Sugan Technology, HMF can be fed to chickens, new application signed, endorsed by an academician

Sugartech's "HMF feed use" achievement has reached an internationally advanced level. Its 12,000-ton HMF, 2,000-ton FDCA, and 2,000-ton PEF projects are expected to complete the main construction in March 2025, with equipment installation to be finished and enter the commissioning phase in June.

The Bioplastics Research Institute reported that recently, Zhejiang Tangneng Technology Co., Ltd. has made a significant breakthrough in the field of biomass conversion. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) it developed has shown great potential in the field of feed additives. The related achievements have been highly recognized by authoritative experts in the industry, and new application cooperation agreements have been successfully signed.

On September 7, 2024, the scientific and technological achievement "Research and Development of New Feed Additive 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural" submitted by Sugar Energy Technology passed the expert evaluation organized by the Agricultural Branch of the China Association for Science and Technology. This achievement is based on nearly 20 years of R&D accumulation from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Using bulk commodity fructose as raw material, HMF is prepared through a "acid catalysis + solvent field" process. Its innovative process greatly increases the solubility and reaction performance of fructose, enabling high selectivity conversion of fructose to HMF with a yield exceeding 90% and a purity of ≥98%.

Research shows that HMF has multiple biological effects, including repairing oxidative damage, enhancing the body's anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant stress, as well as immune regulation. It can also lower blood glucose levels, improve hemorheology, and protect the liver. In terms of feed application, through trials of feeding laying hens, it was found that long-term feeding of HMF can effectively increase the egg-laying rate of hens, improve feed conversion rates, and reduce the occurrence of physical damage and oxidative stress in animals. The test data show that when the addition of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in the daily diet of laying hens is 10mg/kg, 0.08-0.1kg of feed can be saved per kilogram of eggs, achieving the goal of saving feed, reducing costs, and improving efficiency. Safety toxicology tests also indicate that the acute toxicity classification of 5-HMF is practically non-toxic, with no mutagenic or teratogenic effects observed, and the subchronic test results were negative.

With this innovative achievement, on January 19, 2025, Tangneng Technology successfully signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Feed Industry Center, aiming to conduct in-depth research and evaluation on the effectiveness and tolerance of the HMF product provided by Tangneng Technology in weaned piglet feed. This signing not only opened up new market areas for Tangneng Technology but also contributed to the sustainable development of the animal husbandry industry.

Academician Li Defa of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Feed Industry Center Speaks

The achievement also attracted the attention and recognition of Li Defa, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at the College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University. Academician Li Defa has long been engaged in the basic theoretical research, technology integration, and talent cultivation in animal nutrition and feed science, and he holds extremely high prestige in the industry. He fully affirmed the experimental results of SWEET Energy's products in egg chicken production and is full of expectations for the 5-HMF product to save costs in the feeding of more livestock species and contribute to ensuring food security.

Currently, the research and development technology for the new feed additive 5-hydroxymethylfurfural has applied for 43 invention patents (including 6 foreign patents), and has been granted 19 patents (1 foreign patent). As new applications gradually come into use, Tanneng Technology is expected to continue making efforts in the intersection of biomass conversion and feed technology, bringing more innovative results to the industry.

On November 11, 2024, the construction of a ten-thousand-ton HMF production project by Tangneng Technology was officially launched in the Daixi area of Daishan Economic Development Zone. The project relies on the technical support from the team of Researcher Zhang Jian on non-metallic catalysis at the Ningbo Institute of Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Previously, significant breakthroughs had been achieved at the Daishan pilot base, where the continuous and stable operation of a thousand-ton HMF line was globally first realized, laying a solid foundation for the construction of this ten-thousand-ton production line.

The project implementation entity is Daishan Sugar Energy New Materials Co., Ltd. The total investment of the first phase under construction reaches 310 million yuan, covering an area of 70 mu. According to the plan, the project will construct production lines with an annual output of 12,000 tons of HMF, 2,000 tons of FDCA, and 2,000 tons of PEF. Currently, the project construction is progressing smoothly, and it is expected that the main construction will be completed in March 2025, with equipment installation to be finished by June, after which it will enter the commissioning phase.