“BF Inside ” Core Technology

The BiFei membrane separation technology is mainly reflected in three aspects: membrane raw material synthesis, membrane pore formation, and encapsulation, which constitute the core of BF Inside:

(1) In the field of membrane raw materials, currently, most membrane manufacturers have limited options. After experiencing CA/PA/PAN/PE/PVC/PS/PES, PVDF/PTFE materials with better comprehensive performance such as mechanical strength and chemical resistance are generally chosen. However, there are significant technical challenges with high molecular weight PVDF/PTFE (in the million molecular weight range). BiFei 's high molecular weight PVDF/PTFE membrane raw materials, after special modification, are defined as BFPM, which represents the core technology of BF Inside.

(2) In the field of membrane pore formation, narrow and highly concentrated pore forming technology is crucial for membranes to break into blue ocean markets from red ones. BiFei has mastered membrane manufacturing techniques that achieve 90-99% pore size concentration. This technology can provide membrane filaments or cores for industries which have entry criteria. These cores are defined as BFMIN, representing the core technology of BF Inside.

(3) In the field of membrane encapsulation and application, BiFei 's unique uniform encapsulation technology, open assembly technology, and high-pressure dual-membrane direct connection technology form membrane stacks or systems. These systems can serve as key process packages for high-end water treatment and biopharmaceutical systems. This process package is defined as BFTB, representing the applied technology of BF Inside.

Global Membrane Technology

The core membrane separation technology primarily consists of three major schools: North American technology, Japanese technology, and Chinese technology.

The North American school, represented by the North American Membrane Technology Institute, began research and development in 1980 and gradually industrialization，the technological strength comes from universities in the United States and Canada, along with top Jewish experts. The most commercially successful ultrafiltration companies include Canadian Zenon (founded by a Jewish entrepreneur), acquired by GE in 2006 and then by French Suez in 2017. The most advanced reverse osmosis company is Filmtec, later merged into Dow Chemical, which combined with DuPont in 2016. Currently, its reverse osmosis membrane market share exceeds 45%. These two companies are among the world leaders in ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis products. Several main technical experts from BiFei once served at the North American Membrane Institute.

Japanese membrane technology is mainly held by several large corporations, including Mitsubishi, Toray, and Asahi Kasei, representing the Japanese membrane technology school. Since 1990, they have been developing and industrializing. Each company has a well-established R&D system and remains at the forefront during technological updates, continuously enhancing their technologies through commercial operations. For example, Nitto Denko acquired the US-based Hydranautics in 1987. After 20 years of development, its reverse osmosis membrane business ranked second globally since 2010, just behind DowDuPont. Similarly, Toray acquired South Korea's WOONGJINSAEHAN in 2013, securing the top spot in the residential water purification market.

Chinese technology began to develop around 1995, with institutions like Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Hangzhou Water Treatment Research Institute, along with some chemical engineering universities, starting research and attempting to convert it into practical applications. Around 2000, under Chinese government leadership, foreign Chinese academicians were invited, and substantial capital was invested in two attempts to industrialize reverse osmosis membranes (one in Liaoning and one in Zhejiang), both of which failed , then the industrialization of reverse osmosis membrane technology continued to be researched and improved for a long time. Since 2005, some well-known companies in the industry have collaborated with domestic universities and research institutes, contacted with Japanese companies for technological cooperation, learning, and absorption. They gradually acquired mature membrane industrialization technology through market resource and technology exchanges. Notably, Beijing OriginWater Technology Co., Ltd. successfully industrialized ultrafiltration membranes (including MBR) in collaboration with Mitsubishi, while Scinor Membrane Technology Co., Ltd. (acquired by Tianhao Environment) successfully industrialized ultrafiltration membranes in partnership with Tsinghua University and Japan's Asahi Kasei. Additionally, Lanxing Toray Reverse Osmosis Membrane Company was established in collaboration with Toray. Other notable companies like Tianjin Membrane Technology, Jiuwu High-Tech Membrane, and Votron Membrane, which have close ties with Tianjin Polytechnic University and Nanjing Tech University.

The difference of application fields of comprehensive membrane technology solutions, technical barriers leading to corresponding diferent profit levels. As practitioners shift their thinking from construction costs to overall operational costs, some low-priced but low-performance products and technologies will gradually be phased out. Energy-efficient and durable products will become the mainstream in the market. Early identification and control of more advanced ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis (including nanofiltration) technologies will yield unexpected results.

With the continuous strengthening of environmental protection efforts, the constant improvement of water quality standards, and the gradual upgrading of drinking water usage standards, the demand for membrane technology applications will steadily release, maintaining high overall profitability in the industry.