Economic Net | China Water Environment Group’s Underground Reclaimed Water Plant Technology Achievements Won First Prize in Environmental Technology Progress

On February 2, 2023, the results of the "2022 Environmental Technology Progress Award" selection by the China Environmental Protection Industry Association were announced. The "Key Core Technology Research and Engineering Application of UndergroundUrban Reclaimed WWTP" led by China Water Environment Group was successfully selected as the first prize for environmental technology progress in 2022, achieving two "firsts": it is the first time since the establishment of this award that an enterprise has taken the lead in winning the first prize in the field of water pollution prevention and control, winning the award for the first time in terms of Reclaimed WWTPtechnology achievements.

The Environmental Technology Progress Award is established nationwide in accordance with the National Regulations on Science and Technology Awards. The first prize is awarded to projects that have made significant innovations in environmental science and technology, are technically challenging, and have achieved international advanced levels in overall technical level and indicators. It has been widely applied, achieved significant environmental benefits, and hassignificance and role in promoting economic development and social progress.

The award-winning project is led by China Water Environment Group, and jointly completed by Beijing University of Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Architecture and Construction, Ecological Environment Research Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sichuan Science City Tianren Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. and Xiyuan Environmental Protection (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The project application team was the earliest in China to carry out technical research and engineering practice on undergroundurban reclaimedWWTP, undertaking the only underground reclaimedplant project of the 13th Five Year National Water Project, and releasing the first national standard for reclaimedplants in China.

The project aims to achieve the overall goals of land intensification, environmental friendliness, precise regulation, and resource reuse. It has carried out systematic innovation in four aspects: water, gas, control, and utilization. The WWTPhas been scientifically collected and treated as a stable "second water source" for the city, transforming from above ground to underground and from centralized to distributed, completely solving the problem of neighbor avoidance, and achieving efficient utilization of water resources, land resources, and green energy, which hasembarked on a path of innovation in wastewatertreatment.

The project has been granted 167 patents, including 35 papers and the world's first monograph on underground reclaimed WWTP; selected as one of the eight national infrastructure green upgrading technologies selected by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other five ministries, and included in the National Advanced Pollution Prevention and Control Technology Catalogue; participated in the National 13th Five Year Plan Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Exhibition, with an overall international leading technological level.

At present, the achievements of this project have been promoted to 22 provinces nationwide, with the largest number of sinking factories in China, a total scale of over 3 million tonsper day, and 15 national demonstration projects covering various application scenarios of water environment governance, promoting the large-scale application of sinking factories in China. China has become the country with the largest and largest number of sinking factories in the world.

According to the China Environmental Protection Industry Association, the nominated projects for 2022 still maintain a large industry coverage and high technical level, reflecting the technological innovation strength of Chineseenvironmental protection industry. The award projects reflect the technological level of Chineseenvironmental protection industry and its contribution to ecological civilization construction.

In the field of water pollution prevention and control, this award has welcomed for the first time the achievements of underground WWTPtechnology, further affirming the significant achievements of underground WWTPsystem as a disruptive and original technology in solving water environment governance problems, promoting innovation in the source of environmental protection industry technology, and also promoting the high-quality development of underground WWTPin China from the industry.