【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】From 2031 to 2026: Shanghai Donggeng Chemical’s 3,000-ton/year isosorbitol production facility received approval for its technological achievements
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Let’s give praise and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical technology and equipment sector; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Recently, the 3,000-ton/year isosorbitol production technology developed jointly by Shanghai Donggeng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. and Puyang Shengtong Juyuan New Materials Co., Ltd. successfully passed the evaluation for scientific and technological achievements by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The appraisal committee unanimously concluded that this technology has reached an internationally advanced level as a whole, marking a significant breakthrough in key technologies and their industrial application in the field of core monomers for bio-based high-end materials in China. It provides strong support for ensuring self-sufficiency and control over the industrial chains of high-end materials such as bio-based polycarbonates and bio-based polyesters. Isosorbide is currently the only rigid bio-based diol that has been produced on an industrial scale worldwide. It serves as a key structural monomer for the production of high-performance materials such as bio-based polycarbonates and bio-based high-temperature resistant polyesters, and is widely used in fields such as optics, electronics, and medicine. For a long time, the production of isosorbite in China has relied on traditional batch processes using sulfuric acid. This approach suffers from various issues such as severe corrosion caused by strong acids, high equipment costs, poor stability in terms of product color and purity, difficulties in scaling up operations on a continuous basis, and low yields. As a result, the supply of polymeric-grade products is limited, and high-end applications have to rely on imports for a long time, which constitutes a bottleneck hindering the advancement of China’s bio-based materials industry. To address the common challenges in the industry, Donggeng Company focused on the goals of continuity, sustainability, and high purity in its technologies. In collaboration with Shengtong Juyuan, it carried out research and development efforts to establish a comprehensive engineering system for green synthesis and high-purity processing, successfully enabling the full-scale continuous production of high-end bio-based monomers. The set of technologies that have been approved this time possesses complete independent intellectual property rights, and an industrial plant with a capacity of 3,000 tons has already been built. A relevant official from Donggeng Company stated that the technology developed through this collaboration has achieved significant innovations in three key areas. First, the catalytic system has been upgraded. The project utilizes a newly developed, mild catalyst of its own design, which completely replaces traditional strong acid catalysts such as sulfuric acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid, as well as solid acids that are difficult to recover. This reduces equipment corrosion, enhances reaction efficiency, and minimizes side reactions. It is highly compatible with continuous production processes, thereby improving production stability and safety from the source. Second, conduct precise analysis to overcome quality control challenges. The project introduces calcium-based sugar columns and parallax refractometry detectors to overcome the technical challenges associated with the efficient separation of sugar alcohol impurities, and establishes a high-performance liquid chromatography method for determining the absolute content of isosorbite, thereby providing a reliable technical basis for precise control throughout the production process. Third, green purification achieves energy savings and carbon reduction. The project innovatively develops a coupled process of distillation separation and dynamic melt crystallization for high-purity purification; no solvents are used throughout the process, and the energy consumption is only 20%–40% of that in traditional solvent-based crystallization processes, resulting in a significant reduction in waste emissions ； The product purity remains stable at ≥99.5%, and its colorimetric parameters meet the requirements for high-end applications in the electronic and polymer industries. Industry experts say that this technology successfully fills the gap in China’s continuous production of polymeric isosorbite, thereby enhancing the security and autonomy of China’s supply chain for bio-based materials and reducing the manufacturing costs of high-end bio-based polycarbonates. It represents an important achievement in the integrated innovation of biomanufacturing and new chemical materials in China. In recent years, Donggeng Company has continued to focus on the fields of bio-based and high-end monomer engineering technologies. Leveraging this set of technologies, Donggeng Company has developed systematic capabilities ranging from laboratory research and development to industrial-scale production. These include core skills such as the continuous engineering scale-up of bio-based monomers, the high-purity purification of complex sugar alcohol systems, the delivery of these technologies on an industrial scale, and the coordinated design of monomers and polymers. This has demonstrated the technical feasibility of the entire process, from biomass raw materials to high-end engineering plastics.
Isosorbitol is produced from renewable biomass resources such as corn and cassava; it is the only rigid sugar diol that has been manufactured on an industrial scale to date. It can significantly improve the mechanical properties of polymers, endowing materials with excellent optical transparency and UV resistance. It serves as a key structural monomer in the synthesis of high-performance bio-based materials such as polycarbonates, polyesters, and polyamides. It is also widely regarded in the industry as the polymer monomer with the greatest potential to replace bisphenol A (BPA) in PC production. However, the production technology for continuous high-purity polymeric isosorbite has long been monopolized by foreign companies, and there have been no domestic continuous polymeric industrial facilities. The 3,000 tons per year production capacity technology that Donggeng and Shengtong Juyuan have jointly developed fills this gap directly. Bio-based (isosorbitol) polycarbonates are not a simple substitute for traditional PC; rather, they represent an upgrade in the direction of higher quality. Its performance can be described as that of an \"octagonal warrior\": it possesses the advantages of PC and PMMA while avoiding their weaknesses.
The advantages of PMMA are its excellent optical properties (92% light transmittance), high surface hardness, and good weather resistance (making it suitable for spray-free designs). However, it is brittle and has poor impact resistance, which makes it unsuitable for thin-walled designs. The advantages of PC are its high impact resistance and good heat resistance, but its surface hardness is low (it scratches easily) and its weather resistance is poor (it requires UV-resistant coatings, increasing production steps and costs). Bio-based PC combines the toughness of PC with the optical/weather resistance of PMMA, thereby avoiding the compliance risks associated with bisphenol A (PC containing bisphenol A is prohibited from use in food-contact applications). This enables it to penetrate high-value markets such as optical devices, new energy vehicles, premium packaging, and medical devices with precision. For a long time, the isosorbite industry has relied on the traditional batch process using sulfuric acid. The integrated isosorbite production technology developed jointly by Donggeng and Shengtong Juyuan addressed the three major problems associated with this traditional process: severe corrosion, difficulty in achieving continuous operation, and low purity. Three key advancements were achieved: an innovation in the catalytic system, with the use of newly developed, mild catalysts that completely replace corrosive substances such as sulfuric acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid, as well as solid acids that are difficult to recover. This led to reduced investment costs, improved reaction efficiency, and the possibility of continuous production. Significantly reduces equipment corrosion; high reaction activity with few side reactions; highly compatible with continuous processes
In the field of bio-based PC, Shengtong Juyuan, in collaboration with China Kunlun Engineering (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNPC Engineering Group), has developed a complete set of technologies for producing bio-based PC. This technology makes use of efficient alkali metal catalysts and copolymerization modification techniques with third monomers, along with specialized high-viscosity polycondensation reactors and continuous production processes. As a result, the products excel in two key aspects: optical properties and heat resistance, surpassing international counterparts in these areas. Key performance indicators include: refractive index ≥ 1.59, heat distortion temperature ≥ 100°C; VOC emissions reduced by 83% compared to traditional processes; carbon footprint reduced by 45% compared to traditional processes. CNPC has already accumulated expertise related to bio-based PC, and in October 2025, an invention patent owned by Sinopec was officially granted. The name of the invention patent is “A Bio-based Polycarbonate and Its Preparation Method and Applications”. According to the patent information, the team used isosorbitol and diphenyl carbonate (DMC) as raw materials, and modified them with dimeric fatty acids having a cyclic structure. A prepolymerization reaction was carried out first, followed by a final polymerization reaction, to produce the bio-based polycarbonate (bio-based PC). It is worth noting that Shengtong Juyuan was the first company in China to commercialize bio-based (isosorbitol) polycarbonate. The first domestic industrial production facility for bio-based PC with an annual capacity of 5,000 tons, developed in collaboration with China’s Kunlun Engineering, was successfully put into operation in February 2025. From mass production to being recognized as \"internationally advanced,\" Shengtong Juyuan has completed a full commercialization cycle. Shengtong Juyuan is not the only domestic company that produces isosorbite; Henan Zhengtong Technology built a facility capable of producing isosorbite in quantities of 1,000 tons as early as 2019, and by the end of 2021 it had successfully produced pilot-scale polymeric isosorbite products. On the international side, Japanese and European companies have been ahead in the field of bio-based polycarbonates for many years. In terms of corporate progress, Mitsubishi Chemical began mass production in 2015 ； It has been used in interior and exterior components for various automakers such as Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Dongfeng, Geely, and BMW, as well as in pharmaceutical packaging and mobile phone accessories. Covestro has applied it in applications such as eye lenses, EV charging station enclosures, and building panels. Teijin began mass production in 2022 ； It has been used in the lens barrels of Sigma cameras, and the world’s first bioplastic organ was displayed at the 2025 Osaka Expo. From upstream monomers to downstream polymers, from the start of mass production to the achievement of high-level recognition – the collaboration among Shengtong Juyuan, Donggeng Chemical, and Kunlun Engineering is helping to create a complete path toward technological independence for China’s bio-based PC industry. This chain-based breakthrough is accelerating its move to a larger stage.
A true classic! ! ! The elbows subjected to prolonged liquid flow really take your breath away! ! ! ! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5714477 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum (Hua Haichuan Liu hcbbs))