Recently, at an industry association's entrepreneur salon for water treatment companies, an unassuming entrepreneur casually mentioned their company's long-term focus on zero-discharge of industrial wastewater in the Yellow River Basin, with remarkable results. Several entrepreneurs present nodded in agreement and expressed their approval.

China has an energy structure rich in coal but short of oil and natural gas. To address the long-term reliance on oil imports due to shortages, the country is vigorously promoting the modern coal chemical industry.

The enormous demand has undoubtedly brought unprecedented business opportunities to the water treatment industry. Water treatment companies are adjusting their application areas, focusing on and entering the coal chemical wastewater treatment market, which has also spurred upgrades and replacements of near-zero discharge technologies for coal chemical wastewater. This includes traditional biological methods, membrane concentration, advanced oxidation, electro-adsorption desalination, and other processes. However, regardless of the process, the treatment and resource utilization of high-salt wastewater in the later stages of coal chemical wastewater treatment has always been a difficult problem, a technical bottleneck restricting wastewater treatment processes.

From "near-zero discharge" to "zero discharge," it is not only the inevitable direction of green industrial development but also the ultimate goal that countless environmental protection workers strive for. Because this represents a qualitative leap. Huzhongsi (Beijing) Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. is a small giant that has achieved this qualitative leap.

For 20 years, Huzhongsi has always attached importance to technological innovation and equipment research and development, investing 60 million yuan to establish its own laboratory, pilot plant, and production base. It has completed more than 500 water treatment projects for more than 1,000 customers in over 50 countries, applied for nearly 200 patents, including 11 authorized invention patents and 21 invention patents pending. It independently researches and produces high-flow filtration systems, a full series of pollution index measuring instruments, and special agents for evaporation crystallization systems. It has developed two industry-leading cryogenic and seed crystal methods for high-salt wastewater treatment, participated in the compilation of 7 national and industry standards for industrial water treatment, and the projects it has undertaken have won more than 26 awards at or above the ministerial level, many of which are industry benchmark projects.

It is particularly noteworthy that the company's developed evaporation crystallization technology has broken the monopoly of key equipment from Europe and America, reducing the total investment in system engineering by at least 50%, forming a new technological route suitable for China's industrial and operational environment, and filling a domestic gap.

In the face of Huzhongsi's impressive achievements, one is reminded of Germany's hidden champions. As is well known, the reason why German manufacturing enjoys a global reputation is because Germany has countless small, sophisticated, and globally leading hidden champion enterprises. The "specialized, refined, distinctive, and new" small giants promoted by the Chinese government in recent years are, in a sense, aimed at creating more Chinese versions of hidden champions. Huzhongsi Environment is one of the "specialized, refined, distinctive, and new" small giant enterprises awarded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government.

What exactly is Huzhongsi's specialization, refinement, distinctiveness, and innovation?

Specialized: The company has always focused on the field of zero-discharge of industrial wastewater and wastewater resource utilization, especially for energy enterprises in the Yellow River Basin. It has developed the most efficient, energy-saving, and economical evaporation crystallization system process package for coal chemical, mine wastewater, and power plants, and successfully applied it in several benchmark projects, launching a zero-discharge solution for high-salt wastewater.

Refined: The company has always focused on membrane-based water treatment and zero-discharge in industrial water treatment, creating one benchmark project after another. For example, the largest coal chemical park zero-discharge project in Asia and even the world—the National Energy Ningdong Mining Area; the first salt separation zero-discharge project in the power industry—the Guodian Hanchuan Project; and the first graphene wastewater zero-discharge project—the Qingdao Laixi City Graphene New Material Industry Cluster Project.

Distinctive: The company's research and development of "concentration crystallization, salt separation, and resource utilization technology and equipment, and deep treatment technology and equipment for coal chemical wastewater" was included in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's first batch of "major environmental protection technology equipment supported by the state". "Industrial high-salt wastewater evaporation crystallization and high-value resource treatment and utilization technology" won the "Beijing Energy-Saving Technology and Product Recommendation Catalog (2020 edition)". The company's research and development of high-salt wastewater resource zero-discharge technology has been included multiple times in the "Beijing Energy-Saving Technology and Product Recommendation Catalog" and the "National Advanced Pollution Prevention and Control Demonstration Technology List".

New: As a national-level high-tech enterprise, it regards technological research and development and innovation as the foundation of its development, digesting and absorbing advanced foreign technologies to improve their economic efficiency. It not only invests in the construction of its own pilot plant and production base but also engages in strategic cooperation with Whiting, a leader in thermal evaporation technology in Canada, leveraging world-leading technologies to solve customers' water treatment problems.

Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. 20 years, the first 10 years were spent laying the groundwork, and the next 10 years saw an explosion of growth.

In an interview, the company's chairman, Tian Xufeng, said: "After years of practice in the water treatment industry, we have focused on zero-discharge and chosen evaporation crystallization, which is inseparable from market demand. After achieving zero-discharge, in the past five years, we have been striving for higher goals in wastewater resource utilization, turning waste in water into valuable industrial products. High value-added projects not only reduce the investment and operating pressure of owners but also become profit points for some owners, turning waste into treasure. For example, in the positive electrode industry of new energy batteries, owners can earn 10 yuan per ton of wastewater treatment, turning environmental protection projects from a burden into profit. It should be said that technology has no limits, and we still have a lot of work to do on the road to wastewater resource utilization, and there will be more exciting developments in the future."

Content from Xinhua News Agency

Reporter: Wu Xiaowei