China’s first set of equipment for the targeted conversion of glyphosate mother liquor was put into operation in Zhenjiang

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2026-06-24 11:01 · Consumer Daily. Upon entering the New Materials Industrial Park in Zhenjiang Economic Development Zone, one can see that in the northwest corner of the glyphosate production area of Jiangnan Chemical, a brand-new six-story modern industrial building has been erected. It is seamlessly connected to the adjacent single-story packaging workshop, thus becoming a prominent new industrial landmark within the park. “This six-story building houses the dedicated conversion facility for glyphosate concentrate, which was approved by safety authorities in September 2025 and has since commenced trial production ； Adjacent to the integrally designed underlying space is the concurrently constructed packaging room for sodium pyrophosphate products. ”Xue Kang, the safety director of Jiangnan Chemical, explained. This system has a significant background – it is the first domestic system for the targeted conversion of glyphosate mother liquor that has been put into industrial operation. Its predecessor has been in service since 2011, having operated continuously for 15 years. In 2024, in response to the **\"Plan for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Upgrades and the Exchange of Consumer Goods for New Ones\"** as well as Jiangsu Province’s guidelines regarding the upgrading of old facilities in chemical enterprises, Jiangnan Chemical launched a technical renovation project; it demolished the existing facilities and completed the construction of the new plant on time, within 10 months, with high quality. At present, the new system fully meets the requirements for mother liquor treatment at large-scale glyphosate production, with significant improvements in the continuity, stability, and energy efficiency of the main processing units ； At the same time, sodium pyrophosphate by-products are produced on a large scale in a systematic and standardized manner, enabling the green manufacturing concept of \"converting waste into treasure and achieving efficiency through recycling\" to take root. In Xue Kang’s view, the new device brings not only a technological continuity, but also a systemic leap in inherent safety. “Old equipment has been in operation for a long time; risks such as equipment aging, deteriorating sealing performance, and sluggish control systems are becoming increasingly prominent. The new device features comprehensive improvements in terms of the main structure design, selection of corrosion-resistant materials, lining composite technology, and integration of intelligent monitoring systems; as a result, its design life is significantly extended, while its operational stability and fault response capabilities are greatly enhanced. ”In terms of environmental protection, by reconfiguring the exhaust gas purification process and adding efficient multi-stage dust removal and desulfurization units, the emission levels of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants have been significantly reduced compared to before the upgrades, enabling the company to continue to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. This upgrade of the targeted conversion unit is a crucial part of Jiangnan Chemical’s effort to carry out the \"systematic renewal of old units\" project. Starting in 2024, the company established a dedicated task force to carry out comprehensive safety diagnostics and risk assessments, which identified five key process facilities, including the targeted conversion units and mother liquor concentration systems, as the priority targets for renovation. Through concrete measures such as rebuilding the high-temperature furnace, replacing leak-free magnetic pumps, installing AI-based visual leakage detection systems, and upgrading the DCS safety interlock system, major risk factors such as fluid leakage, overheating, overpressure, and interlock failures are eliminated at the source. To date, the renovation of all 5 sets of core equipment has been completed to a high standard, and they have all passed the municipal inspection for old equipment organized by the Zhenjiang Emergency Management Bureau. With the precise guidance and efficient support from the relevant departments in Zhenjiang City and the Economic Development Zone, Jiangnan Chemical successfully obtained funding from Jiangsu Province’s special fund for the upgrading and renovation of old chemical processing equipment. This has provided a modelable and replicable \"Zhenjiang approach\" for similar enterprises in the industry. “Equipment renewal is not an endpoint, but a new starting point for long-term management. ”Xue Kang stated that moving forward, the company will transition from a “tough battle” phase to a “long-term struggle” phase. It will establish a comprehensive lifecycle management mechanism for equipment that covers all stages—planning, procurement, installation, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. The company will also regularly conduct risk-based hazard identification and predictive maintenance efforts, ensuring that every inspection is documented, every repair is properly followed up on, and every upgrade yields tangible results. In this way, the company remains committed to pursuing a sustainable path characterized by green development, inherent safety, and high-quality growth.