The world's largest producer of biobased 5-HMF---Sugar Energy technology

Update:23 Dec 2024

I. Sugar Energy Technology

Zhejiang Sugar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2017, is a national high-tech enterprise founded by Ningbo Institute of Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has long been committed to the design, development, production and application promotion of new furan materials, and has achieved remarkable results in the research and development of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and innovative applications.

With the mission of ‘shaping the beauty of biology and evolving the source of materials’ and the vision of ‘letting everyone enjoy the super benefits of bio-based materials’, Sugar Energy Technology has provided dozens of new products of bio-based furan family, which are widely used in engineering plastics, degradable materials, environmentally friendly coatings, engineering plastics and other materials, degradable materials, environmental protection coatings, surfactants, environmental protection resins, pharmaceutical intermediates, additives and other fields.

At present, Sugar Energy Technology has achieved the stable operation of the pilot production line of 5-HMF (5-Hydroxymethylfurfural) with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes, continuously optimized the process and reduced the cost, and innovatively developed the ‘Full Mixed-Flow Continuous Production Process’, which has passed the scientific and technological achievements appraisal led by three academicians.

With the self-developed continuous production technology, Sugar Energy Technology has successfully developed：

Industrial-grade 5-HMF purity: >98% / >99%

Food grade/Pharmaceutical grade 5-HMF purity : >99.8% / >99.9%.

The company is building a 12,000 tonnes capacity of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in Daishan, as well as 2,000 tonnes of 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) and 2,000 tonnes of Polyester (PEF) production lines. They are expected to be put into production one after another at the end of 2025 when Sugar Energy Technology will become the new engine of the global bio-new material industry and promote the rapid development of the whole industry.

II, Product Introduction

（1）5-HMF

At present, Sugar Energy Technology can produce and supply industrial grade 5-HMF purity >98% / >99%, which is used in environmental protection resin adhesive, furan quaternary ammonium salt antiseptic, biobased anti-flash rust agent, biobased flame retardant, phenolic resin, bottle packaging, film, special plastic materials, special rubber materials, water-soluble paint and so on. In addition, we also provide food grade/pharmaceutical grade 5-HMF purity >99.8% / >99.9%, mainly used in feed additives, food additives, spices, pharmaceutical intermediates and so on.

（2）FDCA

Sugar Energy Technology has successfully developed 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) up to polymerization grade with 99.99% purity by adopting high-quality 5-HMF, which is produced continuously by Sugar Energy Technology, as raw material, and through the oxidation process developed by Sugar Energy Technology and the effective and fine process control, Sugar Energy Technology has established the enterprise standard of the product. It can be used as raw material for the manufacture of resin, polyester, plasticizer, furan dicarboxylate and furan diamine.

（3）PEF

PEF polyester is a condensation product of 2,5-furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and ethylene glycol. Compared with petroleum-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET), PEF polyester has better properties such as gas barrier, hot-filling temperature, coloring and mechanical strength, and it has a broad application prospect in the fields of high-barrier packaging materials, high-performance fibers and engineering plastics.