Reported by: YAN Mingxing
Photographed by: College of Environmental Science and Engineering
Translated by: REN Shaorui
Edited by: D. Parker
Date: October 26, 2017
The National Convention Center was the site for the 15th IWA World Conference on Anaerobic Digestion from October 17th to 20th, 2017. Sponsors of this conference were the International Water Association (IWA), HIT, Tsinghua University, the Ecological Environment Research Center for Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the China Anaerobic Digestion Committee of International Water Association. Academician REN Nanqi gave the opening address.
A total of more than 1,200 experts and scholars from 75 countries and regions were in attendance. More than 800 abstracts were received, including 159 oral reports and 566 posters. Eight symposiums were held during the conference.
Professor WANG Aijie, the president of the conference, presided over the opening ceremony. Several internationally famous scholars presented reports on current hot topics in anaerobic digestion research, including Helmut Kroiss, the former chairman of the International Water Association, Bruce E. Rittmann, professor and academician from the American Academy of Engineering, and Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, professor and academician from the American Academy of Engineering. On behalf of China Anaerobic Digestion Committee of International Water Association, Academician QIAN Yi introduced the development and prospects of China's anaerobic digestion technology.
The IWA world conferences on anaerobic digestion are a series of major, large and professional conferences sponsored by the International Water Association, which are held every three years (held once every two years since 2015). The 15th Conference was held in China for the first time with the theme “Towards a More Sustainable World”. It focused on policy guidelines, technological applications and cutting-edge technology for anaerobic digestion in waste water and solid waste treatment. There was a field of 10 topics and 16 plenary lectures. China Anaerobic Digestion Committee of International Water Association was organized by 20 universities including Harbin Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, and Tongji University as well as more than 30 experts and scholars from the institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Committee’s goal is to form a professional coalition for research and the production of anaerobic digestion technology in China. It will build a platform for academic exchanges and market transformation between China and other countries. In addition it will help the growing domestic demands for technology and market, thus promoting a circular economy and low-carbon economy to a higher level.
During the conference, representatives from China and abroad visited two typical engineering sites for anaerobic digestion technology at Xiaohongmen Sewage Plant and Deqingyuan Agricultural Ecological Park.
More than 1,000 representatives from China and abroad attended the conference at the National Convention Center.
