Sustainable biological wastewater management: paradigm shift in recent years

Date, time & venue

25 September 2024 (Wednesday), 17:00-18:00, Seminar via Zoom Meeting

Organized by

HKIE Civil Division, ICE Hong Kong Association and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Programme Highlight

Urban wastewater management encompasses a series of steps that transform household sewage into 'clean' water, suitable for discharge into natural water bodies. In achieving this primary goal, microbial-based biotechnologies play a pivotal role, rendering urban wastewater treatment the world's largest environmental biotechnology. With growing populations and continuing urbanization, the biological wastewater treatment has been facing emerging requirements to upgrade its established century-old design. The pursuit of upgrades is driven by a combination of factors, including cost reduction, capacity building, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and the management of emerging bio/chemical contaminants. These efforts aim to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and overall sustainability of urban wastewater management.

Nonetheless, attaining these goals through traditional approaches is fraught with challenges, thereby necessitating the development of novel biotechnologies. With these, the past three decades have witnessed a remarkable paradigm shift in urban wastewater management, during which a few milestones have emerged as potential game-changing landmarks. This presentation aims to reflect on the historical trajectory of this paradigmatic transformation in biological wastewater treatment, summarize the achievements made thus far, acknowledge the challenges encountered, and illuminate the exciting future that lies ahead. Through this reflective journey, the presentation envisions a dynamic future replete with advancements that will continue to redefine the landscape of urban wastewater management.

Language

English

Fee

Free of Charge

Speaker
Dr Tao Liu graduated from Tsinghua University with a primary B. Eng. in Environmental Engineering in the year of 2015. He received his PhD degree from the Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) at The University of Queensland in 2020. After this academic milestone, he took up a Postdoctoral position from 2020 to 2021, and a Research Fellow position from 2022 to 2023, both at The University of Queensland. He is now an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has, in the past five years, published 60+ papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Water, Nature Sustainability, Energy & Environmental Science, The ISME Journal, Environmental Science & Technology, and Water Research. Situated at the juncture of environmental microbiology and environmental engineering, his research interests include the exploration of novel microorganisms and applying these newly discovered microbial reactions in tangible applications. These applications manifest notably in the treatment of wastewater and waste sludge, as well as the upgrading of biogas and syngas, thus ultimately contributing to the advancement of sustainable environmental practices.

Registration & Enquiries

Please complete the on-line registration at  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_twSw67DHSXySe1QfsBfEYg

The number of participants is limited to 500 on a first-come-first served basis. Priority will be given to members of  HKIE Civil Division and ICE Hong Kong Association.

Email registration will not be accepted. Successful applicants will be informed by email and provided a link to the Zoom Meeting at the designated time slot. Participants need to sign in using the membership no. and name entered at the time of registration. A CPD certificate will be issued 3 weeks after the seminar based on this membership no. and name.

For enquiries, please contact Ir Henry Lam via email: hkieciviltechnicalmeeting@gmail.com.