MBR Sludge Minimization Patent Snapshot 2026
The MBR sludge minimization patent space is a small, moderately concentrated field dominated by academic and industrial water-treatment players, with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Metawater Co. sharing the top position. The field has reached a plateau following a 2023 filing peak, with core activity anchored in water and wastewater treatment classification.
A concentrated niche led by academic and industrial water specialists
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Metawater Co. Ltd. jointly lead the ranking, each holding 5 patent records, followed closely by Taeyoung, Siemens Industry Inc., and Industrial Technology Research Institute at 4 patent records each.
The top five filers together account for 39% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating moderate concentration for a niche space where the top tier holds a meaningful but not overwhelming share. No single applicant has established a visible monopoly position.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE HONG KONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 5 | |
| 2 | Metawater Co. Ltd. | 5 | |
| 3 | Taeyoung | 4 | |
| 4 | Siemens Industry Inc. | 4 | |
| 5 | Industrial Technology Research Institute | 4 | |
| 6 | Shanghai Wanmao Environmental Technology Co. Ltd. | 2 | |
| 7 | SHANGHAI PUBLISHING & PRINTING COLLEGE | 2 | |
| 8 | CSSC (Beijing) Ecological Environment Research Institute Co. Ltd. | 2 | |
| 9 | Ondeo Degremont Inc. | 2 | |
| 10 | Hebei University | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Praxair Technology Inc. | 2 | |
| 12 | Shenzhen Zhongqing Environmental Technology Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 13 | Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology | 1 | |
| 14 | Jiangxi Green Shield Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 15 | Hangzhou Tianchuang Environmental Technology Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 16 | Hebei Dayu High-Tech Environmental Technology Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 17 | Shandong Huatai Paper Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 18 | PetroChina Co. Ltd. | 1 | |
| 19 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 20 | Guangdong Xintailong Environmental Protection Group Co. Ltd. | 1 |
The co-leadership between an academic institution and a Japanese water infrastructure firm signals that foundational research and applied engineering are advancing in parallel, leaving room for commercial players to bridge the gap between novel biological approaches and deployable membrane systems.
Filing counts for the most recent 18–24 months should be interpreted cautiously due to typical patent publication lag; apparent low activity in 2024–2026 does not necessarily reflect reduced innovation. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2023 filing surge against a dominant water-treatment technology base
Annual filing data reveals an uneven but broadly active period from 2017 to 2023, with a notable spike in 2023, while the technology composition is heavily anchored in water and wastewater treatment with a secondary cluster in separation processes.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose gradually from 2017, reached a pronounced peak in 2023 with 6 patent records, then show near-zero counts for 2024–2026 — a pattern consistent with publication lag rather than a genuine collapse in activity. The field is on a multi-year basis still expanding from its 2017 baseline, though annual volume has eased from the 2023 peak.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Water and wastewater treatment (C02F) is visible in the technology mix, with separation processes (B01D) forming a substantial secondary branch. Remaining IPC classes — including solid waste disposal, coatings, fertilisers, bioreactors, and analytical testing — each represent very small shares, pointing to a field that has not yet diversified into downstream sludge valorisation or advanced biological monitoring.
↗ 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.
Process for sludge treatment using sludge pretreat…
Disclosed are the methods for providing an improved process for organic sludge treatment. In the present invention, sludge is subjected to a membrane bioreactor and a fraction of sludge in the bioreactor is circulated through pretreatment devices. According to the present invention, since the biodegradability of cells in the sludge increases greatly by… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Combination polymer treatment for flux enhancement… | 90 |
| 2 | Zero excess sludge membrane bioreactor | 22 |
| 3 | Apparatus for recuction of biological wasted sludge | 17 |
| 4 | Filtration apparatus comprising a membrane bioreac… | 12 |
| 5 | Apparatus for reduction of biological wasted sludge | 12 |
| 6 | Process for sludge treatment using sludge pretreat… | 10 |
| 7 | 一种造纸污泥减量化的工艺和方法 | 8 |
| 8 | Device and method of sludge reduction and wastewat… | 8 |
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.
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Holding 5 patent records, the university’s portfolio focuses on membrane separation sub-classes (B01D 63), water treatment (C02F 1), and biological treatment (C02F 3). As an academic institution it is a prolific source of foundational IP in this niche. Applicant momentum data is not available in the current evidence set.
5 patent recordsMetawater Co. Ltd.
Also holding 5 patent records, Metawater’s coverage spans membrane filtration maintenance (B01D 65), primary water treatment (C02F 1), and biological treatment (C02F 3), pointing to an applied engineering focus on operational membrane performance rather than purely biological sludge reduction. Applicant momentum data is not available in the current evidence set.
5 patent recordsFrequently asked questions
The corpus covers 19 patent families in scope. It is a niche field by patent volume standards, with filing activity concentrated among fewer than 20 identifiable active applicants.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Metawater Co. Ltd. jointly lead with 5 patent records each. Taeyoung, Siemens Industry Inc., and Industrial Technology Research Institute follow at 4 patent records each.
The field is assessed as Maturity, with annual filings having plateaued near their 2023 peak. The multi-year trend remains positive from the 2017 baseline, but there is no evidence of a renewed acceleration in annual filing volume.
China leads by patent-record count, followed by Europe (EPO) and the United States. Australia, Germany, France, WIPO (PCT), and South Korea each account for smaller shares, indicating that core filers are pursuing protection across major commercial and regulatory markets.
Collaboration is limited. The only documented co-filing pair is Taeyoung and Ginex Engineering Co. Ltd., who jointly filed 3 patent records. No broader multi-party consortia are evident in the current evidence.
Branches with notably low patent-record counts include solid waste disposal (B09B, 2 records), organic and waste-derived fertilisers (C05F, 1 record), fertiliser mixtures (C05G, 1 record), bioreactors and enzyme apparatus (C12M, 1 record), and cleaning processes (B08B, 1 record). These represent observations of relative sparsity rather than validated commercial gaps.
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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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