Recovering carbon sources from kitchen waste using membrane technology

Food waste is a high-concentration organic waste, with the potential chemical energy contained in each ton of wastewater reaching up to nine times the energy consumed for treatment. However, traditional activated sludge processes often result in large amounts of carbon and nitrogen sources escaping in gaseous form, leading not only to a significant waste of resources but also limiting the energy efficiency improvement of wastewater treatment systems.

In response to this industry pain point, Jiuwu Hi-Tech, with its self-developed organic tubular membrane technology, has provided a precise "golden key" for the resource utilization of food waste, successfully converting food wastewater into high-value-added supplemental carbon sources and renewable energy. This has paved a green transformation path of "treating waste with waste while reducing costs and improving efficiency."

Technological Breakthrough: Organic Tubular Membrane Redefines Separation Precision

Breaking the inherent constraints of traditional processes, the core lies in innovating solid-liquid separation technology. Jiuwu Hi-Tech's organic tubular membrane technology uses non-woven fabric as the base material, with a precisely coated separation layer of polymer materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) on the surface, creating a nanoscale filtration precision of 10–100 nm.

• High Separation Efficiency: Nanoscale precision ensures ultra-stable permeate quality, enabling efficient carbon source extraction.

• High Concentration Capability: Wide-channel design allows tolerance to high-solids wastewater shocks, with concentrated solids content reaching over 10%.

• Large Treatment Capacity: High-packing-density membrane modules enable a single system to treat 100–200 m³ per day.

• Low Overall Cost: Compact footprint significantly reduces capital investment in infrastructure, and with a fully automated control system, labor maintenance costs are cut by up to 60%.

Real-World Case: A Solid Track Record for the 150 Tons/Day Project

The advancement of technology ultimately must be validated by engineering practice. In a food wastewater carbon source recovery project with a daily treatment capacity of 150 tons, Jiuwu Hi-Tech supplied two organic tubular membrane systems (one for operation, one as backup), each equipped with six membrane modules (single module area: 27.2 m²). Two months of on-site operational data strongly confirmed the reliability and outstanding performance of this technology:

●Excellent Flux Performance: The system maintains a stable flux in the high range of 60–80 L/(m²·h) during long-term operation.

●Strong Anti-Fouling Capability: In the complex food wastewater environment, flux decline is minimal, and the chemical cleaning cycle is significantly extended.

●Thorough Separation Efficiency: Achieves complete retention of suspended solids in the wastewater, with permeate turbidity stably below 1 NTU, producing clear and clean water.

Value Reshaping: From Waste Treatment Facility to "Carbon Source Recovery Station"

The successful application of Jiuwu Hi-Tech's organic tubular membrane technology marks a profound transformation in food waste treatment processes. With this technology, wastewater treatment plants are no longer merely end-of-pipe pollution control facilities but have been transformed into high-value "carbon source recovery stations."

This technology not only genuinely converts the organic matter in wastewater into renewable energy and fertilizer, but also achieves a significant environmental benefit of reducing carbon emissions by 60%. Guided by the "dual carbon" goals, this innovative model of transforming waste management into carbon asset development not only greatly reduces the energy consumption demand of wastewater treatment systems, but also provides a highly replicable "Jiuwu solution" for the sustainable development of the entire environmental protection industry.

Self-Developed and Manufactured Organic Membranes Forge "Membrane Power" with Wide Applications

Currently, Jiuwu Hi-Tech's organic membranes possess a full-chain independent R&D system covering "materials – processes – equipment," and have been widely applied in high-value fields such as bio-fermentation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, plant extraction, and industrial wastewater treatment. These membranes not only enable precise molecular-level filtration to replace and upgrade traditional processes, but also, with their proprietary core technology, effectively drive the transformation of related industries toward green and precision manufacturing, breaking the long-standing dependence on imported high-end separation membranes.