[Mainland China] Urumqi Ganquanpu High-Salinity Tailwater "Fully Consumed": 50,000 m³/day Wastewater Resource Recovery, 70% of Tailwater Converted to Reclaimed Water, Waste Salt Produced into Grade II Industrial Salt

Key Highlights: Recently, the wastewater resource utilization project in Urumqi Ganquanpu Economic and Technological Development Zone entered commissioning and operation. The project covers an area of over 8.2万 square meters, treating 5万 cubic meters of high-salinity industrial tailwater per day. After advanced treatment through 42 process stages, approximately 70% of the tailwater is converted into high-quality Reclaimed Water, while the remaining concentrated brine undergoes evaporation and crystallization to produce industrial salt that meets Grade II standards. A zero-carbon industrial park has simultaneously achieved dual resource recovery of "Reclaimed Water + Industrial Salt."

I. From "Compliance Discharge" to "Resource Recovery": The Second Value Curve of Industrial Wastewater

The goal of traditional industrial wastewater treatment is typically "compliance discharge," and high-salinity tailwater is often regarded as a burden due to high treatment costs and limited resource recovery pathways. What makes the Ganquanpu project different is that it manages tailwater as both a water resource and a salt resource.

The project was developed and constructed by Xinjiang Derun Zhongjian Water Resources Development Co., Ltd. and is operated and maintained by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Green Industry Investment Co., Ltd. It encompasses the renovation of the north zone wastewater treatment plant, a new reclaimed water desalination plant, supporting pipelines and ancillary facilities, and a Smart Water operations management platform. Approximately 3.3万 tons of enterprise-discharged wastewater enters the pretreatment workshop daily, passing through chemical dosing, flocculation, sedimentation, and other processes before entering the membrane treatment workshop.

II. 42 Process Stages: Dual-Line Recovery of Water and Salt

The project's process flow can be summarized as "water-salt separation, each put to its best use":

• Pretreatment — Wastewater from park enterprises is treated and conveyed to the reclaimed water desalination plant, where chemicals are dosed to remove various impurities, preparing for advanced water purification
• Dual-Membrane System — After filtration, the wastewater is separated into clean water and concentrated water. The clean water is directly conveyed to enterprises for reuse; the concentrated water enters subsequent advanced treatment to maximize water resource recovery and reduce energy consumption of the salt evaporation equipment
• Evaporation and Crystallization — The concentrated brine is heated and evaporated in the evaporation and crystallization workshop. The water vapor is condensed and recovered, producing industrial salt that meets Grade II standards, used for industrial production, road de-icing, and other purposes

The filtration equipment in the membrane treatment workshop acts like a "purifier," precisely intercepting salts and impurities in the wastewater. The Reclaimed Water flowing out on site is clear and transparent — 70% of the tailwater is converted into high-quality Reclaimed Water, widely used in industrial production and plant-area landscaping; the remaining tailwater is concentrated into brine for further treatment, ultimately "turning waste into treasure" in the form of industrial salt.

III. Why Ganquanpu?

Ganquanpu Economic and Technological Development Zone is one of China's first batch of pilot zero-carbon industrial parks, hosting numerous new energy and new materials enterprises. These enterprises have enormous industrial water demands and complex wastewater compositions, making high-salinity tailwater disposal a persistent pain point in the park's green transformation.

The significance of this project lies not only in how much wastewater it treats, but in the fact that it validates the economic feasibility of resource recovery from high-salinity industrial tailwater:

• For the Industrial Park — Reclaimed Water becomes a stable "second water source," reducing dependence on fresh water
• For Enterprises — Industrial salt recovery creates additional revenue, partially offsetting treatment costs
• For the Industry — Provides a replicable paradigm of coordinated water-salt recovery for similar zero-carbon industrial parks, chemical industrial parks, and new materials industrial parks

Against the backdrop of tightening water resource constraints and carbon emission constraints simultaneously, the connotation of "wastewater resource utilization" is expanding from mere Reclaimed Water Reuse to multi-resource recovery of water, salt, thermal energy, and minerals.

IV. High-Salinity Wastewater Treatment Shifting from "Cost Center" to "Value Center"

The Ganquanpu project reveals a trend: industrial wastewater treatment is shifting from "spending money to meet standards" to "spending money to make money." To achieve this transformation, three capabilities are required:

First, segregated collection and precise diagnosis. Wastewater discharged by different enterprises and different processes varies greatly in salinity, organic matter, and heavy metals. Segregated collection and water quality profiling must be completed at the source to provide stable, predictable influent conditions for subsequent resource recovery processes.

Second, coupled optimization of membrane technology and evaporation crystallization. The dual-membrane system determines water recovery rate and brine concentration, while evaporation crystallization determines salt product quality and energy consumption. The degree of matching between the two directly determines the project's economic viability.

Third, digital operations capability. The project includes a Smart Water operations management platform for real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of water quality, water quantity, energy consumption, and salt product quality. In scenarios like high-salinity wastewater — characterized by "large influent fluctuations and long process chains" — digitalization is not just an added bonus, but a prerequisite for stable operation.

The Ganquanpu practice demonstrates that high-salinity tailwater is not merely waste to be "burned" or "buried," but a resource that can be "squeezed dry." For industrial water treatment companies, whoever can help clients simultaneously recover both water and salt resources will establish a true barrier in the competition for zero-carbon industrial parks.

About TIANYI TECH

Hong Kong TIANYI Limited (TIANYI LIMITED) focuses on industrial water treatment and water resource reuse. Centered on three core products — Industrial Wastewater Treatment AI Agent, Industrial Water Reuse Optimization System, and Industrial Water System Digital Twin — the company provides enterprises with full-chain services from water quality diagnosis and process optimization to intelligent operation, helping customers improve water reuse rates and reduce operating costs.

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