BREFs

The BAT (Best Available Techniques) Reference Documents (BREFs) are the main reference documents used by competent authorities in Member States when issuing operating permits for the installations that represent a significant pollution potential in Europe. They reflect an information exchange carried out under Article 17(2) of the IPPC Directive (2008/1/EC). The IPPC Directive is a major environmental legislation which regulates around 50000 installations in the EU dealing with a wide range of industrial and agricultural activities, including chemical installations.

BREF-documents generally give information on the specific sector in the EU, techniques and processes used in this sector, current emission and consumption levels, techniques to consider in the determination of BAT, the best available techniques (BAT) and some emerging techniques. The first series of BREFs have been formally adopted by the European Commission and can be donwloaded from the website of the European IPPC Bureau http://eippcb.jrc.es/reference/

The chemical industry is covered by 8 BREFs.

one horizontal BREF:
- Common Waste Water and Waste Gas Treatment/Management Systems in the Chemical Sector (CWW)
seven vertical BREFs:

The table below gives an overview of the main characteristics of the first series of vertical chemical BREFs:

date of adoption
number of pages
general scope
specific (illustrative) processes covered

BREF	Date adoption	Number of pages	General scope	Specific/illustrative processes covered
CAK	2000	180	Chlor-alkali manufacturing industry ▪ Chlorine ▪ NaOH/KOH	Chlor-alkali manufacturing using ▪ mercury cell process . ▪ membrane cell ▪ diaphragm cell
LVIC-AAF	2007	448	Manufacture of Large Volume Inorganic Chemicals ▪ Ammonia ▪ Acids ▪ Fertilisers	Manufacture of ▪ ammonia ▪ nitric acid (HNO₃) ▪ sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) ▪ phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) ▪ hydrofluoric acid (HF) ▪ NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilisers ▪ urea and urea ammonium nitrate ▪ ammonium nitrate/calcium ammonium nitrate (AN/CAN) ▪ superphosphates
LVIC-S	2007	712	Manufacture of Large Volume Inorganic Chemicals - Solids & Others	Manufacture of ▪ soda ash (sodium carbonate, including sodium bicarbonate) ▪ titanium dioxide (chloride and sulphate process routes) ▪ carbon black (rubber and speciality grades) ▪ synthetic amorphous silica (pyrogenic silica, precipitated silica, and silica gel) ▪ inorganic phosphates (detergent, food and feed phosphates). ▪ aluminium fluoride ▪ calcium carbide ▪ carbon disulphide ▪ ferrous chloride ▪ copperas and related products ▪ lead oxide ▪ magnesium compounds ▪ sodium silicate ▪ silicon carbide ▪ zeolites ▪ calcium chloride ▪ precipitated calcium carbonate ▪ sodium chlorate ▪ sodium perborate ▪ sodium percarbonate ▪ sodium sulphite ▪ zinc oxide.
SIC	2007	348	Manufacture of Specialty Inorganic Chemicals	Manufacture of ▪ speciality inorganic pigments ▪ phosphorus compounds (PCl₃, POCl₃, PCl₅) ▪ silicones (PDMS) ▪ inorganic explosives ▪ cyanides (NaCN, KCN)
LVOC	2003	478	Manufacture of Large Volume Organic Chemicals ▪ lower olefins ▪ aromatics ▪ oxygenated compounds ▪ nitrogenated compounds ▪ halogenated compounds ▪ sulphur and phosphorus compounds ▪ organo-metallic compounds	Manufacture of ▪ acrylonitrile ▪ benzene/toluene/xylene (BTX) ▪ ethylene dichloride (EDC) and vinyl chloride monomer ▪ ethylene oxide, ethylene glycols ▪ formaldehyde ▪ lower olefins by the cracking process ▪ toluene diisocyanate (TDI)
OFC	2006	456	Manufacture of Organic Fine Chemicals ▪ dyes and pigments ▪ plant health products and biocides ▪ pharmaceutical products (chemical and biological processes) ▪ organic explosives ▪ organic intermediates ▪ specialised surfactants ▪ flavours and fragrances ▪ pheromones ▪ plasticisers ▪ vitamins ▪ optical brighteners ▪ flame-retardants	None
POL	2007	317	Manufacture of Polymers	Manufacture of ▪ polyolefins (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PP) ▪ polystyrene (GIPS, HIPS, EPS) ▪ polyvinylchloride (emulsion PVC, suspension PVC) ▪ unsaturated polyesters (UP) ▪ emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR) ▪ viscose fibres