Summary: On 28 June, the EI report of the phase I program of Shandong Yonghao's project, which involves 2,000 t/a pesticide intermediates, 8,200 t/a pharmaceutical intermediates, etc., was published by local government. The phase I program will build 1,000 t/a pyroxasulfone production lines and supporting facilities.

On 28 June, the environmental impact (EI) report of the phase I program of Shandong Zhanhua Yonghao Pharmaceutical & Tech Co., Ltd. (Shandong Yonghao)'s project for pesticide intermediates, pharmaceutical intermediates and by-products was published by the People's Government of Zhanhua District. Shandong Yonghao has obtained recordation certificate issued by Shandong provincial government for the overall project (project code: 2203-371600-04-01-126922).

Project overview

• Project name: 2,000 t/a Pesticide intermediates, 8,200 t/a pharmaceutical intermediates with by-products 2,000 t/a sulfuryl chloride, 1,400 t/a chloroethane, 8,300 t/a hydrochloric acid and 1,500 t/a sulfuric acid project;
• Construction nature: New construction;
• Location: The company's existing plant in the Binhai Chemical Park, Binzhou City, Shandong Province;
• Investment: USD42.68 million (RMB308 million) for the whole project, of which USD14.97 million (RMB108 million) for the phase I program;
• Construction content: Workshops and production equipment for ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoroacetoacetate, trifluoroacetic acid, pyroxasulfone, dichloropyridines, diethyl phosphite, and supporting facilities including warehouses. For the phase I, production lines for 1,000 t/a pyroxasulfone and some supporting facilities will be built.
• Construction period for the phase I: Six months.

 

Currently, Shandong Yonghao has active production capacity for flonicamid (300 t/a) and several intermediates such as diethyl 4-toluenesulfonyloxymethylphosphonate (1,500 t/a) and ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoroacetoacetate (500 t/a). Once the company owns pyroxasulfone capacity, it will broaden the space for future development and strengthen its overall competitiveness.

 

Pyroxasulfone is a pesticide co-developed and commercialised by two Japanese companies, Kumiai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and Ihara Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. It is a novel, broad-spectrum pre-emergent herbicide with high activity and good safety profile that needs low-volume application. Compound patent for the product (application No.: CN1257895C) expired in China in 2022. According to the data from the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (ICAMA), as of early July 2023, only Shanghai Qunli Chemical Co., Ltd. had acquired pesticide registration for pyroxasulfone products in China. It is expected that pyroxasulfone will gradually substitute for widely-used chloroacetamides like acetochlor and metolachlor, and become a herbicide with considerable sales potential.