Explore our core industrial skids, specifically pre-engineered to meet German and European manufacturing requirements with high-ratio recovery, modular construction, and factory acceptance test (FAT) reliability.
The Berlin metropolitan region and surrounding Brandenburg are facing an unprecedented hydrological transition, forcing manufacturing, energy, and biotech plants to modernize effluent management strategies.
For over a century, open-cast lignite mining in Lusatia (Lausitz) pumped massive volumes of groundwater into the Spree River system. This artificial augmentation contributed more than 50% of the river's dry-weather discharge reaching Berlin. With Germany's coal phase-out (Kohleausstieg) progressing toward completion, mine dewatering is decreasing rapidly. As a consequence, river levels along the Spree and Havel are dropping significantly during summer months.
Concurrently, oxidation of pyrite minerals in abandoned mining pits discharges high concentrations of sulfate (SO42-) and iron into the watershed. In municipal intake points and industrial cooling loops throughout Berlin, sulfate levels consistently threaten drinking water standards and cause accelerated mineral scaling in heat exchangers, reverse osmosis modules, and industrial boiler feed circuits.
Industrial facilities operating in Berlin and surrounding industrial parks (such as Wuhlheide, Marzahn, Spandau, and Grünheide) operate under some of the most rigorous water protection regimes in Europe. Under the German Federal Water Act (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz - WHG) and the Wastewater Ordinance (Abwasserverordnung - AbwV), indirect and direct discharge permits are strictly throttled.
Discharging high-salinity brine, chemical residues, or heavy metals into the municipal sewer or natural water bodies incurs severe wastewater surcharges (Abwasserabgabe) and rigid ceiling quotas. Installing Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and advanced water reuse loops is no longer merely an ESG statement; it has become an existential prerequisite for securing ongoing operating licenses and protecting business continuity in the capital area.
From biotech formulation to high-tech gigafactories and thermal energy infrastructure, our engineered membrane and evaporation solutions tackle specific regional wastewater chemistries.
At research and production hubs like Berlin-Buch and Potsdam-Golm, fermentation operations, chromatography columns, and CIP (Clean-in-Place) wash lines generate wastewater with fluctuating salinity, organic acids, and variable pH. Tongjie's high-recovery NF-RO and deoxygenation skids reclaim ultra-pure permeate while concentrating refractory salts for compact volume evaporation.
The southeastern Berlin-Brandenburg industrial corridor hosts large-scale battery cell manufacturing and EV assembly. Cathode synthesis and cell recycling generate concentrated brines loaded with sulfates, lithium, nickel, and sodium. Tongjie ZLD trains isolate clean water for factory loop recirculation while producing crystallized, saleable salt cakes.
District heating utilities (such as BEW Berliner Energie und Wärme) and municipal waste-to-energy plants rely on vast cooling towers and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubbers. Flue-gas condensates and blowdown water contain extreme total dissolved solids (TDS), chlorides, and heavy metals, requiring DTRO and MVR evaporation to prevent environmental discharge penalties.
The high-tech industrial center at WISTA Science Park Adlershof requires mega-ohm ultrapure water (UPW) for optical and electronic wafer processing. UPW recycling produces mineral-dense RO reject brines that require selective softening and secondary membrane treatment to push total site water recovery past 95%.
Berlin-Spandau and Marzahn machine fabrication facilities operate intensive surface finishing, anodizing, and passivation baths. Heavy metal complexes, cyanides, and high electrical conductivity demand chemical oxidation pretreatment coupled with disc-tube high-pressure concentration to eliminate toxic liquid effluents.
As the Berlin-Brandenburg region expands its digital infrastructure, hyperscale data centers demand millions of liters of evaporative cooling water. High-efficiency reverse osmosis treatment of municipal make-up water creates concentrated blowdown streams that Tongjie skids recycle into closed cooling loops without scaling.
A true Zero Liquid Discharge system combines multi-stage physico-chemical pretreatment, advanced membrane concentration, and energy-optimized thermal evaporation to extract high-purity water while converting hazardous brines into inert solid crystals.
Removing multivalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Ba2+, Sr2+) and reactive silica (SiO2) is vital to prevent irreversible scaling. We deploy chemical lime-soda softening, tubular microfiltration (TMF), and weak acid cation (WAC) ion exchange polishing, reducing SDI to <3 and turbidity to <0.2 NTU.
Pre-concentrating brine via membrane processes minimizes high-cost thermal energy consumption. Tongjie employs a cascaded train: seawater RO elements operate up to 80 bar, followed by specialized Disc Tube Reverse Osmosis (DTRO) or High-Pressure RO (HPRO) operating at 120–160 bar, elevating brine TDS to 120,000–140,000 mg/L.
High-salinity concentrate enters a falling film or forced circulation MVR evaporator. By compressing secondary steam with a high-efficiency centrifugal fan or turbo blower, the enthalpy is recovered, consuming only 25–45 kWh per metric ton of water evaporated. The condensed distillate achieves <10 μS/cm conductivity, ideal for boiler feed.
The saturated mother liquor moves to an Oslo or forced circulation draft-tube crystallizer. Controlled supersaturation allows sodium chloride (NaCl) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) to nucleate into large, uniform crystals. Slurry is discharged to automatic centrifuges and fluidized bed dryers, yielding solid dry salts with <5% moisture content.
For chemical and battery applications, Tongjie integrates Nanofiltration (NF) membrane staging prior to crystallization. This separates divalent sulfate anions from monovalent chloride anions, yielding purified commercial-grade Glauber's salt (Na2SO4·10H2O) and technical-grade industrial salt, supporting circular economy business cases.
Our automation architecture integrates real-time feed spectrometry, dynamic LSI/S&DSI saturation indices calculation, and machine learning flux forecasting. The system automatically adjusts antiscalant dosing, schedules micro-CIP flushes, and delivers live SCADA telematics compatible with European industrial protocols (PROFINET / Modbus TCP).
| Technology Stage | Operating Pressure / Temperature | Inlet TDS Concentration | Outlet Brine Concentration | Typical Energy Consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultrafiltration + BWRO | 15 – 25 bar / Ambient | 1,500 – 5,000 mg/L | 12,000 – 25,000 mg/L | 0.8 – 1.5 kWh/m³ permeate |
| SWRO Concentration | 55 – 80 bar / Ambient | 20,000 – 35,000 mg/L | 65,000 – 85,000 mg/L | 2.2 – 3.8 kWh/m³ permeate |
| DTRO / High-Pressure RO | 90 – 160 bar / Ambient | 65,000 – 85,000 mg/L | 120,000 – 150,000 mg/L | 5.5 – 9.0 kWh/m³ permeate |
| MVR Brine Evaporation | 85 – 105 °C (Vacuum) | 120,000 – 150,000 mg/L | 280,000 – 320,000 mg/L | 28 – 45 kWh/t evaporated |
| Thermal Crystallization | 95 – 115 °C | 280,000 – 320,000 mg/L | Solid Cake (<5% Moisture) | 50 – 75 kWh/t solids |
Combining world-class component sourcing, advanced fabrication precision, and rapid project lead times to deliver unprecedented capital efficiency to European EPC contractors and plant operators.
Founded in 2010, Shanghai Tongjie operates modern manufacturing facilities housing dedicated cleanrooms, automatic orbital welding lines, and high-pressure testing bays. By managing design, laser machining, skid fabrication, and electrical assembly in-house, we eliminate subcontractor margins and retain complete quality ownership.
High chloride concentrations at high pressures trigger aggressive pitting and crevice corrosion. Tongjie utilizes premium certified alloys — Super Duplex Stainless Steel (2507 / EN 1.4410), Titanium Gr. 2, Hastelloy C-276, and PTFE/PVDF linings — validated with radiographic weld inspections and hydrostatic tests up to 1.5x design pressure.
Every modular container and skid unit undergoes complete hydraulic, electrical, and control simulation testing at our Shanghai works before dispatch. Pumps, instrumentation, actuated valves, and Siemens S7 PLC logic are validated wet, minimizing on-site commissioning time in Germany from months to just weeks.
We build our skids incorporating globally recognized European and American components that German maintenance teams trust. Our baseline configurations feature DuPont FilmTec or Toray membrane elements, Grundfos or Danfoss high-pressure positive displacement pumps, Endress+Hauser or Bürkert flow and analytical instrumentation, and Siemens or Schneider electrical switchgear — ensuring seamless local spares availability throughout Berlin-Brandenburg.
Across North America, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and East Asia, stringent groundwater extraction quotas and rising discharge costs have turned Zero Liquid Discharge into an international manufacturing standard.
Historically, industrial plants viewed high-salinity brine management solely as a cost center, relying on deep-well injection, evaporation ponds, or ocean discharge. In the modern regulatory and climate landscape, high-density industrial clusters globally have made evaporation ponds obsolete due to groundwater contamination risks, while ocean discharge permits are increasingly contested.
Today, international facilities utilize ZLD to reclaim up to 99% of high-grade process water while extracting valuable mineral by-products: pure lithium salts from battery recycling, sodium sulfate for the detergent industry, and hydrochloric acid via bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED). This transforms regulatory burdens into circular revenue streams.
Early ZLD installations relied exclusively on multi-effect distillation (MED) or thermal crystallizers, consuming over 80–120 kWh per metric ton of treated effluent. The global state-of-the-art has shifted decisively toward hybrid membrane-thermal architecture.
By driving membrane concentration to the physical limits of osmotic pressure using high-pressure disc-tube RO (DTRO) up to 160 bar, the liquid volume feeding thermal crystallizers is reduced by 70% to 85%. This slashing of thermal steam loads cuts overall system OPEX by more than half, enabling European installations to meet the strict carbon intensity thresholds mandated by the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Tongjie engineers systems to full European technical standards, backed by local commissioning engineers and comprehensive technical documentation in German and English.
All pressure vessels, heat exchangers, and piping manifolds are fabricated and tested under the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED 2014/68/EU), the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, and the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU. Complete CE declaration files and inspection dossiers are provided with each delivery.
Control cabinets are wired to DIN EN 60204-1 standards with CE-certified components. Programming is conducted natively on Siemens TIA Portal with complete functional logic documentation in German and English. Safe-torque-off (STO) emergency stops and ATEX Zone 1/2 compliance are available for explosive environments.
Through our dedicated European engineering support network, we provide on-site supervisory installation, commissioning, and operator training throughout the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan zone. Standard critical spares (cartridges, seals, sensors, CIP chemicals) are dispatched swiftly to ensure continuous operations.
Specific answers to technical, commercial, and regulatory queries frequently raised by German engineering consultants, plant directors, and procurement teams.
Explore our complete portfolio of high-efficiency brine concentrators, ultrapure water generation plants, deoxygenation membrane contactors, and custom OEM skid packages.
Send our process engineering team your raw water quality report and effluent discharge targets. We deliver complete mass balances, process P&ID schematics, 3D container layouts, and firm cost projections engineered for German compliance within 5 business days.
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