Guangzhou Lvyuan Water Purification Equipment Co., Ltd. is an industrial filter manufacturer founded in 2009 that designs and manufactures stainless steel filter housings, stainless steel sterile water tanks, filter elements, filter bags, ultra-polymer materials, and sintered filter products. Buyers choose Lvyuan for OEM/ODM support, ISO9001 quality control, and multi-country certifications.
See how polyethylene (PE) boosts water purification: 0.3µm filtration hits 99.7% retention, resists corrosion, and lasts 10+ years in real plants—for you.
Abstract
Polyethylene (PE), as the synthetic resin material with the largest production volume in the world, has become a key material in the water treatment industry by virtue of its unique molecular structure, excellent chemical stability and environmental protection characteristics. This paper starts from the physicochemical properties of PE, combines its innovative applications in the fields of microporous filtration and membrane separation, and systematically describes the technical advantages and development prospects of PE material in water purification through experimental data comparison and industry case analysis. Research shows that PE cartridge in 0.3 micron filtration precision under the retention efficiency of up to 99.7%, chemical corrosion resistance than traditional materials to enhance 3-5 times, service life of up to 10 years or more.
Polyethylene consists of repeating -CH₂-CH₂- units forming a linear polymer chain with molecular weights ranging from 50,000 to 4,000,000 (Source: Plastics Council International 2024 Annual Report). They can be categorized according to differences in density:
Table 1: Comparison of the properties of different types of PE materials
| Indicators | LDPE | HDPE | UHMWPE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile Strength (MPa) | 10-20 | 20-35 | 40-60 | ||
| Temperature Resistance (℃) | -50~80 | -50~100 | -100~120 | ||
| Coefficient of Friction | 0.3 | 0.15 | 0.07 |
PE material has excellent resistance to strong acids (except concentrated sulfuric acid), strong bases, and salt solutions . Experiments have shown that the loss of mechanical properties of HDPE is <3% after 12 months of immersion in solutions of pH2-12 (Chinese Society of Plastic Engineering 2023 test data). This property makes it outstanding in the treatment of electroplating wastewater (containing chromium and nickel ions) .
Microporous filter cartridge made by UHMWPE sintering technology has the following innovative features:
The application of PE pipe in the renovation of municipal pipeline network shows explosive growth:
Table 2: Application effects of PE cartridges in different industrial scenarios
| Industry | Pollutant type | Filtration efficiency | Running cost comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plating | Heavy metal ions | 99.92% | 40% reduction |
| Pharmaceutical | Activated carbon residue | 99.85% | 35% reduction |
| Food processing | Fats and oils/protein colloid | 99.78% | 28% reduction |
Innovative applications of PE hollow fiber membrane modules in reverse osmosis systems:
Figure 1 : 10-year total cost comparison of different filtration materials (unit: 10,000 yuan/ton of water)
Ceramic cartridge: ██████████ 28.5
Stainless steel cartridge: ████████ 22.3
PE sintered cartridge: ████ 15.8
(Data Source: Global Water Treatment Association 2024 Industry White Paper)
Significant progress in R&D of graphene/PE composite filter media:
PE materials are reshaping the technological landscape of the water treatment industry through the optimization of molecular structure and the innovation of manufacturing process. From municipal water supply to industrial wastewater treatment, from 0.3 micron precision filtration to intelligent pipe network construction, its demonstrated chemical stability, economy and environmental protection value have been fully verified. With the maturity of bio-based PE (e.g., sugarcane ethanol preparation) and 4D printing technology, this “white gold” will surely play an even more central role in the protection of global water resources.
