Domestic RO membranes continue to gain momentum, covering seawater desalination and wastewater resource recovery applications.

In recent years, domestic reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technologies have witnessed steady and pragmatic development, gradually expanding their application boundaries and gaining solid traction in two core water treatment fields: seawater desalination and wastewater resource recovery. This industry shift marks a critical upgrade of China’s water treatment material sector, moving from basic civilian water purification scenarios to high-standard, industrial-level water resource recycling fields, reflecting the continuous improvement of independent research and development and industrial supporting capabilities of domestic membrane products.

Seawater desalination, as a key solution to alleviate freshwater resource shortages in coastal and arid regions, has long relied on high-precision membrane core components. In the past, foreign RO membrane products occupied a dominant position in the high-end seawater desalination market due to early technical accumulation and stable product performance. However, domestic manufacturers have made persistent breakthroughs in membrane material modification, structural optimization, and pressure resistance technology in recent years. Current domestic RO membranes have achieved significant improvements in salt rejection rate, anti-fouling performance and service life, adapting to the harsh working conditions of high salinity and high pressure in seawater desalination projects. More importantly, localized production and iterative optimization of production processes have made domestic membrane products more adaptable to the actual operating environment of domestic desalination projects, effectively matching the climatic and water quality characteristics of different coastal regions.

Beyond seawater desalination, wastewater resource recovery has become another vital growth track for domestic RO membrane applications. With the continuous advancement of industrial green transformation and urban sewage treatment upgrading, the demand for recycling secondary water resources is rising rapidly. Traditional wastewater treatment processes can only meet discharge standards, while RO membrane technology enables deep purification of treated wastewater, turning industrial wastewater and urban reclaimed water into reusable water resources for production, cooling and urban landscape use. Domestic RO membranes are widely applied in industrial park wastewater treatment, municipal reclaimed water projects and enterprise circular water systems, solving the pain point of low resource utilization efficiency in traditional water treatment modes.

The growing momentum of domestic RO membranes stems from dual support of technological progress and policy orientation. On the technical side, domestic enterprises and research institutions have broken through multiple technical bottlenecks in high-flux and anti-pollution membrane preparation, narrowing the performance gap with international advanced products. On the policy side, national strategies for water resource conservation, circular economy and ecological environmental protection have driven the iterative upgrading of the water treatment industry, creating a broad market space for localized membrane materials.

Nevertheless, the industry still faces subtle challenges. The high-end ultra-low pressure and high-temperature resistant membrane segments still have room for technical improvement, and brand recognition in the international market needs further cultivation. In the future, with continuous investment in basic research and industrialized verification, domestic RO membranes are expected to further replace imported products in high-end scenarios and expand overseas application markets, becoming an important support for the global water resource recycling industry