Company/Organization Profile

SINOPEC Ningbo Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. is a large-scale refining and chemical enterprise under Sinopec, with a crude oil processing capacity of 40 million tons per year, and production capacities of 2.5 million tons/year ethylene, 3 million tons/year propylene, and 3 million tons/year polyolefins.

The company implements Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and follows Sinopec's brand philosophy of "Cleaner Energy Better Life." It has constructed China's first "waste-free petrochemical base" and established an integrated water resource recycling system characterized by the "interconnection and coordinated management of four waters" — fresh water, circulating water, chemical water, and wastewater. The company has received the national "Water Efficiency Frontrunner" award for many times.

机构简介

中石化宁波镇海炼化有限公司（SINOPEC NINGBO ZHENHAI REFINING & CHEMICAL CO., LTD.）是中国石化旗下特大型炼油化工企业，拥有4000万吨级原油加工能力，以及250万吨/年乙烯、300万吨/年丙烯、300万吨/年聚烯烃等生产能力。公司深入践行习近平生态文明思想，落实中国石化“能源至净、生活至美”品牌理念，建设国内首个“无废石化基地”，构建集新鲜水、循环水、化学水、污水“四水互联共治”于一体的水资源循环利用体系，连续多次荣获国家级“水效领跑者”。

Project Overview

The "Water Cube" is located in the wastewater treatment area of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical's Zhenhai base, built upon a real industrial wastewater treatment facility. Launched in 2024 and officially opened in August of the same year, it was upgraded to "Water Cube 2.0" in 2026, primarily open to the public, youth, teachers, parents, local community residents, and local sectors.

As the Zhenhai base expands, the previously scattered wastewater treatment model requires enhanced coordination and resource integration. In 2022, with the full operation of Phase I of the Zhenhai base project, the "large-scale wastewater treatment plant" model became fully operational, enabling interconnectivity among four wastewater treatment plants through integrated processes, shared backup facilities, and mutual resource utilization. However, the wastewater treatment process has long remained hidden within equipment, pipelines, and control systems, leaving the public unable to access, observe, or understand it—fueling ongoing concerns about water consumption and pollution from large-scale petrochemical enterprises.

Based on existing treatment practices, this project transforms real production sites into open environmental education spaces, presenting the journey of a single drop of water to illustrate wastewater treatment, reuse, and urban-industrial water cycles. By making professional treatment visible, tangible, and comprehensible, it fosters public awareness of water conservation, responsible usage, and circular utilization, promoting green values.

项目背景

“水立方”位于镇海炼化镇海基地污水处理区域，依托真实工业污水处理设施建设。项目2024年启动、同年8月正式开放，2026年升级为“水立方2.0”，主要面向市民、青少年及教师家长、周边社区居民和地方部门开放。

随着镇海基地规模扩大，原有相对分散的污水处理模式需进一步提升统筹调配和资源协同能力。2022年，随镇海基地一期项目全面投运，“大污水处理场”模式全面运行，四大污水处理场实现流程互联、设施互备、资源互用。但污水治理过程长期隐藏在装置、管线和控制系统中，公众“进不来、看不见、看不懂”，对大型炼化企业“耗水、排污”仍存在疑虑。

项目以既有治理实践为基础，将真实生产现场转化为环保设施开放和生态文明教育空间，以“一滴水的旅程”呈现污水处理、再生回用和城市—工业水循环，让专业治理可视、可感、可理解，引导公众形成节水惜水、循环利用的绿色认知。

Project Implementation

ZRCC adheres to real production practices, integrating water resource management, science communication, and public engagement into a cohesive framework. Rather than building a separate exhibition system, the project transforms the continuously operating and evolving industrial water recycling system into an accessible, tangible, and understandable green space for the public—amplifying its social value through institutionalized openness.

1. Grounded in real industrial governance, solidifying the practice of water cycle management

As Zhenhai’s base expands, the company has continuously optimized its wastewater treatment model. In 2022, the “large-scale wastewater treatment plant” model was fully operational, consolidating four previously dispersed treatment facilities into a centralized, interconnected, and resource-coordinated network, laying the foundation for wastewater resource recovery. In 2024, the "Water Cube" was built upon this real-world production system as an open-access venue. By December 2025, reclaimed water from advanced urban domestic wastewater treatment was introduced into the Zhenhai site for industrial use, further bridging the water cycle between urban areas and industry, marking a historic shift from internal plant recycling to city-wide circulation. Thus, the Water Cube no longer merely illustrates “how wastewater is treated,” but presents a real-life practice—from urban daily life to industrial production and onward to resource reuse.

2. Reconstructuring public cognitive style: transforming technical processes into sensory experiences

Industrial wastewater treatment involves highly specialized processes largely hidden within equipment and pipelines. To address the public's inability to “see or understand” these operations, ZRCC opened up its real wastewater treatment site in 2024, branding it as a public destination and officially incorporating it into the Public Open Day program in August. In 2026, the initiative evolved into “Water Cube 2.0.” Centered on the narrative of “a drop of water’s journey,” the project uses visual displays, water quality comparisons, purified water experiencing, and fish-keeping with treated water to turn complex technologies into intuitive experiences. Visitors witness firsthand how wastewater is purified and transformed back into a valuable resource, giving abstract concepts like water conservation and circular utilization concrete, industrial context.

3. Integrating into broader green development: turning a single site into a sustained public learning pathway

The Water Cube does not operate in isolation, it is embedded within ZRCC’s overall public engagement and green development exhibition system. Through regular scheduling, public registration, and collaboration with environmental agencies and science education organizations, the facility maintains continuous accessibility. The visitor journey begins at the new exhibition hall, where the “journey of a drop of water” is clearly explained; continues at the Egret Park, showcasing ecological outcomes achieved through green management; and culminates at the Water Cube, revealing the underlying wastewater treatment and resource recycling practices. This creates a complete experience arc of “cognition—experience—validation.” As visitors learn about a single drop of water, they gain deeper insight into how a modern, large-scale green petrochemical base achieves harmony between production and ecology. The Water Cube thus evolves from a simple environmental facility open to the public into a genuine window into the practices of a beautiful Chinese enterprise.

项目实施

镇海炼化坚持从真实生产实践出发，将水资源治理、科普转译与公众开放有机结合。项目不是另建一套展示系统，而是把持续运行、不断升级的工业水循环利用体系转化为公众可进入、可感知、可理解的绿色空间，并通过制度化开放持续放大社会价值。

一、立足真实工业治理，把水资源循环的生产实践做实。

随着镇海基地规模扩大，公司持续优化污水处理模式。2022年，“大污水处理场”模式全面运行，四大污水处理场由相对分散走向集中控制、互联互备、资源协同，为污水资源化利用奠定基础。2024年，“水立方”正是在这一真实生产体系上建设开放场景。2025年12月，城市生活污水深度处理形成的再生水首次引入镇海基地并用于工业生产，进一步打通城市与工业之间的水循环，实现厂内循环向市域循环的历史性跨越。由此，水立方所展示的已不只是“污水怎么处理”，而是一套从城市生活到工业生产、再到资源循环利用的真实实践。

二、重构公众认知方式，把专业工艺转化为可感知的开放场景。

工业污水处理高度专业，大量过程隐藏在装置和管线之中。针对公众“看不见、看不懂”的问题，镇海炼化于2024年将真实污水处理现场开放化、品牌化，8月正式纳入公众开放日；2026年进一步升级“水立方2.0”。项目以“一滴水的旅程”为线索，通过可视化展陈、水质对比、净化水体验、处理水养鱼等方式，把复杂工艺变成直观体验，让公众看见一滴污水如何被净化、怎样重新成为资源，也让抽象的节水、循环利用理念有了真实可感的工业注脚。

三、融入绿色发展整体，把单一站点转化为常态化公众认知路径。

水立方没有孤立运行，而是纳入镇海炼化公众开放日和绿色发展整体展示体系，通过常态排期、社会报名以及与生态环境、科普机构联动，实现持续开放。在参观路径上，新展厅讲清“一滴水的旅程”，白鹭园呈现绿色治理形成的生态结果，水立方再揭示其背后的污水治理和资源循环实践，形成“认知—感受—验证”的完整体验。公众由认识一滴水，进一步理解一座现代化大型绿色石化基地如何实现生产与生态协同，水立方也由环保设施开放点成为感知美丽中国企业实践的真实窗口。

Project Outcome

The core innovation of the project lies in transforming industrial environmental facilities originally designed for production into green spaces that connect industrial governance, ecological education, and public engagement.

In terms of spatial design, it showcases a real operational wastewater treatment and water recycling system, directly converting production practices—such as the annual reuse of 22 million tons of treated industrial wastewater through multi-stage processing and approximately 13.14 million tons of urban reclaimed water—into educational content. Visitors can immerse themselves in understanding the industrial systems behind ZRCC’s cumulative water reuse equivalent to 14 West Lakes.

Content-wise, the project reinterprets technical information through the narrative of "A Drop of Water's Journey," using visual displays, water quality comparisons, hands-on purified water experiences, and fish-keeping with treated water to make complex processes hidden within equipment and pipelines visible, tangible, and comprehensible.

Operationally, the Water Cube is integrated into the company’s public open days, forming a full pathway of "cognition—experience—validation" together with the exhibition hall and Egret Park. And it will continuously carry out open activities in collaboration with ecological environment, science popularization institutions, etc. organizations.

Since 2024, over 60 sessions have been held, welcoming more than 2,000 visits. In 2026, the project upgraded to version 2.0. It has established a sustainable operational model combining real industrial practice, public-friendly interpretation, and regular openness. The exhibition content evolves continuously alongside production advancements, while the open-access mechanism ensures long-term operation. This initiative provides a replicable path for transforming specialized environmental facilities such as wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal from "production spaces" into accessible "public spaces."

成果亮点

项目的核心创新，是把原本服务生产的工业环保设施，转化为连接工业治理、生态教育与公众参与的绿色空间。

在空间场景上，以真实运行的污水处理和水资源循环利用体系为展示对象，将生产污水梯级处理回用2200万吨/年和城市再生水年回用约1314万吨等生产实践直接转化为科普内容，沉浸感受镇海炼化累计回用14个西湖水量背后的工业运行系统。

在内容表达上，以“一滴水的旅程”重构专业表达，通过可视化展陈、水质对比、净化水体验、处理水养鱼等方式，把隐藏在装置和管线中的复杂工艺变得可见、可感、可理解。

在运行机制上，将水立方嵌入企业公众开放日，与展厅、白鹭园形成“认知—感受—验证”的完整路径，并联动生态环境、科普机构等持续开展开放活动。

2024年以来已开放60余期、接待逾2000人次，2026年进一步升级为2.0。项目形成了“真实工业实践+公众化转译+常态化开放”的运行模式，展示内容可随生产实践持续更新，开放机制可长期运行，也为污水处理、固废处置等专业环保设施从“生产空间”走向“公众空间”提供了可复制路径。

Project Highlights

The Water Cube has brought the tangible results of the enterprise's green governance from its production systems into the public eye, achieving mutual reinforcement between ecological environmental value and social communication value.

Ecological and Environmental Benefits

Through the coordinated advancement of source treatment, process control, and resource utilization, the cumulative volume of reused wastewater has exceeded 154 million cubic meters, strongly supporting ZRCC in building China's first "waste-free petrochemical base." The project has been successively recognized as a typical case of industrial wastewater recycling by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and as a typical case under Sinopec's "Beautiful Petrochemical — Clean and Beautiful Grassroots" initiative. Today, egrets soar across the plant grounds, while mudskippers, crabs, and rare bird species inhabit the surrounding tidal flats. The outcomes of green governance have extended beyond production metrics into perceptible ecological change.

Social Impact

The Water Cube has become a key destination on public open days, translating specialized environmental practices into green scenarios that the public can readily understand and experience. The circular model of "converting urban domestic sewage into industrial resources" has generated strong public resonance and is mutually validated by the egret — an emblem of green petrochemicals. These practices have received extensive coverage from CCTV and leading provincial and municipal media, amassing over 10 million cumulative views. They continue to deepen public understanding of modern green petrochemicals and amplify the industry's demonstration effect.

成果影响力

水立方让企业绿色治理的真实成效从生产系统走向公众视野，实现生态环境价值与社会传播价值相互促进。

生态环境效益方面，通过源头治理、过程控制和资源化利用协同推进，累计回用污水超1.54亿立方米，有力支撑镇海炼化建成国内首个“无废石化基地”，先后入选工信部工业废水循环利用典型案例和中国石化“美丽石化——清洁美丽基层”典型案例。如今厂区白鹭纷飞，周边滩涂可见弹涂鱼、螃蟹和珍稀鸟类，绿色治理成效由生产指标延伸为可感知的生态变化。

社会影响方面，水立方成为公众开放日重要站点，将专业环保实践转化为公众可理解、可体验的绿色场景。“城市生活污水变工业资源”的循环实践引发良好社会反响，并与白鹭这一绿色石化名片相互印证。相关实践获央视及省市主流媒体广泛报道，累计阅读量超1000万次，持续提升公众对现代绿色石化的认知，放大行业示范效应。

Reviews & Honors

Grounded in real-world industrial environmental practices, the Water Cube has continuously earned recognition from the industry, government authorities, and mainstream media.

Honors and Recognition

In 2024, the Water Cube was selected as a typical case of industrial wastewater recycling by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, while its associated spent caustic treatment technology was honored as an "Outstanding Petroleum and Petrochemical Technology" and awarded Sinopec's First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress. In December 2024, the "Water Cube" was designated as a Ningbo Ecological Civilization Education Base. In 2025, ZRCC was included in the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's first national batch of "New Four Categories" environmental protection facility opening units, with the Water Cube serving as a flagship opening site — further underscoring its exemplary role in opening industrial environmental facilities and advancing ecological civilization education.

Media Coverage

In 2025, CCTV's Xinwen Lianbo (News Network) aired a special report on ZRCC's construction of a "waste-free petrochemical base," in which the Water Cube project supervisor detailed the water treatment processes and their results. Zhejiang TV's Endless Life featured the company's water recycling and Water Cube practices prominently in a special marking the 20th anniversary of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." In 2026, CGTN's How Did a Chinese Refinery Transform into a Cyber-Style Green Base? Two "Magics" Give You the Answer introduced the company's water recycling technology to a global audience. On National Ecology Day 2026, CNR.cn’s Why China · A Verdant World | Egrets Nest Deep in the Tower Forest once again turned the spotlight on the Water Cube.

Through continuous openness and communication, the Water Cube has grown from an in-house environmental facility showcase into a widely recognized public education scene for industrial green development.

评价与荣誉

水立方从真实工业环保实践出发，持续获得行业、政府部门和主流媒体认可。

荣誉认可方面，2024年，水立方入选工信部工业废水循环利用典型案例，相关废碱处理技术获评“石油石化好技术”、中国石化科技进步一等奖。2024年12月，“水立方”获授宁波市生态文明教育基地；2025年，镇海炼化列入生态环境部首批全国“新四类”环保设施开放单位，“水立方”成为重要开放站点，进一步体现了其在工业环保设施开放和生态文明教育中的示范价值。

媒体传播方面，2025年，央视《新闻联播》专题报道镇海炼化“无废石化基地”建设，水立方项目主管介绍水处理工艺和成效；浙江卫视《生生不息》在纪念“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念提出20周年专题中，重点呈现公司水资源循环利用与水立方实践；2026年，央视外文频道CGTN《中国炼厂如何变身赛博风绿色基地？两大“魔法”给你答案》面向全球受众介绍公司水循环处理的技术路径；2026年全国生态日之际，央广网《何以中国·青绿人间丨塔林深处有鹭栖》再次聚焦水立方。随着持续开放和传播，水立方已由企业内部环保设施开放点，逐步成长为具有社会认知度的工业绿色发展科普场景。