Prof Guanghao Chen from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has recently received HK$ 15.375 million from the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) of the Hong Kong Government, HK$ 6.5 million from the Drainage Services Department (DSD) of the Hong Kong Government, and HK$ 2.65 million from industrial sponsors for his project titled “Large-scale Study on Realization and Application of SANI Process in Sewage Treatment in Hong Kong”. Totaling HK$ 24.525 million, this project is not only the biggest ITF-funded project in the environmental field in Hong Kong, but also the first large-scale project of ITF involving close collaboration among university, government and industry.

Under the project, Prof Chen’s team will design, construct and operate a large-scale demonstration plant of SANI process at the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works. SANI is a novel sewage treatment technology invented and developed by a research group led by Prof Chen in the past 10 years. It brings a breakthrough in the century-old practice of municipal wastewater treatment and has been proven to be able to reduce around 90% sludge, 50% treatment cost and 35% CO2 emission compared to conventional treatment processes. This novel technology has earned high international recognition as evidenced by five major international awards presented to Prof Chen’s team in 2012 from three different professional organizations, namely International Water Association (IWA) in UK, Huber Technology Foundation in Germany, and Smart City Expo World Congress in Spain.

As promised by DSD to ITF, the success of this project will lead to the application of this sewage treatment revolution in Hong Kong. More importantly, it will greatly benefit the environment of Hong Kong, demonstrate to the world the research excellence of Hong Kong and in particular HKUST, as well as promote the development of the local environmental industry. The project is expected to take two years to complete.