Jiangyin High-tech Zone Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (Box-type Plant for the IC Park, Phase I Stage 1: 15,000 m³/d)

Location: south-west corner of the Microelectronics Industrial Park, Jiangyin High-tech Zone, Wuxi, Jiangsu. The plant occupies 62.8 mu (about 4.2 ha) and is Wuxi's first "box-type" industrial wastewater treatment plant. Instead of the flat layout of a conventional plant, five stacked box buildings carry the whole process, with flows moving vertically inside each box: No. 101 is the pre-treatment box, No. 102 the advanced treatment box, No. 103 the ozone generator room, No. 104 the hazardous waste store and No. 105 the office building. Planning began in 2022 and the project was listed in Jiangyin's "100 billion yuan, 100 projects" environmental infrastructure programme and in the 2024 key Lake Tai remediation works. Design capacity is 60,000 m³/d in phases; the phase I stage 1 unit now in trial operation treats 15,000 m³/d. It serves integrated-circuit manufacturers in the park. At the time of reporting, three companies - JCET Microelectronics, Xigan Technology and SJ Semiconductor - had already been connected, while Jiangsu Shouxin Semiconductor and Jiangsu Zijing Materials had completed connection and were awaiting updated discharge permits. Fluoride-bearing wastewater from semiconductor production is the park's main challenge. Effluent first passes the No. 101 pre-treatment box, where monitored parameters are roughly halved, then the No. 102 advanced treatment box, which houses the MBR and related stages and brings the water close to discharge standard, with the ozone room providing final oxidation. According to the plant operator, fluoride is reduced to below 1.5 mg/L and the main effluent indices reach quasi-Class IV of the surface water standard, with ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus at quasi-Class III. Park estimates put the cost of individual on-site treatment at over CNY 10 million per company plus significant hazardous waste disposal fees; centralised treatment lowers the annual cost per cubic metre for connected firms and has become a selling point in attracting investment. The plant is operated by the Guangshui industrial water team, with a central control room supervising the whole process. Total investment, unit treatment cost, the date of commercial operation and design parameters of individual units have not been disclosed and are not estimated here. Sources: "Why has this wastewater plant become a plus for industry?", Jiangyin Municipal People's Government portal (Jiangyin Ecological Environment Bureau), 18 April 2025, https://www.jiangyin.gov.cn/doc/2025/04/18/1317021.shtml Image: central control room of the plant, with the plant-wide process and equipment monitoring wall (trial operation, April 2025; image source: Jiangyin Municipal People's Government portal)