News & Stories

Wastewater treatment is a critical issue for global environmental protection and public health. Researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently achieved a major breakthrough by discovering a novel oxidant-free electrocatalytic mechanism, opening up a new direction for water purification technologies. The findings are set to significantly improve pollutant identification efficiency and potentially double the economic feasibility compared with existing methods.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research team has developed a groundbreaking wastewater treatment technology that integrates a mesh bioreactor with an ultrasound-induced transient cavitation cleaning mechanism. The system can complete mesh cleaning within 3.8 seconds under anaerobic conditions and achieves 10-20 times higher flux than conventional membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The technology operates efficiently with substantially lower energy consumption, produces treated effluent surpassing international and local discharge standards, and reduces the cost of treating each cubic metre of wastewater to 50% of conventional MBRs, offering a sustainable solution for both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.