MBR Disinfection and Pathogen Removal Patent Snapshot
A small number of filers dominate a concentrated corpus of 32 patent families, with Zero Discharge LLC holding a commanding lead. Annual filing volume peaked in 2020 and has since eased substantially, placing the field in a decline phase despite continued applicant activity.
Zero Discharge LLC leads a highly concentrated field
The MBR disinfection and pathogen removal patent corpus is compact and sharply concentrated. Zero Discharge LLC sits at the top of the applicant ranking, followed by General Electric Co and MP Mine Operations LLC.
The top five filers account for 64% of the combined patent records held by the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a pronounced tier gap between the leading cluster and the rest of the field. Entities outside the top five hold only modest positions, and several appear with a single patent record each.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zero Discharge LLC | 14 | |
| 2 | General Electric Company | 7 | |
| 3 | MP Mine Operations LLC | 6 | |
| 4 | BL Technology Inc | 5 | |
| 5 | KING ABDULLAH UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 3 | |
| 6 | Stephen Robert Vasconcellos | 2 | |
| 7 | International Waste Management Systems | 2 | |
| 8 | Neo Water Treatment LLC | 2 | |
| 9 | International Waste Management Systems | 2 | |
| 10 | NEO CHEMICALS & OXIDES LLC | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | John H. Reid | 1 | |
| 12 | Keluirui (Tianjin) Water Treatment Engineering Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 13 | Beijing Jieyutong Water Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 14 | Shantou University | 1 | |
| 15 | Nanjing Kaihong Meat Machinery | 1 | |
| 16 | Scott F. Easter | 1 | |
| 17 | Enveera | 1 | |
| 18 | Ecolab USA Inc. | 1 | |
| 19 | Heilongjiang Electric Power Science Research Institute | 1 | |
| 20 | Nalco Company | 1 |
Zero Discharge LLC’s dominance suggests a deliberate IP-fencing strategy around core treatment processes. General Electric Co’s presence signals that large industrials view MBR pathogen removal as a strategic adjacency, while the appearance of university entrants such as King Abdullah University of Science and Technology points to ongoing academic research feeding the pipeline.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and should be read as preliminary; the apparent low volumes in those years do not necessarily reflect actual inventor activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing peaked in 2020; wastewater treatment IPC classes dominate the mix
Two charts frame the field’s trajectory and technology emphasis: the annual filing trend reveals a sharp rise-and-retreat cycle centred on 2020, while the IPC composition shows near-total concentration in water and wastewater treatment classes.
Annual filing trend
Activity climbed steeply from a single filing in 2018 to a peak of 12 in 2020, then contracted sharply through 2022 and beyond. Years 2024 and 2025 each show only one filing, but these figures are preliminary due to publication lag and should not be read as the definitive recent rate.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) is the visible IPC class, accounting for the large majority of records. B01D (separation processes including filtration) forms a secondary layer. Adjacent classes — A01G horticulture, A47K sanitary equipment, and E03F sewerage — each appear with only one or two records, flagging them as sparsely covered branches relative to the core.
↗ 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.
Anaerobic membrane bioreactor coupled with UV adva…
A wastewater treatment plant includes an anaerobic membrane bioreactor, AnMBR, unit configured to receive wastewater and to produce (1) a final permeate and (2) a gas; an oxidation disinfection unit configured to receive the final permeate and to remove biological and chemical contaminants from the final permeate to generate a final effluent; and an energy… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organic slurry treatment process | 138 |
| 2 | Organic slurry treatment process | 134 |
| 3 | Combination polymer treatment for flux enhancement… | 90 |
| 4 | Method of using high molecular weight water solubl… | 30 |
| 5 | Organic slurry treatment process | 21 |
| 6 | Marine vessel onboard wastewater treatment system | 19 |
| 7 | Method of conditioning mixed liquor using a tannin… | 7 |
| 8 | 一种光催化膜反应器及污水处理系统 | 5 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Zero Discharge LLC
Zero Discharge LLC holds 14 patent records, the largest position in the corpus by a substantial margin. Its technology focus is concentrated across C02F 1, C02F 3, and C02F 9 — covering chemical, biological, and multi-stage wastewater treatment — indicating a broad claim posture across MBR process variants. No upward momentum signal is present in recent filings, consistent with the field’s overall decline phase.
patent records: 14General Electric Co
General Electric Co holds 7 patent records, placing it second overall. Its technology emphasis mirrors the leader’s in C02F 1 and C02F 3, but its co-filing activity with individual inventors (Wang Sijing, Wang Jianqiu, Vasconcellos Stephen Robert) distinguishes its development model. NEO Chemicals & Oxides LLC, though smaller with 2 patent records, is flagged as a new entrant with an upward trend, focusing on C02F 1, C02F 3, and B01D 61.
patent records: 7Frequently asked questions
The evidence shows 32 patent families in scope for this topic.
Zero Discharge LLC leads with 14 patent records, well ahead of the second-ranked General Electric Co at 7 records.
The field is in a decline phase. Annual filings peaked in 2020 at 12 records and have eased substantially since, though 2024 and 2025 figures remain preliminary due to publication lag.
The United States leads with 17 patent records, followed by Europe via the EPO with 9, WIPO PCT with 7, China with 5, and Canada and Israel each with 4.
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) is the visible class, with B01D (separation processes including filtration) forming a secondary layer. Adjacent classes A01G, A47K, and E03F each hold only 1–2 records.
NEO Chemicals & Oxides LLC is identified as a new entrant with an upward trend, holding 2 patent records with a focus on C02F 1, C02F 3, and B01D 61 (membrane separation).
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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