The saltiest brine we treat, and the most salt we recover
These metallurgical ZLD projects handle feed at 180 g/L TDS and produce 280,000 tonnes of salt a year from a single plant. Both figures are the highest in our record.
Metallurgical ZLD projects
What it took to treat a nickel smelting brine at 180 g/L, and how the scope on a steel plant central water system differs from a full ZLD contract.
Written in the company's own voice: what was done, when, and what was learned. Not a technology description, which belongs on the solution pages.
What these two plants taught us
To be supplied — one sentence, the single most important lesson from this sector.
To be supplied — around 80 to 120 words setting up the three points below. What has to happen before the crystallizer when heavy metals and extreme salinity arrive in the same stream.
To be supplied — the conclusion, around 50 words. What a client should take away from this record.
Inside the plants
Photographs from delivered projects. Replace each placeholder with an uploaded image and its caption.
The two metallurgical ZLD projects
Each with a location, a capacity and the year it started running.
Jinchuan Group, Nickel and Cobalt Smelting
Jinchang, Gansu
- Scale
- 4,000 m³/d @ TDS 180 g/L
- Recovered
- NaCl 130 kt/a @ ≥98.5% · Na₂SO₄ 150 kt/a @ ≥99% · salt recovery 99%
- Timeline
- Built 2025 · Operating since 2025
Zero liquid discharge for the world's second largest nickel producer, and the highest by-product salt output of any JINGYU project.
Zhongtian Green Steel, Central Water Plant
Nantong, Jiangsu
- Scale
- Brine salt separation 145 m³/h · evaporation and crystallization 18 m³/h
- Recovered
- NaCl 18 m³/h crystallized
- Timeline
- Built 2020 · Operating since 2022
Complete supply of the salt separation and crystallization systems, with process and detailed engineering.
Why metals have to be removed before anything else works is covered on our metallurgical solution page. The full record across every sector is on the projects page.
Frequently asked questions
How salty is the Jinchuan feed?
180 g/L TDS, several times what a conventional membrane train is designed for. The plant treats 4,000 m3/d and recovers 99% of the salt as product.
How much salt does one metallurgical plant produce?
Jinchuan produces 130,000 tonnes a year of sodium chloride and 150,000 tonnes of sodium sulfate, the highest by-product output of any JINGYU project.
What happens to the heavy metals?
They are removed in pretreatment, ahead of the brine system. If they reach the crystallizer they report to the salt and turn a product into a hazardous waste.
Do you supply equipment only, or whole plants?
Both. Jinchuan is EPC plus operation. At Zhongtian Green Steel we supplied the salt separation and crystallization systems complete, with process and detailed engineering.
Can I visit one of these plants?
In some cases, subject to the client's agreement. Tell us which project interests you and we will ask.
Are full case studies available?
Yes, covering feed water, process configuration, guarantees and operating results, subject to each client's confidentiality terms.
Ask about one of these projects
Start here
Tell us which project looks closest to your situation, or send your own analysis. We will come back with the reference that actually matches.
Useful to include
- Flow rate and TDS
- Heavy metals present and their concentrations
- Chloride, sulfate and hardness
- Current treatment and disposal route
- Whether a salt off-take market exists nearby
Contact us directly
- info@jing-yu.com
- Phone
- +86 21 6593 0816
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Shanghai time (GMT+8)