Abstract: On the afternoon of January 31, Ningbo, a snowy sky, the 76-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the leader of the Chinese film industry, Gao Congxi, rushed to Beilun Xiaogang. His purpose was to investigate a Ningbo enterprise. What is the excitement of this company called Net Source Technology, so that the high academicians can go on a trip before the snow? The reporter also followed the high academician and went to find out.

Turning the nuclear missile seal into a "water purification expert"

In the 1990s, a method called membrane treatment - using plastic materials to make filter membranes, purification of sewage into the market, and rapidly developed into the mainstream, the total output value of the industry rose from 200 million in 1993 to 2015 100 billion yuan. The material of the original filter membrane was mainly made of PVC. Later, Japan and the United States developed PVDF filter membranes to further enhance the performance.

And Net Source Technology has a killer trick - PTFE membrane water treatment, this water treatment method can be called a kind of "magic." Originally, the membrane of Net Source Technology was made of a new material, PTFE.

PTFE Chinese name is Teflon, which was discovered by the father of fluororesin Roy Planck in the 1930s. It is called “Plastic King” and has excellent chemical stability and corrosion resistance.

Because it can withstand the high temperature of 260 ° C, it has been used as a raw material for nuclear missile seals since the discovery, and has been kept secret until the end of the last century.

Conventional water treatment methods include distillation, mechanical separation using physical principles such as sedimentation and air flotation, ion exchange, sand filtration, etc. However, these methods generally have disadvantages such as high cost, low efficiency, and incomplete filtration.

In the net source company, general manager, one of the main developers of PTFE hollow film, Wu Xiaochao showed this product to reporters. In appearance, the film is made into a long strip like a noodle, and the middle is hollow. There are numerous small holes on the surface with a diameter of less than 0.01 micrometer, which is equivalent to one-sixth of the diameter of the hair.

Through the internal and external pressure difference, the sewage will be squeezed into the hollow space of the membrane through these small holes, and the harmful substances such as rust, sand mud, colloid, bacteria, virus, macromolecular organic matter in the water will remain on the membrane while retaining the human body. Useful for some mineral elements.

"This filtration technology has a proprietary grade called ultrafiltration. If the water source is up to standard, the water filtered through the membrane is the mineral water we usually drink." Wu low tide said.

Breaking international monopoly and becoming China's number one

Filter membrane technology has been monopolized by Fortune 500 companies such as Dow Chemical, GE, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, etc., and Chinese buyers have no bargaining power.

Wu Xiaochao has been working in the water treatment membrane laboratory of Dow Chemical in the United States before he founded the net source. He admits that the price of foreign companies is four times its cost. If the purification membrane achieves independent research and development and production, the cost of Chinese enterprises will be greatly reduced.

"But the market is dominated by foreigners. Without a creative technological breakthrough, it is impossible to survive in this industry. After all, GE and Mitsubishi have the capital and brand advantages that our small enterprises cannot match. So we are eyeing PTFE. Super material," he said.

Prior to this, Sumitomo successfully developed a PTFE filter membrane and applied for patents and technical blockades at various IP offices around the world. Through three years of hard work, the net source team independently developed a complete set of production equipment, successfully manufactured a PTFE hollow film belonging to the Chinese people, and obtained 19 national patents, becoming the second largest in the world, and the only company in China that can produce such products. The price and performance of the foreign competitors are chilling, only a quarter of Japanese companies, close to the price of the US company PVDF film (previous generation of membrane water treatment materials).

In recent years, the net source has been competing with foreign big companies in the field of membrane water treatment. According to Chen Hao, vice president of Ningbo Xinjie Group, the investment side of the company, last year, they won the "six major battles" to make the net source famous, and truly become China's first membrane water treatment enterprise.

Six battles

Battle 1. Challenge the strong acid and alkali plating, printing and dyeing wastewater
Battle II. In the same day, Dawan Wanhua and GM will compete on the same stage, and will be the world's top 500 "fallen down"
Campaign III. Solve the problem of landfill leachate treatment
Campaign IV. Steel plant wastewater treatment surpassed Japanese counterparts and became the industry leader
Campaign 5. Challenge the black and ugly five types of water, build a green mountain and green water
Campaign 6. Entering the field of tap water filtration, Ningbo citizens drink "membrane water"
High academician frequently likes
Interested in cooperating to build an academician work platform
In the net source technology company, Gao Biao academician visited the workshop once and again, listened to Wu low tide introduction, and frequently asked questions, the investigation was very serious.

After the investigation, the high academician first affirmed the achievements of the net source in the film industry: "It is not simple, such technology, products, and a complete set of self-developed production equipment with completely independent intellectual property rights, and can be with Japan. It’s not easy for international giants like Sumitomo to compete."

Later, the high academician also put forward his own suggestions: First, to establish a talent team for research and development, to learn from a large enterprise such as Huawei.

Second, we must further improve product quality. "Your membrane life is very long, but what about the outer membrane shell? The epoxy resin that fixes the membrane filament? The quality of these accessories has to go through a breakthrough in scientific research."

Third, it is possible to expand the field of application, such as the medical field. Wastewater treatment in this area has always been an industry problem. How to solve old problems more efficiently with new technologies is the next stage of the net source needs to be considered.

In addition, the academician Gao recommended that the net source further extend the industrial chain, and that some industrial parks can build a unified water treatment base, from selling water treatment systems to directly receiving wastewater and selling clean water, so that the scale of the industry will be further expanded.

"I also have some resources in the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, China Film Industry Association. But I am willing to cooperate with the net source to do my part for the country, for the membrane industry and water treatment industry in Ningbo." Said from the hustle.

It is understood that the next step will be a deeper connection with the team of Academician Gao Cong, and hope to promote the competitiveness of R&D and product promotion in the form of academician workstations.

The flagship researcher of the Ningbo Institute of Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences, doctoral tutor, Dr. Xue Lixin, the entrepreneur of the national “Thousand Talents Program” also participated in the survey and talked about his own views:

The new material is one of the biggest driving forces for the advancement of the industry, and it is also an extremely important part of Ningbo's practice of the “Made in China 2025” pilot demonstration. The net source uses the PTFE plastic king to make the filter membrane, which itself captures the "smart" beef nose.

Through unremitting independent research and development, it not only realized industrialization, but also considered economics, and the cost was far lower than that of the world peers. It was the basis for large-scale production of products and created its own blue ocean. The next step will be to force foreign companies to cut prices, and in this area has changed the status quo of relying on imports, so that the national defense military project has the possibility of choosing domestic brands, to a certain extent to ensure national security.