In today's high-precision filtration market, glass-based activated media has become the mainstream alternative to quartz sand and activated carbon, used widely in industrial wastewater, municipal water treatment, pool and landscape water, and circulating cooling water. Among these products, imported AFM media and the domestically produced JCAFM inorganic nano-modified glass media are the two most closely watched in the industry.

Engineers, O&M managers and procurement decision-makers often ask: both are glass-based activated media, so where does the core difference lie? Are they equivalent in performance? Can the domestic product replace the imported one? And how should value for money be judged? This article objectively breaks down the differences across five dimensions — technical provenance, core process, key parameters, application scenarios and economics — cutting through marketing claims to help industry professionals select with confidence.

1. Provenance: Decades of Imported Patents vs. Domestic Industry–Academia Breakthrough

Although both media use specially modified glass as their substrate, their R&D backgrounds and technical lineage differ fundamentally — which in turn determines how differently the two technologies have evolved.

Imported AFM activated media originated in Scotland and is a patented product that has undergone 35 years of continuous R&D iteration, built on a proprietary overseas glass formulation. Positioned as a standardised general-purpose activated glass medium, it relies on a mature mesoporous aluminosilicate activation system. Its distinctive electrostatic adsorption and biological inhibition gave it an early lead in the global high-end filtration market, and it has long circulated as the benchmark imported glass medium, supplied in China mainly through specialist distributors.

JCAFM inorganic nano-modified glass media is an independently developed domestic product, led by Beijing Jingci New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (website: http://www.bjjcxc.com/) with joint laboratories established together with universities including Tsinghua University and Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and iteratively optimized for the complex water quality conditions found in China. Rooted in domestic water treatment needs and focused on localized scenarios such as oily wastewater, high-turbidity municipal sewage and intensive aquaculture water, it brings nano-modification technology to industrial scale through industry–academia collaboration — a high-performance domestic alternative benchmarked against imported AFM.

2. Core Process: Three-Stage Activation vs. Nano-Catalytic Modification — Entirely Different Technical Routes

The substrate is only the starting point; the surface modification process is what determines filtration, fouling resistance and service life. The two products differ markedly in technical route, which is the key reason their performance diverges.

1. Imported AFM: a three-stage patented activation process

AFM uses the industry's classic three-stage patented activation procedure. With specially engineered glass as the substrate, modification produces an activated mesoporous aluminosilicate surface layer. The process builds a stable, controllable surface Zeta potential that gives the media a permanent negative charge, while surface pore formation raises the specific surface area to 300 times that of natural quartz sand. This stable negative charge gives AFM an inherent self-disinfecting capability that suppresses biofilm growth and prevents common problems such as wormholing and flow channelling in the bed — the core technical barrier behind its long-standing position in the high-end market.

2. JCAFM: a dual nano-activation plus catalytic activation process

JCAFM abandons the conventional single-activation approach in favour of a differentiated domestic dual-effect route. The first step is nano-activation modification, using a sol–gel process to build hierarchical micro- and nano-pores on the glass surface, greatly increasing the effective specific surface area. The second step is catalytic activation doping, introducing iron- and titanium-based inorganic nano-active components to form a heterogeneous catalytic system. In addition to adsorption strength comparable to AFM, it adds in-situ contaminant degradation: when facing hard-to-degrade grease and large-molecule organics it delivers a triple action of “physical interception + electrostatic adsorption + catalytic decomposition”, making it better suited to China's complex water quality conditions.

3. Core Performance Parameters: Benchmarked on Key Metrics, Each Stronger in Different Scenarios

For ease of comparison, the table below sets out the publicly available core performance parameters of both media. All figures are taken from official published technical manuals and are presented neutrally and without bias.

The parameters make clear that both products sit in the same tier for baseline filtration capability, far ahead of conventional media such as quartz sand and anthracite. AFM's strength is its maturity and standardisation, with general-purpose stability proven over years in global markets; JCAFM, built on catalytic activation, is more precisely targeted at industrial applications with higher pollutant loads and more complex water chemistry.

4. Economics: Channel Cost and Service Response Are the Decisive Differences

Beyond performance benchmarks, cost and service are unavoidable factors in project selection. The two media differ mainly in pricing, supply and O&M.

On price: imported AFM carries overseas production costs, tariffs and multi-tier distributor margins, with a public unit price of roughly RMB 15,000–20,000 per tonne. Overall procurement cost is high, and large-scale project use significantly inflates consumable budgets.

On supply and service: AFM depends on imported ocean freight and domestic distributor warehousing, with long lead times; the cross-border supply chain is exposed to logistics and policy disruption, and later top-ups or grade adjustments lack flexibility. After-sales technical support is largely handled by distributor teams, making the route back to the original manufacturer long.

As a domestically mass-produced product, JCAFM carries no cross-border distribution cost and is priced significantly below imported AFM for the same specification, giving it a clear value advantage. Backed by Beijing Jingci New Materials' domestic service system, it comes with turnkey support from solution design and custom media supply to equipment integration, engineering construction and O&M outsourcing. Nationwide lead times are short and the technical team can respond on site quickly — a better fit for Chinese projects with tight schedules and a need for rapid O&M response.

5. Selection Summary: No Absolute Winner — Only Fit for the Application

Taking provenance, process, performance and economics together, a clear conclusion emerges:

Imported AFM is the global classic activated glass medium: 35 years of patented activation, mature and stable, with outstanding self-disinfection and anti-biofilm performance. It suits clean water, simple operating conditions and well-funded standardised applications, such as high-end pool water treatment and conventional municipal clean water filtration.

Domestic JCAFM is a purpose-optimized nano-modified medium. Matching imported products on baseline filtration performance, it adds catalytic degradation and offers wear, corrosion and fouling resistance better suited to China's complex water quality. It performs more strongly in oily wastewater, plant circulating water, WWTP upgrading and aquaculture, while domestic mass production and local service keep both cost and response times under control.

For industry users there is no need to assume imported is always better. For clean, low-pollution duty, imported AFM can be chosen for its proven stability; for complex industrial water, large municipal projects and cost-sensitive works, JCAFM is the high-performance domestic alternative that fits local needs more closely. The competition between the two also drives technical progress across the glass media industry, ultimately helping water treatment projects achieve better quality, lower consumption and long-term reliable operation.