The oil pollution from illegal refining sites was directly discharged into the nearby reservoir.
Relevant departments in Jimo investigated two oil refining dens.
The two illegal refineries (marked with red circles) are only 300 meters away from the Yellow River to Qingdao water channel.
Plastic drums were filled with sulfuric acid, and hazardous chemicals were found scattered throughout the premises.
For several days, our newspaper has published undercover reports on illegal oil collection, which have caused a strong reaction among citizens. On November 2nd, a reader, Ms. Shi, called our hotline to report that there were two illegal oil refineries at the boundary between Jimo and Jiaozhou, which had been operating for a long time. During an undercover investigation, it was learned that the two illegal refineries were only separated by a wall and were located about 300 meters from the Yellow River to Qingdao water channel. They could produce four tons of fuel daily. In response, environmental protection departments in Jimo took immediate action to shut them down.
Local residents:
Illegal dens close to reservoirs and water channels
Upon hearing the news, the reporter drove to the border area between Jimo and Jiaozhou and smelled a foul, pungent odor near the south bank of the Yellow River to Qingdao water channel. About 300 meters away from the water channel, two illegal sites were emitting black smoke. The reporter saw that these two illegal dens were located in two large yards, separated only by a wall. To the west was a forest, and to the south was a reservoir. The trees around the illegal dens were blackened, and their leaves had withered. "Every day, you can hear loud machinery here, but the gates are always tightly closed," said Mr. Wang, who lives nearby. He learned that these places were oil refineries.
"Being so close to the reservoir, we are worried about its contamination. Moreover, the emitted smoke drifts towards surrounding factories and residential areas, causing serious environmental pollution," said resident Mr. Li. These two illegal refineries have no wastewater treatment systems or smoke emission facilities, severely polluting the surrounding environment. More worryingly, the reservoir is near the Yellow River to Qingdao water channel, and they fear that the discharged wastewater may seep into the channel.
Journalist's Observation:
Worn-out tires refined into black fuel oil
After entering the gate of the western yard, the scene inside shocked the reporter. There was a large iron tank in the courtyard, about ten meters long and three meters high. Behind the tank, three workers were burning some black objects on the ground and picking out some iron wires. Around the large tank were many pipes through which black liquid flowed into iron barrels.
According to the workers on-site, they shred old tires and then refine oil from them. They followed the boss’s instructions without understanding the exact principles behind the process. The black oil produced is fuel oil.
"Don't go any further, what are you doing here?" one worker shouted. "Are you refining oil? Why does it smell so bad?" the reporter asked. "Yes, we're refining oil. What are you doing here?" the man asked. "Refining oil? Do you have the necessary permits?" Upon being questioned by the reporter, the man immediately changed his tone. "We're not refining oil here. Those workers are just clearing garbage, and we'll stop once we've cleared it all." "Does this place reek because it has been approved by environmental protection authorities?" the reporter asked. As soon as the environmental protection department was mentioned, the man became subdued. "I admit it, I admit everything. We are indeed refining oil, but I'm not the boss," the man said before walking out of the factory.
Investigation Reveals:
Two oil outlets lead directly to the reservoir
"Come take a look, there's an outlet here," the reporter noticed following the direction pointed out by a local enthusiastic citizen, Mr. Li. Beside the reservoir next to the illegal den, there was an outlet discharging a large amount of black liquid with a diesel-like smell. The outlet also discharged a lot of waste oil, contaminating both the reservoir water and the nearby soil. "There's another outlet facing another refinery, definitely belonging to the other one," said another citizen, Mr. Gao. Subsequently, the reporter discovered another outlet less than five meters away from the first one, which also discharged waste oil.
"They are too irresponsible, discharging pollutants directly into the reservoir," said local resident Mr. Chen. Illegal waste oil itself contaminates the soil and water quality, and it was unexpected that these two illegal sites would discharge oil contaminants arbitrarily.
Profit Margins:
Abundant waste oil, producing 4 tons of fuel daily
"Nowadays, with such high oil prices, isn't it driven by huge profits!" A worker from one of the illegal refineries frankly stated. Worker Zhang from one factory introduced that according to the current situation, their factory could produce about 2 tons of fuel daily. Additionally, based on the scale of the other factory, the output was roughly similar. "Currently, the price of regular diesel is about 8000 yuan per ton, while the diesel we produce costs nearly 6000 yuan per ton," the worker said. Currently, the price of recycling one ton of waste engine oil is around 4500 yuan. After calculation, refining one ton of diesel could earn over 1000 yuan. "Moreover, this equipment is very cheap, costing at most tens of thousands of yuan, and you could recoup your investment in just two months."
According to the refinery workers, the diesel extracted from their process cannot be directly used in vehicles or ships. "If it needs to be used in machines, it must be mixed with standard diesel," Zhang explained. Since these mixed oils contain impurities, they can easily clog the machine's injector and cause significant damage over time. "Therefore, this oil is generally transported to roadside refueling points, some rural personal gas stations, sand extraction sites, stone quarries, and some fleets transporting sand and soil."
Refining Secrets:
Heat distillation followed by impurity removal
How exactly do they refine waste engine oil into diesel and other fuels? During the interview, worker Zhang described the refining process. After collecting waste engine oil, they inject it into a large furnace and heat it using coal. "The temperature is controlled at above 200℃. At this point, the water and other substances in the waste engine oil turn into steam, and the remaining oil flows out through a pipe," Zhang said. These pipes pass through a cooling tower.
Next, they transfer the oil to another set of equipment where sulfuric acid and white clay are added to remove impurities. "This process is essentially a filtration process. Sulfuric acid removes solid impurities from the oil, and white clay filters out impurities within the oil," Zhang said. "After using sulfuric acid to remove impurities, since the oil still contains acid, sodium hydroxide is needed to neutralize it." After neutralization, the fuel is refined.
Unexpected Scene:
Workers lock the iron gate upon seeing law enforcement
Subsequently, the reporter reported the situation to the Jimo Environmental Protection Bureau. After receiving the report, relevant officials from the Jimo Environmental Protection Department and the local government rushed to the scene. An unexpected scene unfolded when the law enforcement officers arrived: a man from one of the illegal refining sites quickly locked the gate, refusing to open it no matter how much the officers knocked. The reporter noticed through the door crack that the key was still in the lock, indicating the man's haste. This man then signaled the workers on-site to leave quickly.
Law enforcement officers encountered a worker on-site. According to the worker, the boss was somewhere unknown, and he had been there for a short time and did not know the boss's phone number. The worker admitted to the fact of illegal oil refining.
Relevant Departments:
Joint law enforcement to investigate illegal dens
"One of the illegal dens, we penalized them before," said a relevant official from the Jimo Environmental Protection Bureau. Recently, after receiving public complaints, they immediately went to the site, investigated one of the illegal refining dens, fined them 3000 yuan, and ordered them to stop refining. Unexpectedly, this illegal den continued operations despite the ban.
"For these dens, we will not be lenient. We will join forces with relevant departments to investigate illegal oil refining points and will not allow such illegal refining points to exist," said a relevant official from the Jimo Environmental Protection Bureau. They have consistently increased efforts to crack down on illegal dens within their jurisdiction, but the locations of these two illegal refining points are close to the Jimo-Jiaozhou boundary, making them difficult to discover.
It was found that neither of these two illegal refining points had obtained environmental protection procedures. On November 3rd, the Jimo Environmental Protection Bureau will continue to cooperate with the local government and other relevant departments to thoroughly investigate and deal with the two illegal refining sites. Text/Photos by the reporter