Shandong Fostering New Drivers of Growth

On Sept. 11-15， an all-media journey under the theme of “New Drivers for Development — An Open Shandong” took place in eastern China. The journey took a team of reporters to the cities of Jinan， Liaocheng， Jining， Linyi and Rizhao， visiting well-known industries， high-tech companies， innovative enterprises and eco-friendly scenic areas， providing in-depth insight into the drivers behind the province’s development.

New Material from Agricultural Residues

On display for the reporters at one enterprise was a graphene-modified fiber fabric that features electrical conductivity. The fabric， which is produced by Shengquan Group， can even be used to turn on a light bulb.

However， turning on a light bulb is just one of many applications for this particular type of product， according to Shengquan Group Chairman Tang Yilin. Garments made of this particular fabric can prevent accidents caused by static electricity in hazardous areas such as gas and CNG filling stations. In addition， graphene-modified fiber fabric has far-infrared， anti-bacterial， anti-static， anti-ultraviolet and hygroscopic properties. Experts believe that the market prospect of graphene is broad， with a potentially disruptive impact on relevant industries such as the chemical fiber textile industry. Some scientists have predicted that graphene is going to “revolutionize the 21st century”.

What is more surprising is that Shengquan Group has made graphene from an agricultural residue — plant straw. Shengquan’s RD has revolutionized the processing of plant straw. The group was the first in the world to make graphene with corn cob hemicellulose as the raw material， by means of thermal pyrolysis， an environmentally-friendly process that makes full use of the hemicellulose， lignin and cellulose in the plant straw. The result was that out of one ton of raw plant straw， one ton of high value-added product was produced. This industrial use of plant straw has prevented toxic and harmful substances from the traditional process of burning in the open air. It has also made a difference in the manufacturing of graphene， which had been made from graphite with a large quantity of strong acid and strong oxidizer waste liquid. A new era has begun for large-scale green graphene material production. At present， Shengquan Group is taking the lead in the world in the industrial production and commercial application of biological graphene. The group is now working on its application in intelligent clothing， medicine， aerospace， new energy and other areas.

Shengquan Group’s success in light core steel broke the monopoly of foreign companies and filled a gap in China’s industrial structure. Light core steel is a new type of high-end composite material with special treatment of modified phenolic resin and reinforced fiber. The material has lightweight and high strength characteristics and also features fire retardation， heat preservation， sound insulation， noise reduction， corrosion resistance， weatherability， 3D molding and convenient installation， laying a solid foundation for the lightweight design of high-speed trains， aircraft and ships. At present， this product has been widely used in rail transit systems， with China’s new Fuxing (rejuvenation) high-speed trains as one example. It has also broad market prospects in the fields of new-energy vehicles， aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding.

According to Tang， the essence of Shengquan’s successive breakthroughs is innovation.

What does innovation mean for an enterprise? How does an enterprise rely on the power of innovation to drive the organic operation of the whole system?

Tang explained that over the last 30 years， Shengquan has highlighted the strategic position of new materials and focused on the RD of new materials. After seven years of trials and tests， the features of the group’s products have been continuously improved. Biological graphene was successfully extracted from plant straws.

“What China needs most is disruptive technologies， which once overcome， could lead to unexpected value returns，” said Tang. While technological innovation is not easy， cross-industry integration is even more difficult. Biological graphene can link quite a few of the nation’s traditional industries. Its popular application will bring about great changes to the nation and the lifestyles of its people. On Aug. 17， the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a document in support of the formation of an industry development alliance in graphene-modified fiber fabric and its application. The document was in favor of Shengquan Group’s leading role in joint efforts with relevant companies in the industry chain to break through the bottleneck restricting the application of graphene-modified fiber fabric.

Innovation-Driven Green Development

Lunan Pharmaceutical Group is very different from traditional pharmaceutical companies. Its production area resembles an ecological park. Many traditional pharmaceutical companies have raised concerns for their lack of environmental protection awareness， irrational rules and regulations， flawed environmental impact assessments， unclear accountability， or excess emissions. The industry was one of the 12 sectors under scrutiny of the national plan for environmental pollution control. However， Lunan is an obvious exception.

In 2005， Lunan established its national-level circular economy technology research and development platform and organized a professional environmental protection research team. In the planning for the construction of its subsidiary company， Shandong New Time Pharmaceutical Company， Lunan paid great attention to environmental protection. The original landscape， including hills and ponds， were preserved. The overall objective of the company is a world-class green pharmaceutical research and production base. A pollution control and resource recycling research center was established. The center has concluded studies in the Fenton treatment of pharmaceutical waste water and the comprehensive utilization of biogas from traditional Chinese medicine residue. The center has also applied for 15 invention patents in China.

Over the last 10 years， Lunan has strived to be a model of ecological conservation and environmental protection in the pharmaceutical industry of China. To achieve the goal， the group invested a total of 150 million yuan (US$25 million) in a large-scale sewage treatment project. Advanced enzymatic hydrolysis technology was introduced to reduce emissions. Water replaced organic solvent as a reaction medium. More organic solvents were recycled. So far， four supporting recycling facilities have been built and put into use.

What’s more， Lunan employs the advanced technologies of ozone oxidation， multi-effect evaporation and membrane treatment in this project. It has procured the largest domestic ozone generation unit for chemical water treatment and membrane treatment multi-effect evaporation equipment to strengthen the recycling of reclaimed water. The sewage treatment for ecological compensation project with a daily capacity of 3，000 tons has received financial support from the National Development and Reform Commission. It is taking the lead in the development and application of acetic acid recovery from waste water.

Similarly， Asia Symbol (a producer of pulp and paper) has prioritized green development. Our reporter was stunned when a technician of the company drank the water from the tap at an urban waste water recycling unit. All the visitors were amazed and tried a sample of the water from the same unit， and found it to be no different than ordinary drinking water.

“This is China’s first project specializing in urban reclaimed water being recycled for boiler and circulating cooling water replenishment， a demonstration project of sustainable development，” said Xu Guangli， deputy general manager of Asia Symbol’s public relations department. “This can be a mature and feasible solution for the recycling of urban reclaimed water.”

Asia Symbol has imported the design and technology from Singapore to build its urban sewage treatment and recycling project， which has a daily purifying capacity of 40，000 cubic meters， treating sewage from Rizhao’s No. 1 and No. 3 Sewage Treatment Plants. The project saves more than 10 million cubic meters of raw water annually， which can meet the water demands of 200，000 ordinary families (around 600，000 people). Meanwhile， it reduces emissions and keeps the balance of the city’s ecological environment.

New Approach of ‘Tourism Plus’

Yanggu County of Shandong Province is located at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal. It is one of the cradles of the Chinese agriculture and alcohol industry. What made the county most famous is the ancient Chinese literary classic Outlaws of the Marsh. Jingyang Ridge has become a symbol of the unique culture of wine and heroes of the county.

The Jingyang Ridge Grain Liquor Company has a close connection to Chinese cultural heritage. In recent years， the company has paid special attention to the excavation and innovation of their cultural heritage. With the stable development of its leading industry， the company has vigorously developed the cultural industry. It has invested in a grain liquor museum， a cultural park， a cultural corridor， a vintage cellar base， a vintage liquor tourist area and a Ming Qing-style liquor market. The company has benefited both economically and socially from the combination of industrial production with cultural tourism.

According to the briefing of the grain liquor museum， it has a collection of 2，800 precious drinking vessels from different dynasties. There is an exhibition of the origin and development of alcohol culture， its evolution and its rise and fall. There is also a reproduction of an ancient liquor ceremony and liquor customs. This display of 5，000-year-old Chinese liquor culture is an important resource for the research and study of the culture. Together with the local tourist attractions， the Lions Tower and Jingyang Ridge Scenic Area， the company’s cultural development projects have attracted a lot of visitors.

In its industrial production， the Jingyang Ridge Grain Liquor Company knows well the importance of sorghum， the raw material it uses in liquor production. The company owns its own 180-hectare production base. In the first half of 2017， the company cultivated 60 hectares for sorghum production. In order to secure high quality green sorghum without pesticide residues， the company has integrated farmers in its industrial chain of agricultural production. On its production base， the company has cultivated many other crops to shape an ecological agriculture tourism project， which is a multi-purpose modern agricultural demonstration park.

With its profound historical and cultural heritage and unique ecological environment， the Jingyang Ridge Grain Liquor Company has successfully achieved sustainable green development.