Summary: In early Sept., the pre-approval publication of EI report of "technical renovation project of food additives, feed additives, and healthcare products" was made by Ecological Environment Bureau of Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

During the period from 1 Sept. to 7 Sept., the pre-approval publication of EI report of "technical renovation project of food additives, feed additives, and healthcare products" was made by the Ecological Environment Bureau of Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, which means local environmental authority intends to approve this EI report; the project will be undertaken by Hangzhou Kexing Biochem Co., Ltd. (Kexing Biochem).

Project overview

• Total investment: USD18.59 million (RMB127.94 million)
• Investment for environmental protection purposes: USD290,609 (RMB2 million)
• Construction site location: Dongzhou Industrial Functional Zone, Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province
• Area: 26,666.67 square metres
• Construction specifications:
• The technical renovation of the company's production plant will be carried out; the existing production techniques involving chemical synthesis will be all discarded.
• The emulsification kettle(s) and mixing machine(s) will be purchased.
• The raw materials used in the production of this project will be purchased from suppliers.
• As for the office building, public facilities (water supply, electricity supply, and heat supply), plus treatment facilities for wastewater and solid wastes, the existing ones will be utilised.
• A new treatment facility for waste gas will be built.
• Product scheme:
• Product series: biotin, vitamin A, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, and β-Carotene
• Vitamin D3 (microcapsule) and other products
• Number of budgeted posts: 150
• Annual working days: 300 days
• Construction period: 10 months

Production technique

• Biotin series products: The raw material—crude biotin, purchased from suppliers, will first undergo decolourisation and crystallisation, in order to improve its purity so that technical criteria (in the formula) can be met. The material from the first step will then undergo mixing, dissolution, and spray drying, eventually becoming the final products.
• Other products: The raw materials for respective products, including vitamin A crude oil, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, β-Carotene, and vitamin D3 purchased from suppliers, will be mixed in a certain proportion (stipulated by the formulas) and undergo mixing, dissolution & emulsification, dissolution & stirring, spray drying, form setting, and (cell) wall breaking, eventually becoming the final products.

To act under the local authorities' (Fuyang District) instructions to upgrade for environmental protection, Kexing Biochem has deactivated its production capacities involving chemical synthesis since Aug., 2020, which include 50 t/a for biotin, 5 t/a for coenzyme Q10, and 5 t/a for tilmicosin phosphate. All relevant devices, pipelines, and material storage tanks have been dismantled. Currently, the company's production plant only produces 2% biotin and purchases the raw material, biotin, from suppliers. According to the plan of this technical renovation project, the company's production capacity for 2% biotin will be largely scaled up from 300 t/a to 2,400 t/a.

Kexing Biochem said that after this technical renovation project is completed, the company's production will be more environmentally friendly; the company's product bank will be more diversified, which is helpful for the company's future development.