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Status and Trends of Membrane Technology for Wastewater Treatment: A Patent Analysis

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  • Graziela Salvan Cerveira

    (Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21949-900, Brazil
    Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI), Rio de Janeiro 20090-910, Brazil)

  • Jorge Lima de Magalhães

    (Centre for Technological Innovation/NIT-FAR, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/FIOCRUZ, Ministry of Health, Rio de Janeiro 21040-900, Brazil
    Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), University NOVA of Lisbon (UNL), 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Adelaide Maria de Souza Antunes

    (Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21949-900, Brazil
    Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI), Rio de Janeiro 20090-910, Brazil)

Abstract

Global access to clean water and sanitation has been broadly discussed in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. In this context, membrane technology has been increasingly applied with great success in wastewater treatment. Considering the relevance of patent information for understanding the current status and future trends of technologies, the patent filings on membrane technology for wastewater treatment in the period from 2011 to 2019 were analyzed. This study comprised a global analysis, aimed at determining the most general aspects, and a qualitative analysis, which consisted of a careful reading of the documents to assess technological statuses and trends. From a total of 7303 patent documents found on the topic, 488 documents were selected for the qualitative analysis. China, Japan and the United States play a leading role in the development of these technologies. Companies constitute the vast majority of the applicants. The focus of the inventions turned out to be: equipment, membranes, customized equipment/processes for specific wastewaters, fouling control and cleaning, combinations of technologies and sustainability. Finally, enhancements in the operational performance of the membrane separation equipment and the development of membrane materials with increased water flow and fouling resistance are found to be key factors to broaden the application of membrane separation technology in wastewater treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Graziela Salvan Cerveira & Jorge Lima de Magalhães & Adelaide Maria de Souza Antunes, 2022. "Status and Trends of Membrane Technology for Wastewater Treatment: A Patent Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:21:p:13794-:d:951985
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xuandi Gong & Jinluan Ren & Xinyan Wang & Li Zeng, 2022. "Technical Trends and Competitive Situation in Respect of Metahuman—From Product Modules and Technical Topics to Patent Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.

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