【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2472–2025: Shanghai Institute of Chemical Technology breaks foreign technological monopolies; world’s first industrial facility for carbon-13 isotope multi-column cascade low-temperature distillation comes online

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Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** The world’s first industrial device for low-temperature distillation using carbon-13 isotopes has been put into operation; June 30, 2025. The Shanghai Institute of Chemical Technology has broken the foreign technological monopoly. According to Sinochem News, recent advances have been made in the development of the world’s first process technology for low-temperature distillation using carbon-13 isotopes, which is used in carbon-13 breath tests for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori. An industrial facility for producing carbon-13 oxide with a purity of over 99% has been successfully operationalized at Anhui Haisu Company. On June 27, Anhui Haisu Company held a launch ceremony for its carbon-13 carbon monoxide product. It is reported that carbon-13 is an essential stable isotope in fields such as Helicobacter pylori detection, clinical diagnostic reagents, and hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance. For a long time, China has been highly dependent on imports for carbon-13, with only a very small number of countries in the world having the capability to produce it on a commercial scale. The stable isotope carbon-13 is non-radioactive and offers precise tracing capabilities; it provides accurate signals for nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and spectral analysis. As a key material used in areas such as clinical precision diagnosis and important strategic materials, it is a critical component whose domestic production is urgently needed. Anhui Haisu New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.’s 100-kilogram/year industrial production project for the stable isotope carbon-13 relies on the R&D capabilities of innovative platforms such as the **Isotope Engineering Technology Research Center (Shanghai Branch) and the Shanghai Stable Isotope Engineering Technology Research Center. It enables the successful application of a series of technologies developed by the Shanghai Institute of Chemical Industry, including isotope-catalyzed conversion and advanced purification of high-purity gases. For the first time in the world, this project achieves industrial-scale use of a multi-column cascade low-temperature distillation process for carbon-13 isotopes, highlighting the institute’s extensive expertise and technical advantages in the field of stable isotope separation and application. It represents another product resulting from the industrialization of stable isotopes, following those of nitrogen-15, neon-22, oxygen-18, and boron-11. It is reported that once the product is launched, China’s carbon-13 isotope industry will achieve a complete integration across the entire value chain, from independent research and development and production to market-based supply. This will help alleviate the country’s reliance on imported isotopes in this area, thereby opening a new chapter for China’s stable isotope industry.