Popular concern about energy and chemical engineering are usually focused on safe, low-pollution and renewable technologies. But for science and technology, how to strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection remains a crucial question.

Over 200 scientists and delegates of the industrial sector from China, Egypt, India, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, UK and USA gathered in Beijing for the 7th CAS-TWAS Symposium on Green Technology (GT2018) from July 22nd to 25th, focusing on the development and application of green technology in the future.

Institute of Process Engineering (IPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have made great progress in developing green technologies, several of which are presented at GT2018, including the environmental-friendly copper bioleaching process, large-scale continuous artemisinin production technology and waste PET/PE recycling technology. These technologies are all expected to be transferred and applied to the Belt and Road countries and regions.

At Monywa Copper Mine, researchers led by Prof. RUAN Renman from IPE, CAS have been conducting fundamental researches on microbial leaching and have developed new technologies. Through cooperation with Wanbao Company, the largest heap bioleaching project of Asia has been built successfully, adding 120 million US dollars in the past 2 years. The key technology to produce artemisinin in large-scale have been applied in African countries like Sudan and Ethiopia, with energy consumption reduced by 43%, product purity higher than 99%, and production capacity reaching 60 tons per year. At present, the new technology of ionic liquid catalytic degradation of waste PET/PE developed by IPE is providing a solution for the recycling of waste plastics in the related countries.

The meeting also witnessed the launching of International Green Technology Association (IGTA) by the CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Green Technology (CEGT).

 Fig 1 Opening ceremony of GT2018 (Photo by CEGT)

Fig 2 Group photo of IGTA (Photo by CEGT)

CEGT is one of the five CAS-TWAS Centres of Excellence established by CAS since 2013, focusing on international S&T cooperation and innovation and talent-cultivation according to the major demands of the Belt and Road countries. It has developed applicable green technologies, catering to the characteristics of resources and energy mix in the developing countries.

After the launching of IGTA, CEGT will explore more effective ways to extend the depth and width of international cooperation. At the meantime, IGTA will explore new ways of joint talent-cultivation and S&T cooperation to improve the R&D level of green technology in developing countries.

Fig 3 Prof. ZHANG Suojiang, Director-General of the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences explains the aim of launching IGTA, "IGTA aims to promote talent cultivation, international cooperation, and applicable technology transfer and transformation to realize sustainable and synergistic development of green technology in developing countries."(Photo by CEGT)

In order to spread the idea of green technology, the Green Tech Report edited by CEGT was released during the meeting.

Media Contact:
LI Xiangyu
International Cooperation Office, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
E-mail: xiangyuli@ipe.ac.cn
Tel: 86-10-62551358