Bipolar Membrane Process for Sodium Sarcosinate

【Project Overview】

In the chemical, pharmaceutical, and daily chemical industries, sodium sarcosinate is an important intermediate. Its production and usage often involve or generate highly alkaline sodium sarcosinate streams. Traditional treatment of such high-alkalinity feeds typically employs neutralization, a process that not only consumes large amounts of acid but also generates valueless saline wastewater, leading to significant resource waste and increased downstream disposal costs. Against the backdrop of tightening environmental regulations and growing corporate pressure to reduce costs and enhance efficiency, the efficient recovery and recycling of valuable alkali components from waste streams has become a critical industry pain point demanding a solution.

This project employs advanced bipolar membrane electrodialysis technology to precisely treat a feed solution containing 35% sodium sarcosinate (pH 13-14.48). Without consuming any external acid, the process accurately adjusts the feed pH to 9.5-9.6 while directly recovering a pure sodium hydroxide solution with a concentration >8%, corresponding to an annual production of 370 tons (100% basis). This approach not only solves the challenge of treating high-alkalinity waste liquid at its source but also transforms the alkali component within the material into a high-value product, achieving a leap from "environmental treatment" to "resource creation" and delivering significant economic and environmental benefits for the enterprise.

【Project Highlights】

• Technological Disruption: Turning 'Waste' into 'Treasure,' Solving a Core Industry Pain Point
  This project abandons the traditional neutralization method, innovatively applying bipolar membrane "salt-splitting" technology. Under an applied electric field, this technology directly separates sodium ions from hydroxyl ions in sodium sarcosinate and reconstitutes them into sodium hydroxide. This enables precise and mild pH reduction and in-situ recovery of the alkali resource without introducing new chemicals, fundamentally preventing the generation of saline wastewater.
• Significant Economic Benefits: Creating a New Profit Center
  ost Saving ： Completely eliminates the ongoing cost of acid purchase required in traditional neutralization processes and significantly reduces operational expenses associated with wastewater treatment.Revenue Generation ： Transforms the "waste" that previously required paid disposal into a high-purity sodium hydroxide product (370 tons annually, 100% basis), which can be directly reused in the production process or sold externally. This turns a cost center into a profit center, ensuring a high return on investment.
• Excellent Environmental Compatibility & Process Integration
  The entire process creates no secondary pollution, aligning with the core principles of green chemistry and the circular economy. Furthermore, the treated sodium sarcosinate solution maintains a stable pH of 9.5-9.6. This mild pH level is highly conducive to direct use in subsequent processes, avoiding potential product decomposition or property changes caused by drastic pH adjustments, thereby safeguarding the quality and yield of the primary product, sodium sarcosinate.