NE China builds testing base for leading-edge innovations

Staff members work on a testing project at a fine chemical engineering medium-sized test demonstration base in Panjin City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, March 12, 2024.(Xinhua/Bai Yongquan)

SHENYANG, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Undoubtedly, this spring is an exciting time for Panjin Sanli Zhongke New Material Co., Ltd., as it recently passed a medium-sized test of its new material production project in a professional testing base in northeast China.

"Its first phase of production, with an annual output capacity of 50,000 tonnes of methyl methacrylate and 40,000 tonnes of n-propanol, has officially passed the tests carried out by the base," said Yu Chunjian, the company's chairman.

"It means that this technological bottleneck problem has crossed the 'Darwinian Sea' spanning between scientific research and industrialization," Yu added.

"Darwinian Sea" refers to a barrier for scientific and technological advances that have moved towards the commercialization phase to receive customer recognition in the market and continue existing without being eliminated.

As the industrialization phase demands great patience of tests and trials and huge capital investment, such a middle zone that scientific research institutions and enterprises are often unwilling to touch is like the Dead Sea where fish, shrimp, water and grass can hardly survive.

To help more innovations survive the "Darwinian Sea", northeast China's Liaoning Province, one of the country's old industrial bases, set up a fine chemical engineering medium-sized test demonstration base in Panjin City.

The base focuses on the testing of five key fields: catalyst, pharmaceutical intermediates, electronic chemicals, polymer materials, and new energy materials, with its first specialized testing line built in 2020. It aims to foster more new quality productive forces for the future growth, said Zhang Jianguo, who is in charge of the base.

"It is like a chef who usually cooks for only 10 people is suddenly asked to prepare food for 100 diners. Due to lack of experience, he is very likely to fail to grasp the proper timing and temperature," Zhang explained. "Therefore, he needs to try to cook for 20 diners, then 50, and finally 100 people."

Zhang added that the base offers similar trial conditions for research institutes and tech companies. Currently, the base has five more ongoing testing projects like the Sanli Zhongke new material one.

In the past, Zibo Luhua Hongjin New Material Group Co., Ltd. had to carry out medium-sized tests on its own testing line. Recently, its branch in Panjin has successfully completed the trial on its new cycloolefin copolymer production line and is waiting to conduct more tests at the base.

"Our company no longer needs to build a testing line for each product, as we can have medium-sized tests at the base directly," said Cong Hao, deputy general manager of the group's Panjin branch.

Beside testing workshops, the base is also equipped with specialized warehouses for hazardous waste, laboratories, fire suppression ponds and so on, safeguarding complete testing and emergency response procedures for the companies.

The base is also exploring digital facility applications in the tests. Combining simulation verification with real operation tests, they hope to minimize the testing risk for the enterprises as much as possible, Zhang said.