China Consults On Industrial Water Quotas For Sulphuric Acid Production

The proposal would replace GB/T 18916.28-2017 in full. It covers existing, new, reconstructed and expanded industrial sulphuric acid plants, with output expressed as 100% H2SO4 equivalent. Routes include sulphur, pyrite, non-ferrous smelting off-gas and gypsum.

The draft excludes the Yellow River Basin and county-level administrative areas supplied by Yellow River water. Those areas are governed by mandatory GB 45669.8-2026, so companies should not use the proposed national GB/T quotas as a substitute.

Route-Specific Thresholds Distinguish New And Existing Plants

For the sulphur route, Level 1 is 1.1 cubic metres per tonne and Level 2 is 2.7. For pyrite, the figures are 1.5 and 3.0. Smelting off-gas has limits of 1.3 and 2.6, while gypsum has limits of 3.7 and 4.3 cubic metres per tonne.

Level 1 is the advanced-efficiency benchmark and would govern new plants and reconstruction or expansion involving principal production water use. Level 2 would apply to existing enterprises from the thirteenth month after publication. The project page separately says implementation on publication. The draft’s more specific transitional wording should therefore be tracked through finalisation rather than treated as settled.

A coefficient of 0.8 applies to non-conventional water. Meter provision must reach 100% for principal and secondary water-using units. The calculation excludes non-recoverable water associated with external heat supply or net exported steam, waste-heat power generation water and company wastewater reused after industrial-park treatment. For smelting-gas production, it also excludes water used to treat low-concentration sulphur dioxide and collected fugitive gases arising from non-ferrous roasting, electrostatic dust removal and slag treatment.

What remains unchanged is GB/T 18916.28-2017 until a replacement is published. No official consultation closing date is stated, and the six-month project cycle is not a response deadline. The project title calls the proposal Part 34, but the draft series introduction identifies sulphuric acid as Part 17. This appears to be a drafting inconsistency and should not be silently resolved.

Manufacturers should calculate current water use by production route, separate excluded flows and test Level 1 and Level 2 performance. Importers and customers may not have direct duties, but could see water-efficiency data enter supplier qualification and sustainability reporting. A recommended GB/T can still shape permits, benchmarking and procurement even when it is not itself compulsory.