Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has released a draft version of the key special projects of “Resource Utilization of Solid Waste” of the national key research and development plan. The project, “Demonstration of Comprehensive Utilization and Integration of Solid Waste in Nonferrous Metal Industry Cluster along the Belt and Road”, hosted by Prof. ZHANG Libo with KUST was awarded the fund, the total funding of which is 97.98 million yuan with 27.68 million yuan from the central government and 70 million yuan from the participating enterprises.

This project is led by KUST collaborated with other five leading institutes , including Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of Chinese Academy of Science, Guangdong Institute of Resources Comprehensive Utilization, Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Co. Ltd., and Kunming Institute of Metallurgy. Meanwhile, it also allies four demonstration enterprises, such as Yunnan Tin Company Group Limited, the world’s leading enterprise in the tin industry, and Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co. Ltd., the world’s leading enterprise in the lead and zinc industry, forming the industry-college-institute cooperation.

To solve the problem of environmental pollution and high transportation cost brought about by numerous varieties of solid waste generated by factories of the Yunnan nonferrous metal industry, this project carries a study on properties of typical solid wastes and their influence on the ecological environment. In this project, researchers would take typical solid wastes such as tin, lead, zinc, copper and aluminum as the research object, aiming at the source reduction, resource utilization, and harmless treatment of these wastes. Meanwhile, based on the properties of multi-source solid wastes, researchers would put forward a new way to combine outfield technology and multi-industries collaborative utilization technology including mining, melt, and environmental protection industry together. They will focus on the source reduction in fire refining of tin and producing gypsum slag with lead, zinc, copper, and acidic wastewater. The team will develop the resource utilization of remaining and new tin tailings, sulfur slag from tin refining, sludge containing arsenic and mercury, aluminum ash, and spent potliner, and new matching comprehensive utilization technique. What’s more, the technology will be developed in the harmless and centralized disposal of gathering hazardous waste which contains arsenic and mercury, as well as the technology of pollution control. As the project is planned, new equipment will be developed, engineering demonstration base be built, and a better way will be found for the comprehensive utilization of typical solid wastes and commercial operation mode, which are adaptable for the ecological environment in southwest China, and then cover the whole regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Translated by: JI Menghan, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures

Edited by: WANG Ying, School of International Education

Issued by: Division of Overseas Cooperation (English)

Source: Academy of Science and Technology, Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering (Chinese)

Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)