Jiaozuo Huakang Sugar Alcohol Technology Co., Ltd. (Jiaozuo Huakang)’s 30,000 t/a of D-xylose green intelligent upgrade and transformation project started trial operation in April 2024 and completed acceptance in June 2024.
The project ran stably during trial operation.
- By mid-June 2024, malfunctions occurred in the production equipment during operation.
- Upon inspection, the membrane in the membrane filtration section was clogged.
- After cleaning, it ran normally.
- Later, it needed to stop production for cleaning every 8 hours, causing intermittent production halts and lack of continuity.
- Technical personnel found that metal ions, salts, and large-molecule substances in the xylose hydrolysate accumulated, drastically reducing the flux in subsequent sections and preventing normal production.
- According to the problems, technicians proposed adjusting the production process, mainly involving granular carbon filtration, continuous ion-exchange decalcification, and chromatographic desalting.
- On 25 March, the local Ecological Environment Bureau accepted the environmental impact report of Jiaozuo Huakang’s Xylose Energy-saving Reconstruction Project and publicized it.
Project overview
- Nature: Technological transformation
- Location: Wuzhi County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province
- Total investment: USD16.7 million (RMB 120 million), of which USD2.1 million (RMB 15.1 million) is for environmental protection
- Construction content: Building energy-saving production facilities in existing workshops.
- Product plan: 30,000 t/a of D-xylose (capacity unchanged)
- Raw materials: Corncob consumption increased from 150,638 t/a to 184,188 t/a due to origin changes. After reconstruction, all corncob will be purchased from Henan and Shanxi, instead of mainly from the Northeast with supplements from Henan and Shanxi as before.
- Labor quota: No new staff, 500 existing employees
- Working system: Three 8hr shifts per day, 330 working days per year
- Construction period: 12 months
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Huakang Pharma), Jiaozuo Huakang produces D-xylose mainly for Huakang Pharma to produce xylitol.
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