Recently, Hangzhou Create Environmental and Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Create), through its continuous technological innovation and industrial practice in electrically driven membrane technology, has been successfully recognized as the "Zhejiang Provincial Electrically Driven Membrane Reactor Enterprise Research Institute." This achievement marks the company's formal entry into the ranks of provincial-level high-end R&D platforms. This authoritative recognition not only highly acknowledges Create's comprehensive R&D capabilities but also validates its innovative strength in fields such as lithium extraction from salt lakes and waste salt resource recovery.

Focusing on electrodialysis, Create has carried out scientific and technological research, achieving breakthroughs across the entire chain from technology development to engineering applications. The company's independently developed "Electrodialysis System for Lithium Extraction from Salt Lakes" tackles the long-standing "stubborn issue" in salt lake lithium extraction—boron removal.

What is boron, and why is its removal so challenging?
Boron in water primarily exists as boric acid (H₃BO₃). It is exceptionally difficult to remove due to three key characteristics:

Extremely Small Molecular Size: The effective diameter of H₃BO₃ is approximately 0.27 nm, significantly smaller than the pore size of most nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) membranes (0.4–0.7 nm), making size-based sieving ineffective.

Electrically Neutral: At pH 7–8, boric acid hardly dissociates, rendering the Donnan exclusion mechanism (charge-based repulsion) ineffective.

High Solubility and Hydrogen Bonding: It readily forms hydrogen bonds with water and easily permeates hydrophilic polyamide networks, making boron one of the most challenging small molecules to treat.

How do common membrane technologies perform with boron?

Reverse Osmosis (RO) – The current mainstream industrial method for boron removal. Seawater desalination RO typically achieves only 60–85% boron removal efficiency. Raising the pH (>9.5) can increase this to >95%, as boric acid converts to the charged B(OH)₄⁻ ion, which is more easily retained.

Nanofiltration (NF) – Weak boron removal capability. Due to larger pore sizes and weak charge repulsion, NF generally achieves <30% boron removal, making it extremely difficult to use alone.

Through research, Create has concluded that adopting electrodialysis boron removal technology can simultaneously achieve boron removal and lithium chloride concentration. This electrodialysis process achieves over 90% single-pass boron removal, enabling lithium carbonate produced from salt lakes to meet the standards for power batteries. This technology is already being applied on a large scale in enterprises such as Salt Lake Co., Ltd., Zangge Lithium, SDIC Luobupo Potash, Ganfeng Lithium, Zijin Mining, and Jinyuan Co., Ltd.

This prestigious honor signifies Create's strategic transformation from a "technology applicator" to a "technology definer." Following its recognition as a provincial-level enterprise research institute, Create will continue to increase R&D investment, attract high-end talent, and deepen industry-academia-research collaboration. The company will drive innovative applications of electrically driven membrane technology in areas such as zero-liquid discharge wastewater treatment, lithium extraction from salt lakes, and industrial waste salt resource recovery through sustained technological innovation.