Lier Chemical upgrades its glufosinate facility to produce L-glufosinate

Lier Chemical is China’s largest manufacturer of chloropyridine technical and formulation producer, as well as the largest manufacturer of glufosinate technical. Backed by its technical superiority, the company is the first Chinese manufacturer to master the key techniques enabling the mass production of glufosinate and L-glufosinate.

Lier Chemical recently began production of L-glufosinate. In April 2022, Lier Chemical announced its safety and pollution control initiative, in coordination with the first environmental impact assessment of its glufosinate product upgrading project.

Conventional glufosinate is a mixture of two isomers, but only L-isomer is active and easily decomposes in the soil, making it less toxic to humans and animals. At present, glufosinate products commercially available on the market are raceme mixtures. If the product can be made into pure optical L-isomer, the amount of glufosinate used can be reduced by 50%, which will improve the economic efficiency of the product while reducing the impact on the environment.

To improve the company’s glufosinate market competitiveness and meet market demand, Lier Chemical is planning to launch a project to upgrade its glufosinate production line at its workshop in its existing plant area in the Mianyang production base. Upon the completion of the technical upgrading, the biologically inactive D-isomer in glufosinate will be converted into the active L-glufosinate, which will improve the efficacy of glufosinate and reduce the amount used.