Starting from this week, most regions in our country have entered the autumn and winter mode. With the arrival of the autumn and winter seasons, environmental issues such as smog may also follow. Therefore, how to manage air pollution has become the focus of public attention. Recently, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the National Development and Reform Commission, and ten other ministries jointly released the "Comprehensive Action Plan for Air Pollution Control in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and Surrounding Areas for Autumn and Winter 2017-2018" with Beijing, Tianjin, and six provinces (cities). Compared to the 2016 plan, this action plan has increased both the scope of remediation and the intensity of enforcement. The raw material pharmaceutical industry has become a key focus of this governance, emphasizing that if raw material pharmaceutical production enterprises violate emission procedures, they will be suspended from production.

Experts have indicated that with the introduction of relevant environmental pollution control action plans, a large number of small and medium-sized raw material pharmaceutical enterprises that are unable to upgrade their environmental protection measures may be eliminated, leading to a reshuffle in the raw material pharmaceutical industry. Facing environmental protection pressures, raw material pharmaceutical enterprises are under tremendous challenges. At the same time, the upstream raw material pharmaceutical equipment industry will also face difficulties. How can they avoid production stoppages and restrictions? Raw material pharmaceutical and equipment enterprises need to engage in a prolonged battle. This article will mainly analyze how raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises can better assist raw material pharmaceutical enterprises in overcoming the crisis, and how raw material pharmaceutical equipment can position itself during this crisis.
Increasing output and reducing pollution emissions is the fundamental solution to the problem.
According to relevant experts, the waste disposal of raw material pharmaceuticals is very challenging because a pharmaceutical factory often needs to produce dozens of types of raw material pharmaceuticals, and the waste from these raw materials is completely different. Therefore, to solve the pollution problem of raw material pharmaceuticals, enterprises need to control pollutant emissions from the source and improve the output level of raw material pharmaceuticals. As the equipment support for raw material pharmaceutical production, enterprises should timely adjust their development strategies, focusing on improving energy-saving and environmental protection indicators of equipment during the production process.
Improving the output level of raw material pharmaceuticals and addressing pollution emissions from the source is fundamental to solving pollution problems. It is also the goal that raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises strive for in equipment research and development. In the face of heavy environmental protection pressures, raw material pharmaceutical equipment should further optimize product and enterprise structures, develop and produce advanced technology equipment to help raw material pharmaceutical enterprises reduce pollutant emissions from the source and promote sustainable development in the industry.
I have learned that as the concept of environmental protection becomes deeply ingrained, raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises also fully recognize the importance of green environmental protection. Many raw material pharmaceutical equipment have integrated green concepts. For example, in the field of drying equipment, the emergence of microwave vacuum drying equipment has made the drying process of raw materials environmentally friendly, clean, and hygienic, with no pollution. This is because microwaves have penetrating properties that heat the medium inside and outside simultaneously, eliminating the need for heat conduction, resulting in fast heating without generating "three wastes" issues.
To control pollution, it is necessary to first manage pollutant emissions at the source to truly improve the environment. Therefore, raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises must strictly design and develop production equipment based on environmental protection indicators, rather than sacrificing the environment. I have learned that Changzhou Lema Drying has adhered to green development during its growth, planning to establish a dedicated environmental protection company and supporting engineering laboratory center, establishing energy-saving and consumption-reducing environmental product design as core elements.
Although raw material pharmaceutical equipment in our country is well aware of the importance of green environmental protection, many raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises currently cannot achieve emission reduction, low emissions, or even zero emissions due to technical shortcomings. Many core technologies still need to be introduced and referenced from abroad. Therefore, in future development, raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises need to continuously attract and accumulate talent and technology, engage in technological innovation, and promote the green and environmental upgrade of equipment.
Reducing equipment costs is an important issue.
It is well known that in the pharmaceutical production process, raw materials are at the end of the industrial chain, with relatively low added value. However, the wastewater, waste gas, and waste residue generated during the production of raw materials are often difficult to handle and require high standards for equipment, resulting in high equipment costs. According to a company’s calculations, if they strictly build factories and environmental protection equipment according to environmental standards, they would need to invest about 400 million in hardware. In addition, pharmaceutical companies also need to pay substantial routine maintenance costs, which burdens the enterprises. More critically, under the enormous investment in environmental protection, whether the enterprises can achieve profitability remains a question.
Additionally, some raw material pharmaceutical enterprises have revealed that their newly installed wastewater treatment facilities with a daily processing capacity of 2,500 tons and supporting high-concentration wastewater pretreatment facilities require over 50 million yuan. The operating cost for treating one ton of wastewater is around 200 yuan, meaning that processing 2,500 tons a day would cost 500,000 yuan. Over time, this will amount to astronomical figures.
Currently, the requirements for pollution control of raw material pharmaceutical enterprises in our country are becoming increasingly strict. Due to the enormous equipment costs, raw material pharmaceutical enterprises express their difficulties. Some small and medium-sized enterprises may be forced out of the market due to their inability to upgrade environmental protection equipment, or they may find themselves in awkward situations of production stoppage or restrictions.
In response, experts have pointed out that under this crisis, raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises need to continuously innovate and develop high-tech, environmentally friendly production equipment to reduce production time and improve efficiency. At the same time, raw material pharmaceutical equipment enterprises must continue to innovate, improve equipment quality, and reduce production costs, making this high-efficiency equipment more accessible and widespread. As the various complex equipment costs decrease, the production costs of raw materials will also decrease, allowing enterprises to invest more funds into upgrading and replacing equipment.
Postscript
Raw material pharmaceuticals are a high-pollution, high-energy-consuming industry, and their emissions severely pollute the atmosphere and water bodies. For example, the wastewater generated during the production of raw materials contains a large number of chemical substances that are difficult to biodegrade and residual drug components, as well as high nitrogen content, sulfates, and salts, which have poor biodegradability. Therefore, reducing pollutant emissions during the production of raw materials is crucial. Reducing pollutant emissions from the source can effectively control pollution in the atmosphere and water bodies, while also reducing the difficulty of subsequent treatment issues. However, it must be acknowledged that there are still many raw material pharmaceutical enterprises that do not meet waste treatment standards or directly discharge without treatment. The lack of environmental protection equipment technology and high costs are significant factors contributing to this issue. Nowadays, the state is increasingly emphasizing green and environmental protection development, and many action plans are specifically targeting raw materials. In the face of the "life and death crisis," raw material pharmaceutical enterprises must strictly self-regulate, reduce emissions, and meet discharge standards. On this path, strengthening technological innovation and research and development of raw material pharmaceutical equipment to produce high-tech, high-quality, and low-cost equipment is a powerful weapon for raw materials to escape the "life and death crisis." At the same time, doing so will enable raw material pharmaceutical equipment to achieve sustainable development.