FO Membrane Fouling & Durability Patent Landscape
The forward osmosis membrane fouling and durability space is moderately concentrated, with Asahi Kasei holding a commanding lead and a small set of academic and commercial filers rounding out the top tier. The field peaked in 2019 and annual volume has since eased, signaling a maturing — and in recent years declining — innovation cycle.
Asahi Kasei leads a moderately concentrated field anchored by membrane separation specialists
Asahi Kasei holds the top position by a wide margin. Nanyang Technological University and Forward Water Technologies follow at a distance, with the National University of Singapore and Botanical Water Technologies completing the top five. The top five filers account for 31% of the combined patent records filed by the hundred largest applicants.
A clear tier gap separates the leader from the rest: Asahi Kasei’s count is nearly three times that of the second-ranked applicant. Below the top three, counts drop gradually through academic institutions and specialized commercial players, suggesting no single challenger is positioned to close that gap quickly.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asahi Kasei Corporation | 74 | |
| 2 | Nanyang Technological University | 27 | |
| 3 | Forward Water Technologies | 25 | |
| 4 | National University of Singapore | 19 | |
| 5 | Botanical Water Technologies IP Ltd. | 17 | |
| 6 | Porifera Inc. | 17 | |
| 7 | Kobe University | 14 | |
| 8 | IDE Water Technologies Ltd. | 13 | |
| 9 | Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. | 13 | |
| 10 | Diamond Gold Investors LLC | 12 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | KOREA UNIV RES & BUSINESS FOUND | 11 | |
| 12 | Yale University | 10 | |
| 13 | Trevi Systems Inc. | 10 | |
| 14 | LG NanoH2O Inc. | 10 | |
| 15 | Hydration Systems | 9 | |
| 16 | KING ABDULLAH UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 9 | |
| 17 | NRGtek Inc. | 9 | |
| 18 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) | 8 | |
| 19 | Kyowakiden Industry Co., Ltd. | 7 | |
| 20 | Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. | 7 |
Asahi Kasei’s lead reflects deep integration across membrane structure, polymer chemistry, and separation process claims — a broad position that raises the cost of designing around its portfolio for any new entrant focused on FO fouling mitigation or membrane durability.
Filing data for the most recent 18–24 months is subject to publication lag and will undercount actual recent activity; trend reads for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2019 filing surge gave way to a declining trend; separation and water-treatment classes dominate
The annual filing trend reveals a field that surged to a peak in 2019 before declining, while the technology composition chart shows heavy concentration in membrane separation and water-treatment classes with a long tail of adjacent application areas.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed sharply to a 2019 peak then retreated; the period from 2023 onward reflects both a genuine easing and publication lag, so the apparent low counts for 2024–2026 should not be read as definitive. The overall recent-window growth rate is negative, consistent with a field past its peak innovation burst.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B01D (separation processes including filtration) and C02F (water and wastewater treatment) together account for the dominant share of IPC records, reflecting the core membrane engineering focus. A secondary cluster spanning food and beverage processing (A23L, A23C), condensation polymer chemistry (C08G), and coating processes (B05D) points to active diversification into non-water-treatment applications.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Reduced graphene oxide forward osmosis membranes, …
One aspect of the invention relates to a forward osmosis (FO) membrane including a selectively permeable active layer formed of a graphene-based material with tunable interlayer spacing; and a support membrane providing mechanical stability. The FO membrane enhances water flux while minimizing reverse solute flux. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osmotic membrane synthesized on interface | 147 |
| 2 | A forward osmosis membrane | 109 |
| 3 | Thin film composite membranes for forward osmosis,… | 101 |
| 4 | Forward osmosis separation processes | 72 |
| 5 | Forward Osmosis Separation Processes | 65 |
| 6 | Apparatus, System, and Method for Forward Osmosis … | 58 |
| 7 | Double selective-layer membranes | 50 |
| 8 | Method and apparatus for recovering water from a s… | 49 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of a post-peak lifecycle, a concentrated leader, active academic-industry collaboration, and a US-anchored filing footprint creates a specific risk-and-opportunity profile for teams considering entry or expansion in this space.
Field is in decline after a 2019 peak
The lifecycle evidence indicates annual filings have eased back from the 2019 peak, and the recent growth rate is negative. This signals that the core technology wave — centered on thin-film composite membrane design and basic fouling resistance — has matured. R&D investment is best directed toward differentiated sub-problems (e.g., draw-solute-specific fouling, biofouling in resource recovery) rather than replicating existing membrane architectures.
Post-peak · decliningAsahi Kasei holds a structural lead; academic players are numerous but individually small
The top five filers account for 31% of the hundred largest filers’ combined records, indicating moderate but not extreme concentration. Below the leader, the field fragments across universities and small commercial players, none of which individually approaches Asahi Kasei’s depth. New entrants can find room in under-served application niches but will face a well-established IP perimeter in core membrane structure claims.
Moderate concentrationUniversity–industry co-filing is active; NUS–BASF and Asahi Kasei–Kobe University are the most productive pairs
The most active co-filing relationship is between the National University of Singapore and BASF, with 12 joint filings. Asahi Kasei and Kobe University follow with 11 joint records. Nippon Shokubai and Trevi Systems have co-filed 6 records, and Forward Water Technologies and Queen’s University have collaborated on 5. These partnerships suggest that polymer chemistry expertise (BASF, Nippon Shokubai) is being combined with membrane engineering know-how through structured academic alliances.
Active co-filing ecosystemUS is the primary filing jurisdiction; EPO and PCT indicate global commercial intent
The United States leads all jurisdictions by a substantial margin, followed by the European Patent Office and WIPO PCT filings, which together reflect global protection strategies for the most commercially significant innovations. Australia and India appear with meaningful record counts, consistent with interest in water-scarce markets. China, despite being a large membrane manufacturing base, shows relatively modest coverage in this corpus — a potential gap worth monitoring.
US-anchored, globally extendedGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| National University of Singapore | BASF SE | 12 |
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | Kobe University | 11 |
| Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. | Trevi Systems Inc. | 6 |
| Forward Water Technologies | Queen’s University | 5 |
| Kobe University | Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| National University of Singapore | BASF SCHWEIZ AG | 1 |
| BASF SE | BASF SCHWEIZ AG | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Asahi Kasei dominates membrane structure claims; Forward Water Technologies is a new commercial entrant
The two players profiled here represent the incumbent industrial leader and the most visible new commercial entrant in the corpus. Both concentrate filings in B01D separation-process subclasses but with different application emphases.
Asahi Kasei Corporation
Asahi Kasei holds 74 patent records — the largest position in the corpus by a wide margin — concentrated in B01D membrane structure and polymer subclasses (B01D69, B01D71, B01D61). Its momentum shows a downward trend of –22% in recent filings versus the prior period, suggesting the core portfolio is consolidating rather than expanding. This position represents a mature, broad-based defensive IP estate covering membrane fabrication and separation process fundamentals.
patent records: 74Forward Water Technologies
Forward Water Technologies ranks third with 25 patent records, with filings concentrated in B01D61 (membrane separation processes) and C02F1 (water and wastewater treatment), reflecting a commercially oriented focus on forward osmosis system applications rather than membrane materials alone. Its momentum is flagged as a new entrant, indicating recent emergence in the filing record. A co-filing relationship with Queen’s University (5 joint records) suggests it is leveraging academic research to build its IP base.
patent records: 25| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | 18 | ▼ -22% |
| Forward Water Technologies | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Botanical Water Technologies IP Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches in food processing and polymer coating warrant monitoring
The dominant B01D and C02F classes account for the bulk of records; the branches below represent lower-density adjacent areas where FO membrane fouling expertise could extend, though each requires a realistic application bridge before qualifying as an investment target.
A23L · Foods & non-alcoholic beverages
This branch has 34 records — the largest of the sparse adjacent classes — yet represents only 3% of total IPC records, indicating limited dedicated IP development despite FO’s established use in food concentration and juice processing. Botanical Water Technologies IP Ltd already straddles this space (with A23L2 in its top IPC focus), suggesting a viable entry path exists for applicants combining membrane durability with food-grade fouling-resistance requirements. The technical challenge of managing organic fouling from food matrices is distinct from wastewater contexts and remains under-claimed.
Search this in Eureka →C08G · Condensation polymers
With 23 records and a 2% share, condensation polymer chemistry sits adjacent to the dominant membrane fabrication classes but has limited standalone IP coverage in this corpus. Nippon Shokubai’s focus on C08G65 (polyethers) within its FO filing strategy points to draw-solute polymer design as the likely technical bridge. An entrant with proprietary polymer synthesis capabilities could develop claims at the intersection of antifouling surface chemistry and condensation polymer architecture — a position not yet densely occupied.
Search this in Eureka →How top applicants differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B01D 61 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | C02F 1 · Water & wastewater treatment | B01D 69 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | B01D 71 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) | B01D 63 · Separation processes (filtration etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | Strong · 59 | Emerging · 10 | Strong · 64 | Strong · 64 | Strong · 47 |
| Forward Water Technologies | Strong · 25 | Strong · 24 | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 4 |
| Nanyang Technological University | Strong · 23 | Strong · 18 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Toyobo Co., Ltd. | Strong · 13 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 9 | Strong · 13 |
| 高丽大学校产学协力团 | Strong · 11 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 7 | Strong · 8 | Absent |
| Porifera Inc. | Strong · 10 | Absent | Strong · 15 | Strong · 8 | Absent |
| National University of Singapore | Absent | Absent | Strong · 17 | Strong · 15 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence set contains 235 patent families in scope for this topic.
Asahi Kasei Corporation holds the largest position with 74 patent records, concentrated in membrane structure and polymer subclasses (B01D69, B01D71, B01D61). Its nearest ranked competitors — Nanyang Technological University with 27 records and Forward Water Technologies with 25 — trail by a substantial margin.
No. The lifecycle evidence indicates annual filings eased back from a 2019 peak and the recent-window growth rate is negative at -25%. The 2024–2026 data is partially affected by publication lag, but the overall direction is consistent with a post-peak, declining phase.
The United States leads with 164 patent records, followed by the European Patent Office with 88 and WIPO PCT with 59. Australia and India also appear with meaningful coverage, reflecting interest in water-scarce markets. China has 15 records in this corpus — relatively low given its membrane manufacturing scale.
The most active co-filing pair is the National University of Singapore and BASF, with 12 joint records. Asahi Kasei and Kobe University follow with 11 joint records. Nippon Shokubai and Trevi Systems have 6 joint filings, and Forward Water Technologies and Queen’s University have collaborated on 5.
The two most substantive adjacent branches with low filing density are A23L (foods and non-alcoholic beverages, 34 records, 3% share) and C08G (condensation polymers, 23 records, 2% share). Both have plausible technical bridges to FO membrane fouling — food-grade fouling resistance and draw-solute polymer design respectively — but remain sparsely claimed relative to the core separation and water-treatment classes.
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