Campus Digest

Innovative environmental project by HKBU biologist receives excellence award

Wednesday, 11 January 2023

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The research project led by Professor Jonathan Wong (middle) wins the Excellence Award at the Shenzhen Hong Kong 2022 Innovation Eco-Environmental Science and Technology Conference.

 

The research project entitled “Biosurfactants-enhanced biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during thermophilic composting of PAH contaminated soils” led by Professor Jonathan Wong, Professor of the Department of Biology, won the Excellence Award, the highest honour, at the Shenzhen Hong Kong 2022 Innovation Eco-Environmental Science and Technology Conference held on 24 November 2022.

The project has introduced an ectopic contaminated soil bioremediation technology, which facilitates the degradation and removal of PAHs contaminants in soil by adding organic substances, biosurfactants and PAHs-degrading bacteria. It has also been registered on the “List of 2022 Shenzhen and Hong Kong Outstanding Innovation Eco-Environmental Technologies and Achievements” and the “Collection of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Outstanding Innovation Eco-Environmental Technologies and Achievements”, which were announced at the conference.

The conference, with the theme “Technological Innovation for Co-ordinated Development”, was co-organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Shenzhen Academy of Environmental Sciences, and the Shenzhen Environmental Science Society in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It aimed to encourage and recognise elites in the environmental protection industry as well as the scientific research and academic sector in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.