Yunlin County Govtapproves extension of 8 operating licenses at Formosa's 6th Naphtha Cracking Complex

18-Apr-17

Yunlin County Government has conditionally approved a one-year extension of 8 operating licenses for using bituminous coal and petroleum coke at the Sixth Naphtha Cracking Complex run by Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) in the Mailiao Township of the southern county, as per chinapost.com.tw. Of the eight operating permits, six were renewed to allow five sets of cogeneration facilities and one petrochemical production line at the No. 3 plant in the complex to burn bituminous coal and another two renewed to permit the use of petroleum coke at the No. 1 plant.

After screening applications filed by the FPG to renew the operating permits based on relevant environmental rules and regulations, the county government approved the renewal on the condition that FPG carry out a seasonal pollution emission reduction project from October to next March and march toward the use of clean or renewable energy according to a top official with the county's Environmental Protection Bureau. Lin Chang-chao, director of the bureau, said that the county government had asked FPG to gradually reduce the use of bituminous coal at its naphtha cracking plants since 2015, with the reduction amount totaling 2,312,726 metric tons over a period of two years, for a reduction rate of 14.1%.