Business Plan of Ocean Ecological Governance Innovation Solution
the water purification device made by embedding proteins synthesized using synthetic biology methods into ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene nanofilms
I. Executive Summary
This business plan aims to introduce an innovative ocean ecological solution, based on synthetic biology, to water pollution. By embedding enzymes in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHWPE) membranes, We achieves the efficient decomposition of harmful organic substances in ocean water bodies and provide a sustainable, low-cost, and effective solution for ocean ecological protection. This significant advantages of this technology such as no requirement for infrastructure, mobility, low cost, and less impact on ecological safety. Our device has huge market potential and is expected to meet the urgent needs of coastal governments and enterprises seeking sustainable ecological protection.
II. Problem Statement
The deterioration of the marine environment has become a global problem, which expose ecosystems and human society to danger. Currently, Governance of Marine Ecological Issues and Ecological Protectione face many challenges. The challenges include but not limit to the difficulty of water treatment to flowing water with settled water treatment facilities, high cost of chemicals and high cost of infrastructure construction and lack of flexibility due to fixed locations. Meanwhile, Adding chemical agents related to water treatment to flowing water has significant drawbacks. Flowing water quickly dilutes the concentration of the agents, and the sediment at the bottom of the water can cause the agents to become ineffective rapidly. Therefore, the cost of adding chemical agents to flowing water is much higher than adding them to static water. These problems not only hinder the sustainable development of marine ecological Issues and ecological protection but also affect the economic development and residents' quality of life in coastal areas.
III. Solution
Our innovative technology uses synthetic biology methods to convert suitable cells into cells that can produce target enzymes, and then embeds the enzymes in UHWPE membranes to form a membrane-enzyme-membrane structure. This membrane has high strength and can resist deterioration from complex environments at the bottom of the water to avoid plastic pollution from self disintegration of membrane. The device is replaceable and has an alarm device to facilitate timely replacement of the membrane. This technology can purify water bodies in flowing water sources and has the following advantages:
1.The size of device is flexible.
2.It does not damage effective compounds. Easily settled in the water , it purifies pollution as water flows through.
3.No infrastructure construction is needed. Just replace the built-in membrane regularly.
4.Sensors can be added to detect water quality in real time.
5.No biological toxicity: It does not affect the existing ecological safety of the water body.
6.Different kinds and proportions of embedded proteins can be added to respond to the pollution situation of the specific water.
Application:
1.Decomposing organic pollutants, such as phenolic compounds and estradiol, in rivers and streams.
2.Sewage treatment.
3.Inshore ocean pollutant degradation.
4.Ecology protection.
IV. Market Analysis
1. Market size
The proportion of the ocean ecological industry in the global ocean economy is continuously increasing and has exceeded 30%. In China, the ocean ecological industry in the first half of 2023 was 4.7 trillion RMB, an increase of 6.0% year-on-year. The ocean ecological governance-related industries are also continuously developing. At the same time, the investment of the government in ocean ecological protection and restoration projects and the development of emerging ocean industries have all promoted the expansion of the market size of ocean ecological governance-related industries.
2. Target customers
The main target customers include coastal city governments, enterprises seeking sustainable ecological protection, and sewage treatment plants. Coastal city governments are sustaining the funding for protecting ocean ecology and the environment. Enterprises also need to fulfill their responsibilities for ocean protection. Sewage treatment facilities can reduce costs and improve treatment efficiency by adopting our technology.
3. Competitive advantages
Compared with current water purification pathway, our product
1.does not require construction, can be deployed at mobile locations.
2.does not require chemicals, and has a long cycle for consumable replacement.
3.In sewage treatment facilities, Our multilayer membrane stacking can increase the water contact surface area, greatly accelerate treatment efficiency, and reduce the chemical input and costs of wastewater treatment.
V. Technology
1.Materials pathway
The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene nanofiber membrane was invented by Professor Gao Ping's research group from HKUST(GZ). This membrane has astonishing strength. Its tensile strength is 80 times that of stainless steel 304 of the same mass and is one of the strongest bulletproof fibers in the world. Professor Gao achieved such excellent strength performance by carefully designing the order parameter in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. In addition, they proposed a three-stage enhancement hypothesis and elucidated the unique simultaneous hardening and toughening mechanism in nanocomposites. This work was carried out in cooperation with DSM in the Netherlands, the world's largest bulletproof fiber manufacturer. This high-strength nanofiber film has broad application prospects.
In 2023, Ph.d Yuan, member of Gao’s group, found that the protein can be embedded in the structure of the membrane, which allows the combination of membrane and proteins to service medical propose. We are inspired of Ph.d Yuan’s research and apply the embedded membrane in ecology protection.
Synthetic biological pathway in out production
Use synthetic biology methods to convert suitable cells into producing target enzymes, and then embed the enzymes in UHWPE membranes to form a membrane-enzyme-membrane structure. This membrane can allow water molecules, inorganic molecules, and small organic substances to pass through. The embedded enzymes can decompose harmful organic substances into small molecules or small polymer, reducing the harm of pollutants.
VI. Implementation Plan
1. Research and development stage
Although the the prototype of membrane has been effective in water treatment already, we will keep optimizing synthetic biology technology production efficiency and stability of enzymes production. At the same time, our researcher partners will improve the density of the embedded proteins in membrane to enhance its anti-pollution ability.
2. Production stage
Establish a production base to ensure product quality and output. Establish stable cooperation relationships with suppliers to ensure the supply of raw materials. The production preparation period is expected to be 3 months.
Stable supplier
We already have stable supplier. Shandong Rizhao Guna Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Its founders, Professor Gao and Dr. Gu, are from Gao's group. The company has accomplished the roll-to-roll production process for membranes and has sufficient production capacity. This enables us to control the cost of membranes within the lowest range.
3. Market promotion stage
Increase product awareness and market recognition by participating in industry exhibitions, holding technical seminars, and communicating with potential customers. Establish cooperation relationships with coastal city governments and enterprises and carry out pilot projects to demonstrate the effects and advantages of the product. The market promotion period is expected to be months.
Principal client: coastal city government
It is urgent for governments to deal with ocean pollution. Meanwhile, Embracing high technology can increase a city's brand value and promote economic development.
VII. Financial Forecast
1. Revenue forecast
In the initial stage, revenue is obtained through product sales and technical service provision. As the market share expands, businesses such as technology licensing and cooperative development can be considered to increase revenue sources. The expected revenue in the first year is 2 million yuan and will increase year by year. The ideal market share of our product in ecology industrial market should be around 400 million per year.
(1)Assessment:
device sell price: 100 RMB per device.
The first-year expected revenue is 2 million RMB, which sells about 20000 device.2 million is the average cost the government spends on a single water body purification project..
VIII. Risk Assessment and Countermeasures
Market risk
Our products will face challenges from traditional water purification companies. However, the costs of our product are more controllable compared to theirs, so we maintain price competitiveness in market competition with them.
III. Policy risk
Unstable policies and the opaque environmental protection attitudes of some governments will cause greater policy pressure on us. However, our project will set up in China, where policy implementation of government has reliable sustainability.
Environmental protection policies will be the focus of the Chinese government in the next ten to twenty years. This part of the risk will not have an impact at our beginning stage of our company. However, in the global promotion, there will still be policy risk from other unstable governments.
IX. Conclusion
Our innovative ocean ecological governance technology has huge market potential and social value. By providing an efficient and sustainable solution to ocean pollution, we are expected to make important contributions to the economic development and ecological protection of coastal areas. In the future development, we will continuously optimize technology, expand the market, and strive to become a leading enterprise in the field of ocean ecological governance.