RO Plant Hybrid System Integration Patent Snapshot
The RO plant and hybrid system integration space is a small, heavily concentrated field dominated by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, with filing activity having peaked in 2021 and since eased. The corpus spans 17 patent families, with the United States as the primary filing jurisdiction, and water treatment classifications commanding the bulk of technical activity.
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research leads a highly concentrated field
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research holds the top position in this field, followed by ThermoEnergy Corp and Dehlsen Associates of the Pacific Ltd. The top five filers together account for 41% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, confirming that a small cluster of specialized organizations drives the preponderance of documented innovation.
The field shows a pronounced tier gap: the leader’s patent record count is nearly double that of the second-ranked filer, and the third through fifth ranks are tied at two records each. Below the top tier, a long tail of individual inventors, engineering colleges, and small firms each hold a single record.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research | 5 | |
| 2 | ThermoEnergy Corp | 3 | |
| 3 | Dehlsen Associates of the Pacific Ltd | 2 | |
| 4 | Zhejiang Stone Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 5 | Chen Hao | 2 | |
| 6 | Chen Jianbo | 2 | |
| 7 | Sam S. Jeppson | 1 | |
| 8 | Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering | 1 | |
| 9 | Baowu Water Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 10 | Worldhan (Tianjin) Energy Saving and Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Javier Mingchen Wu | 1 | |
| 12 | Anurag Engineering College | 1 | |
| 13 | Tarim University | 1 | |
| 14 | Mark M. Simon | 1 | |
| 15 | Thomas Karl Bisson | 1 | |
| 16 | Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology | 1 | |
| 17 | China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 18 | Hebei Jiezhiyuan Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 19 | TIANJIN SEA WATER DESALINATION & COMPLEX UTILIZATI… | 1 | |
| 20 | Alliance for Energy Innovation LLC | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that advanced desalination research institutions and niche energy-recovery technology companies are the primary innovators, rather than large industrial conglomerates. This creates potential entry points for well-resourced new actors who can commit sustained R&D investment.
Filings from approximately 2024–2026 are likely under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent activity levels in those years should be interpreted cautiously. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2021 and has eased; water treatment dominates the technology mix
The filing trend chart and the IPC composition chart together show a field that reached peak activity in 2021 and has since contracted, concentrated almost entirely in water and wastewater treatment classifications.
Annual filing trend
Recorded filings climbed from zero in 2017–2018 to a peak of four in 2021, then dropped sharply. Years 2024–2026 reflect partial publication and should not be read as the definitive trajectory for those periods. The multi-year pattern confirms a past-peak dynamic rather than sustained growth.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) together account for the overwhelming majority of IPC classifications in the corpus. B63B (ships and marine vessels) and C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) appear at the margins, signaling niche but under-served adjacent branches.
↗ 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.
High water recovery hybrid membrane system for des…
The high water recovery hybrid membrane system for desalination and brine concentration combines nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and forward osmosis to produce pure water from seawater. The reject side of a nanofiltration unit receives a stream of seawater and outputs a brine stream. A permeate side of the nanofiltration unit outputs a permeate stream. A… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 印染废水深度净化处理的集成技术 | 33 |
| 2 | Wind and wave desalination vessel | 28 |
| 3 | Monolithically-molded subassemblies for retrofitti… | 25 |
| 4 | Method of retrofitting an existing RO system to ze… | 22 |
| 5 | Water walls for life support | 18 |
| 6 | Methods and systems for treating water streams com… | 14 |
| 7 | High water recovery hybrid membrane system for des… | 11 |
| 8 | 一种磷酸铁生产废水回收磷酸的系统 | 9 |
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.
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
The leader holds 5 patent records, the highest count in the corpus. Its technology emphasis spans B01D 61 (membrane separation processes), C02F 9 (combined water treatment sequences), and C02F 1 (physical/chemical water treatment) — a broad coverage of the core RO-hybrid stack. Applicant momentum data does not indicate a recent surge, consistent with the field’s overall post-peak trajectory.
patent records: 5ThermoEnergy Corp
ThermoEnergy Corp holds 3 patent records, focused on C02F 1 (water treatment) and C02F 101 (treatment objectives for specific contaminants), reflecting a process-chemistry and energy-recovery angle within hybrid systems. Its narrower IPC footprint relative to the leader suggests a more specialized rather than platform-level approach to hybrid RO integration.
patent records: 3Frequently asked questions
The analyzed corpus contains 17 patent families in scope. This is a small, specialized field relative to broader membrane or desalination technology areas.
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research leads with 5 patent records, nearly double the count of the second-ranked filer, ThermoEnergy Corp, which holds 3 patent records.
The United States is the primary filing jurisdiction, followed by China. Europe (EPO) and India each account for 3 patent records, with Canada and WIPO (PCT) each holding 1.
The field is classified as Decline, with annual filings having eased back from a peak in 2021. The multi-year recent-window growth figure is negative at -57%, consistent with a post-peak contraction. Note that 2024–2026 data is subject to publication lag.
C02F (water and wastewater treatment) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) together account for the large majority of IPC classifications. B63B (ships and marine vessels) and C07C (acyclic and carbocyclic compounds) appear at the margins with 2 and 1 records respectively.
Yes. The most active collaboration links Chen Hao, Chen Jianbo, and Zhejiang Sitong Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd., each pair sharing 2 co-filed records. A separate pairing connects the Tianjin Institute of Seawater Desalination and Comprehensive Utilization with the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences and with Tarim University, each pair sharing 1 co-filed record.
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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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