Against the dual backdrop of advancing the "Dual Carbon" strategy and the green upgrading of ports, traditional steel and concrete storage facilities have increasingly exposed their drawbacks of high energy consumption, high emissions and heavy pollution, becoming a bottleneck restricting the sustainable development of ports. With core advantages of lightweight structure, full-life-cycle low carbon footprint and high environmental performance, air membrane warehouses break the limitations of traditional storage models. They serve as an important carrier for ports to implement green development concepts, promote low-carbon transformation in storage, and inject new momentum into the green construction of ports.
Centered on carbon reduction at the source, air membrane warehouses establish a low-carbon system for port storage construction. Compared with traditional facilities, air membrane warehouses adopt an innovative structure of "membrane + steel cables + foundation", greatly reducing building material consumption. Steel usage is about 1/30 of traditional structures, and concrete consumption is reduced by approximately 95%. For a 10,000 ㎡ warehouse, carbon emissions during the material phase drop from 2,040 tons to 56 tons, a reduction of about 97%. The PVDF green membrane material releases no VOCs and boasts a recycling rate of up to 80%, effectively cutting construction waste and lowering the carbon footprint from the source. Meanwhile, the factory prefabrication plus on-site assembly mode shortens the construction cycle to about 1/3 of traditional warehouses, reducing construction carbon emissions by around 60%, achieving green construction with "short duration, low emissions and high efficiency".
Energy-saving operation throughout the life cycle highlights the green advantages of air membrane warehouses. As operation energy consumption is a major source of carbon emissions in port storage, air membrane warehouses optimize energy use through multiple technological innovations. The composite structure of double-layer membrane plus insulation cotton features a thermal conductivity as low as 0.03 W/(m·K), reducing air conditioning load by 30%–50%. A 10,000 ㎡ constant-temperature air membrane warehouse in northern China can save 40,000–60,000 kWh of electricity annually. With 20%–30% light transmittance, the membrane makes full use of natural light, saving 292,000 kWh in lighting per year for a 10,000 ㎡ warehouse, equivalent to an indirect carbon reduction of 233.6 tons. Paired with intelligent ventilation and heat recovery devices, about 80% of heat can be recycled, cutting winter heating energy consumption by roughly 40% and reducing carbon emissions in operation in multiple ways. In addition, the high self-cleaning coating on the membrane requires only 1–2 cleanings per year, with maintenance costs about 1/4 of traditional warehouses, achieving both low-carbon operation and cost efficiency.
The fully enclosed structure of air membrane warehouses effectively suppresses bulk cargo dust diffusion, reduces material loss, and prevents sewage leakage, protecting the port’s ecological environment in many aspects and meeting the core demands of green port construction. As an innovative form of low-carbon storage, air membrane warehouses enable full-life-cycle low-carbon operation without complex construction or high operation costs, adapting to various port storage scenarios and becoming one of the preferred solutions for port green transformation.
Green and low-carbon development is essential for high-quality port growth. With full-life-cycle advantages of "reduced building materials, optimized energy consumption and low-carbon operation", air membrane warehouses provide a low-cost, replicable solution for low-carbon transformation of port storage. In the future, with the integration of new technologies such as photovoltaic membranes, air membrane warehouses are expected to upgrade to "zero-carbon storage", continuously supporting ports in transforming from traditional logistics hubs into smart and green comprehensive service platforms, and laying a solid foundation for China’s port green construction and the achievement of the "Dual Carbon" goals.
