In Yunfu, renowned as the “Sulfur Capital,” a technologically advanced and uniquely designed fully enclosed “inflatable dome”—the Yunfu Pyrite Concentrate Inflatable Membrane Storage Facility—is writing a new chapter in the industrial development of the city with its innovative design and outstanding performance. This flagship project, passionately developed by ZC Space, not only represents a major breakthrough in inflatable membrane technology for harsh acidic environments and complex terrains but also sets an innovative example for the green transformation of traditional industrial mining cities.

The Yunfu Pyrite Concentrate Inflatable Membrane Storage Facility is primarily used to store sulfur concentrate. The internal environment is extremely demanding, with a pH as low as 3, indicating strong acidity. Based on these industrial conditions, ZC Space leveraged its self-developed preparation process for strong acid-resistant membrane materials to significantly enhance the acid and corrosion resistance of the PVDF membrane. This enables long-term stable operation in highly acidic environments, breaking through the limitations of traditional inflatable membranes in acidic applications.

Its unique chemical stability and corrosion resistance not only extend the service life of the storage facility but also significantly reduce maintenance costs, providing a safe and efficient solution for the storage and transportation of acidic minerals.

The project site in Yunfu features an irregular polygonal boundary, which posed challenges for conventional design methods. ZC Space employed adaptive rapid modeling technology for free-form membranes with arbitrary boundaries to innovatively develop a specialized form-finding method for irregular structures. Using a self-developed cable layout algorithm, the team achieved parametric automatic arrangement of evenly spaced cables on the free-form membrane surface, establishing a cable-membrane协同 analysis and design technique suitable for polygonal irregular inflatable membranes.

This technology breaks through the geometric limitations of conventional inflatable membranes, perfectly adapting to complex landforms and non-standard boundary requirements. The cable-membrane协同 analysis ensures precise shape matching between cables and the membrane after inflation, guaranteeing structural safety and stability. Additionally, this technology optimizes spatial efficiency and exhibits unique aesthetic value. It has been successfully applied in the design of membrane surfaces and cable networks for several polygonal free-form inflatable membranes, paving a new path for fully enclosed environmental storage under special morphological conditions.

The significance of this project extends far beyond technological breakthroughs. As a critical part of Yunfu’s sulfur industry, its efficient and safe storage method ensures the quality and production efficiency of sulfur concentrate, providing strong support for the upgrade of the local sulfur chemical industry chain. Meanwhile, the green and environmentally friendly features of the inflatable membrane structure reduce resource consumption and environmental impact, aligning with Yunfu’s key tasks of prioritizing ecology and promoting green development. It injects new vitality into the economy of the “Sulfur Capital.”

As a successful case of applying inflatable membrane technology in extreme environments and irregular boundaries, this project sets a global industry benchmark. Through continuously leading innovation in inflatable membrane technology, ZC Space is not only helping Yunfu establish a new green benchmark for the sulfur chemical industry but also demonstrating the strength and responsibility of “Chinese Innovation” to the world.