this list is presented in order of preference, where energy conservation and efficiency are much preferred over technologies that remove pollutants once they are created. However, effective pollution control involves the combination and integration of all of these approaches.

Two overarching principles exist to guide all of the above approaches, and include: the use of best available techniques (BAT), and dealing with pollution concerns in a holistic and inclusive manner.

Best available techniques is, in general, the principle of capitalizing on the latest advances in technology, economic instruments, and other tools, whenever possible, and of phasing out the use of less efficient and effective approaches.
Holistic and inclusive approaches to pollution concerns recognize the many complexities and opportunities facing industries. Industries must consider the full life cycle of the resources and products; all pollutants (air and non-atmospheric); and all other non-environmental issues (e.g., social and economic impacts). Being holistic allows for creativity when exploring options to ensure industry competitiveness while being environmentally and socially responsible.

Energy Conservation and Efficiency

Conservation and the more efficient use of energy will eventually result in a reduction of pollutants being released throughout the energy life cycle.

Where energy use is necessary, industries can improve their efficiency by:

Incorporating or developing new more efficient types of technology, and phasing out older less efficient technology
Enhancing facility design, to re-use energy in other industrial processes, otherwise known as combined heat and power systems.
Improving vehicle use to reduce transport costs and energy use through programs such as Fleet Smart.

Low-Impact Renewable Energy

Renewable energy, such as wind, solar, small-scale hydro, or biodiesel, provides energy with few to little emissions with an indefinite energy supply.

Industry has the opportunity to show leadership in the development and use of renewable energy sources as we switch away from the use of fossil fuels.

The RETScreen International Clean Energy Decision Support Centre assists industry, along with planners and decision-makers, to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Cleaner Fuels

Industry can take advantage of a variety of cleaner or alternative fuels that produce far fewer pollutants from combustion processes. For example,

Natural gas and ethanol are much cleaner fuels than coal or crude oil products.
Coal and crude oil products with lower sulphur, ash and/or mercury content can be chosen.

Facility Operation Processes

Industry can make a variety of choices to prevent the formation of specific pollutants as a result of their facility's processes. This may be as straightforward as adding a low-NOx burner to an already existing boiler to prevent the formation of NOx. Other process changes may involve a major overhaul or addition to the facility, such as the implementation of continuous converting of flash furnace matte for reducing SO2 emissions from a base metal smelting plant. Or, an industry may choose an entirely different type of facility to produce the same product, such as an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant rather than a conventional boiler for electricity generation.

In keeping with a holistic approach, care must be taken to recognize any trade-offs among pollutants. For example, adding a low-NOx burner may result in a less efficient system, thereby increasing CO₂ emissions

Alternative Energy Sources

Industry can take advantage of energy sources that do not pollute the air, including large-scale hydro and nuclear energy. However, the use of these energy sources must be balanced against other environmental and social impacts.

Pollution Reduction Technologies

Technology is continually being improved and developed to reduce the amount of pollutants being released into the environment. In the past, “end of pipe” technologies have focused on single pollutants, such as reducing emissions of NOx, PM and SO₂. More recently, new approaches are being designed to capture multiple pollutants at one time.

Typically, these back-end control technologies use more energy, which results in less efficient systems and greater CO₂ emissions. Again, trade-offs among pollutants need to be carefully considered and preferably minimized.

Related Web sites

The following Web sites provide further information on pollutant emission control technologies:

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Clean Air Online

Industry