Interview with Niu Mingjun from Zhengzhou Guoyan Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.

Niu Mingjun

On the afternoon of September 19, 2019, Zhengzhou Guoyan Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guoyan Environmental) founder Niu Mingjun experienced an unforgettable moment: Guoyan Environmental clinched first place in the enterprise group at the 2019 "Maker China" Henan Provincial Finals, earning a remarkable RMB 15 million in equity financing from the judges. Standing proudly on the podium, trophy in hand, amid thunderous applause, he seemed to see once again the determined young student back in his hometown high school—glistening with sweat as he immersed himself in relentless study. He recalled every late-night research session, experiment, and dedicated day spent honing their expertise in sludge treatment and innovation. "This achievement," he said, "is not only a testament to our project but also a powerful catalyst propelling us forward."
Mission empowers technology to take flight.
According to the planning objectives outlined in the "Zhengzhou Drainage Engineering Plan (2009–2020)," Zhengzhou's central urban area is expected to generate up to 3,200 tons of sludge daily by 2020. This substantial amount of sludge requires harmless treatment, and one critical step in sludge management is dewatering and drying. Currently, both domestically and internationally, equipment such as high-speed centrifuges and plate-and-frame filter presses are commonly used. However, these methods often suffer from drawbacks like excessive chemical usage, high electricity costs, and limited continuous-operation capabilities. Many machines typically reduce sludge moisture content only to around 80%, meaning that even though the sludge is technically dewatered by 20%, it essentially transitions from a watery slurry into a slightly viscous, semi-thickened slurry. Meanwhile, existing waste disposal methods—whether landfilling or incineration—continue to face significant challenges, including high operational costs, increasing burdens in controlling air pollution, and overall skyrocketing expenses.

Looking at the alarming figures, yet seeing no better solution, clearly represents a massive waste of the nation's resources. Encouraged by his friends, Niu Mingjun, an associate professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Zhengzhou University, decided to pivot into the environmental protection industry—specifically, to tackle the challenging issue of deep sludge dewatering. As a university teacher, he feels it’s his duty to take on this mission.

After several years of intensive research, continuous investigation, and product upgrades, Niu Mingjun led his team to independently develop the "Integrated Sludge Deep Dewatering System," which can directly dewater sludge from a water content of 98% down to below 60%, enabling one-stop solutions for sludge volume reduction and harmless treatment. The system has since earned 3 publicly disclosed invention patents, 4 authorized utility model patents, and 10 software copyrights, with an additional 10 utility model patent applications currently under review.

“The Integrated Sludge Deep Dewatering System” addresses the technical challenges in sludge dewatering. It enables continuous, stable, and automated operation, delivering twice the production capacity compared to the commonly used plate-and-frame filter presses on the market.

In June 2018, the scientific and technological achievement was evaluated by an expert panel organized by the Henan Provincial Society of Mechanical Engineering, concluding that Zhengzhou Guoyan Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.'s Integrated Sludge Deep Dewatering System dewatering technology has reached the international advanced level.

Niu Mingjun stated that, taking Zhengzhou as an example, if the "Integrated Sludge Deep Dewatering System" is used to treat 2,000 tons of sludge, it can directly dewater the sludge from a water content of 98% down to 65%. After dewatering, the volume of sludge is reduced to 1,142 tons, with a treatment cost of approximately 45 yuan per ton. Adding in the composting expenses of about 60 yuan per ton, the total cost comes to roughly 105 yuan per ton. In summary, Zhengzhou would only need to spend 120,000 yuan daily on sludge treatment, amounting to about 43.8 million yuan annually. This approach could save Zhengzhou approximately 278.13 million yuan each year in sludge disposal costs. Moreover, when factoring in Zhengzhou’s massive infrastructure investment costs for its wastewater treatment plants, the overall economic benefits become even more significant. Beyond that, eliminating the need to build dedicated sludge treatment centers not only saves substantial land resources but also helps Zhengzhou avoid the persistent challenge of secondary pollution—something that has long plagued sludge disposal facilities across Henan Province.

"Double Innovation" Competition Pitch Event Venue

Sludge Treatment: Tailored Solutions

Sludge treatment is a global challenge today, presenting both a significant threat and a vast market opportunity. The sludge treatment market is valued at over one trillion yuan. Guoyan Environmental has dedicated itself to in-depth research and technological breakthroughs, building upon the Sludge Safety Disposal and Resource Utilization Technology Research Institute at Zhengzhou University by establishing an advanced Sludge Analysis Laboratory. This center focuses on scientifically analyzing and studying sludge generated from industries such as oilfields, food processing, paper manufacturing, textile dyeing, chemical production, and hospitals, ultimately developing optimized sludge disposal technologies and equipment.

In response to the central government and Henan Province's rural beautification construction plan, as well as the requirement for centralized treatment of township sewage, Guoyan Environmental has recently developed a vehicle-mounted sludge dewatering system.

Under the traditional wastewater treatment model: Each township-level sewage treatment plant requires investment in fixed wastewater treatment facilities and dewatering equipment. After dewatering, the sludge is collected at a centralized sludge disposal center, which then invests further in sludge dewatering equipment to ensure the treated sludge meets regulatory standards. Given that residents in townships are dispersed, each township may need to build several sewage treatment plants, while a single county or city could end up constructing dozens of small-scale facilities. This approach—characterized by small scale, large numbers, substantial total investment, and low operational efficiency—results in sludge treatment costs per ton that are significantly higher than those in urban areas.

Guoyan Environmental Company has recently developed a mobile sludge dewatering system that allows for the treatment of sewage sludge from multiple township-level wastewater treatment plants without the need to invest in fixed sludge dewatering facilities. Instead, sludge collected from various townships can be directly processed on-site by Guoyan Environmental’s mobile system, which operates flexibly across several small-scale treatment plants. After treatment, the resulting biosolids are consolidated for composting, and the final organic fertilizer can then be directly applied to agricultural fields or used to enhance garden soils—effectively turning township wastewater treatment into a resource-cycling process. This innovative technology alone could significantly reduce the massive capital investment required for wastewater treatment projects in Henan Province’s townships.

In this year's Henan regional competition of "Maker China," Guoyan Environmental's project received unanimous praise from the judges, and several investment firms extended offers of collaboration. At the final round venue, Shenzhen Zhongchuangxin Equity Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. took the lead by investing 15 million yuan in Guoyan Environmental, setting a new record for the fastest investment in the competition over the past five years.

From university professor to entrepreneur—this has been a true test for Niu Mingjun. Facing a rapidly changing market, he feels both immense pressure and a deep sense of responsibility. As he puts it, "If you want to accomplish something meaningful, you must have perseverance. Focus and inner peace will surely help us go further."