Ceramic membranes have become the mainstream technology for municipal water treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) in the water treatment field, thanks to their advantages of acid and alkali resistance, high temperature resistance, anti-fouling properties, long service life, and high precision.

I. Core Advantages (Water Treatment Scenarios)

• Chemical & High Temperature Resistance: Stable at pH 0–14 and 80–120°C, allowing cleaning with strong acids, strong alkalis, or high-temperature fluids.

• Strong Anti-Fouling Performance: Hydrophilic surface combined with high shear force, making it ideal for treating high-turbidity, high-viscosity, high-solid, and oily wastewater.

• Long Service Life: Approximately 10–20 years, 3–5 times longer than organic membranes, resulting in low operation and maintenance costs.

• Full Precision Coverage: Covers microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), and nanofiltration (NF), capable of retaining particles, colloids, bacteria, viruses, and some organic substances.

• Backwash & In-Situ Cleaning Capability: Fast flux recovery and long cleaning intervals.

II. Municipal Drinking Water Treatment (Mainstream Applications)

• Large-Scale Municipal Water Plants: Yiwu No.3 Water Plant (100,000 m³/d, tubular ceramic ultrafiltration) and Guangzhou Nansha Huangge Water Plant (100,000 m³/d, flat-sheet ceramic membranes). Effluent turbidity < 0.05 NTU, meeting direct drinking water standards.

• Rural/Township Water Supply: Integrated equipment (100–300 m³/d) with a short process flow, small footprint, and fast construction, suitable for decentralized water supply.

• Emergency/Direct Drinking Water: Rapid purification to remove bacteria and viruses, replacing sand filtration + chlorination and reducing disinfectant usage.

III. Industrial Wastewater Treatment (Core Scenario)

1. Oily Wastewater (Petrochemical / Machinery / Steel)

• Separates emulsified oil and dissolved oil; effluent oil content < 10 mg/L, COD < 200 mg/L, enabling water reuse.

• Typical cases: Oilfield produced water, machining emulsions, cold-rolling wastewater from steel mills.

2. Heavy Metal Wastewater (Electroplating / Metallurgy / PCB)

• Retains heavy metals (Cu/Cr/Ni/Zn/Pb) and, when combined with RO, achieves zero liquid discharge (ZLD).

• Applicable to: Electroplating rinse water, PCB etching solutions, metallurgical pickling wastewater.

3. High-Salinity / High-Hardness Wastewater (Coal Chemical / Salt Lakes / Seawater)

• Resistant to high salinity and scaling; used as RO pre-treatment to protect RO membranes and extend their lifespan.

• Case: Erdos high-salinity water treatment, where the produced water meets RO feed water standards.

4. Printing & Dyeing / Chemical Wastewater

• High temperature resistance (80–100°C), decolorization rate > 90%, removes suspended solids and colloids.

• Applicable to: Dye wastewater, chemical synthesis mother liquors, catalyst recovery.

5. Food / Pharmaceutical Wastewater

• Sterilization and clarification; capable of high-temperature disinfection, complying with GMP standards. Used for fermentation broths, extracts, and beverage clarification.

6. Landfill Leachate / High-Concentration Organic Wastewater

• Resistant to high pollution and organic content; removal rate of 45%–100%. Combined with AOP/RO to meet discharge standards or enable reuse.

IV. Seawater Desalination & Membrane-Based Combined Processes

• Seawater Desalination Pre-Treatment: Replaces multimedia filtration to remove suspended solids, colloids, and microorganisms, extending RO membrane lifespan by over 30%.

• Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD): Ceramic membrane + NF + RO + evaporative crystallization to achieve full wastewater reuse and solid waste reduction.

• CMBR (Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor): Replaces organic MBRs, offering shock resistance, long lifespan, and high sludge concentration, with effluent meeting Grade A standards.

V. Advantages of Rotating Ceramic Membranes (Dynamic Membranes) in Water Treatment

• High shear force + centrifugal force, making it extremely suitable for high-solid, high-viscosity, and scale-prone wastewater (e.g., ultrafine powders, sludge thickening, high-concentration feed liquids).

• More stable flux, longer cleaning intervals, and lower energy consumption, ideal for difficult-to-treat systems.

VI. Typical Process Combinations (Commonly Used)

• Municipal: Raw water → Ceramic ultrafiltration → Disinfection (Yiwu model, no coagulation and sedimentation).

• Industrial: Pre-treatment → Ceramic membrane → NF/RO → Reuse / Zero Liquid Discharge.

• MBR: AAO → Ceramic MBR → Disinfection (Upgrading and retrofitting).

VII. Selection Guidelines (Water Treatment)

• Materials: Alumina (general-purpose), zirconia (acid/high-salt resistance), silicon carbide (high temperature/high pollution resistance).

• Forms: Tubular (high packing density, municipal/large flow), flat-sheet (MBR/easy cleaning), rotating disc (high-solid/high-viscosity).

• Precision: MF (0.1–2 μm, turbidity/bacteria removal), UF (5–100 nm, colloid/macromolecule removal), NF (divalent salts/small organic molecules).