Natural high-intensity sweetener producer PureCircle has completed on schedule the major expansion of its extraction plant complex in the Jiangxi province of southeastern China.

Natural high-intensity sweetener producer PureCircle has completed on schedule the major expansion of its extraction plant complex in the Jiangxi province of southeastern China.

The upgrade program, which included the quadrupling of stevia extract capacity to 4,000 metric tons annually, ensures that the Jiangxi plant continues to be the largest stevia extract factory in the world. The expansion also incorporates next-generation process improvements that will further enhance the environmental efficiency of the high purity Reb A global supply chain and deliver major productivity benefits to PureCircle.

Specifically, the expansion covers a 20-hectare site and includes extensive water re-cycling and treatment facilities; new warehousing to accommodate the stevia leaf throughput needed to run the factory to capacity; a state-of-the-art, bio-mass energy facility that will convert a high proportion of the waste leaf into a natural source of electricity; an additional factory that converts all residual leaf waste into natural animal food and fertilizer products; and extra land for future expansion.

Overall, the expansion has taken almost two years to complete at a cost of $32 million.

Separately, the doubling of Reb A refining capacity to 2,000 metric tons at its state-of-the-art refinery in Malaysia is progressing on schedule and is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.