The Challenge
Scaling Industrial Water Reuse Sustainably in One of China’s Thirstiest Cities
Tangshan, a major industrial hub in northern China, is home to large-scale steel and chemical operations that drive high water demand. The city has become a leader in industrial water reuse within Hebei Province, a critical response to regional water scarcity and national mandates for sustainable development.
To meet growing industrial discharge volumes and increase treated water recovery, our customer, a leading public water company, expanded the capacity of the wastewater reuse plant in 2022. However, the expansion also triggered significant increases in energy consumption and operational expenditure (OPEX). Compounding this was the urgency to align with China’s carbon neutrality and peak carbon targets.
The reverse osmosis (RO) process, core to the plant’s water reuse operation, was identified as a major energy sink. To address this, the customer sought a proven solution to recover energy from the RO brine stream and lower the burden on the high-pressure pumps, while ensuring operational reliability and long-term sustainability.
