Huizhou Yinbingshan Industrial Park Achieves Zero Liquid Discharge for Surface Treatment Wastewater at CNY 65 per Tonne

The Yinbingshan Industrial Park in Huizhou, Guangdong has drawn industry attention for having no visible outfall. Surface treatment, commonly known as electroplating, has long carried the label of heavy pollution, high risk and heavy metal involvement. Across six standardised surface treatment buildings, stainless steel, copper alloy and other substrates pass through dozens of processes including copper, nickel and gold plating and anodising.

All wastewater is routed through seven segregated collection streams - pretreatment, cyanide-bearing, electroplated nickel, electroless nickel, chromium-bearing, general and mixed - to an on-site zero-liquid-discharge treatment centre. Operated with technology from Guangdong Shangchen Environmental Technology, the centre applies a full closed-loop process: segregated workshop collection, front-end intelligent early warning, targeted heavy metal recovery, salt-tolerant biological treatment, gradient membrane concentration and MVR energy-saving evaporative crystallisation. No pipe discharges outward anywhere in the park, physically cutting off the pollution pathway to water bodies.

The approach builds on Shangchen's first electroplating ZLD project in China, which has run stably for 12 continuous years from 2014 to 2026. Yinbingshan inherited and upgraded this experience, operating steadily since commissioning in 2023.

The economics are equally notable: the park's ZLD system runs at an all-in cost of just CNY 65 per tonne, covering chemicals, power, membrane replacement, steam, hazardous waste disposal and labour, significantly below the CNY 80-120 typical of comparable South China electroplating parks. Side-of-tank precious metal online recovery units reclaim gold, nickel and palladium in place, further offsetting operating cost and delivering both pollution reduction and resource value.

Wu Fengchang, CAE academician and researcher at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, noted that the technology overturns the conventional view that electroplating wastewater is intractable, achieving full pollutant recovery and full water recirculation with a mature, stable route viable for wide replication. Officials from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's soil centre said closed-loop control eliminates the risk of heavy metal seepage into soil, enabling coordinated water and soil governance. Experts from the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design calculated that the park's 5,000 tonnes per day equals the daily water use of a medium-sized town, meaning full reuse avoids competing for municipal supply quotas.