Summary: In Oct., the EI report of Anhui Jinhe's 5,000 t/a sucralose technological upgrading and expansion project was publicised for public participation, and its Q3 report was published.

On 17 Oct., the environmental impact (EI) report of Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., Ltd. (Anhui Jinhe)'s 5,000 t/a sucralose technological upgrading and expansion project was made public.

The above-mentioned project is the technological upgrading and expansion of Anhui Jinhe's existing 5,000 t/a sucralose project which had a trial production in April 2021 and completed the self-inspection and acceptance of environmental protection on 25 Sept. 2021. 98% sucralose of grades A, B, and C are main products of the existing project, along with by-products 31% hydrochloric acid, agricultural ammonium chloride, methyl acetate, sodium acetate, and SO2. The actual project construction didn't include the refining process for the preparation of ammonium chloride, thus the wastewater containing ammonium chloride is treated by MVR evaporation and desalination to produce the by-product ammonium chloride for agricultural use.

Overview of 5,000 t/a sucralose technological upgrading and expansion project:

• Construction nature: renovation and expansion
• Location: C area of Anhui Jinhe, Lai'an County Chemical Industry Zone, Chuzhou City, Anhui Province
• Site area: 1,614 m² for the new alkaline hydrolysis workshop
• Total investment: USD24.84 million (RMB176.32 million), including approximately USD422,583 (RMB3 million) for environmental protection
• Construction content: Based on the current 5,000 t/a sucralose project, a second alkaline hydrolysis workshop will be built to carry out low-temperature alkaline hydrolysis and repeated extraction to remove impurities from available mother liquor containing sucralose esters and sucralose diesters. This will increase sucralose yield and decrease the energy consumption of raw materials. With the help of this technological reform, the existing 5,000 t/a sucralose project will have waste gas treatment optimised and rectified to boost the condensate recovery of organic solvents and waste gas treatment efficiency, decrease pollutant emission, and further raise the clean production level.
• Product capacity: After the technological reform, the sucralose device's capacity will increase from the current 5,000 t/a to 8,000 t/a
• Labour quota: Rely on the existing 450 personnel and without additional new ones; workers for the new alkaline hydrolysis workshop will be transferred from other positions
• Working system: Three 8-hour shifts per 24-hour workday, totalling 300 working days per year

On 11 Oct., 2022, Anhui Jinhe proposed to sign a Anhui Jinhe Dingyuan County Phase II Project Investment Agreement with the People's Government of Dingyuan County. The agreement states that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Anhui Jinxuan Technology Co., Ltd. (Jinxuan Technology) will be responsible for the implementation of the "Bio-Chemical Synthesis R&D and Production Integrated Comprehensive Recycling Project" in the Dingyuan Salt and Chemical Industry Park.

Specific agreement contents are indicated as follows:

• Location: Salt and Chemical Industry Park, Dingyuan County, Chuzhou City, Anhui Province
• Land use: Approximately 1.33 km², with a 50-year service life
• Total investment: Approximately USD1.39 billion (RMB9.9 billion), financed by Anhui Jinhe
• Project content: A circular economy industrial base integrated with scientific research, production, and comprehensive resource use will be built based on synthetic biology technology and green chemical synthesis technology, to meet the needs of good living and advanced manufacturing and target the downstream fields of food and beverage, daily chemical and fragrance, and high-end manufacturing
• Industrial support policies provided by Dingyuan County for the project: Including but not limited to subsidies for supporting infrastructure construction, and incentives for comprehensive enterprise contribution, talents attraction, and investment in fixed assets
• Scheduled progress: Project construction shall commence within one month after the relevant administrative approval, filing and permitting procedures are completed and shall be finished before 31 Dec., 2027, otherwise, the remaining unused land will be recovered by Dingyuan County with compensation. The overall project investment shall not be less than USD422.58/m² (RMB3,000/m²)

Besides, Anhui Jinhe published its Q3 report on 18 Oct.