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Environment and Carbon Neutrality Research Center

The Center gathers a group of high-level talents from Tsinghua University such as academicians and professors, and the research areas include low-carbon technologies integration and coupling of the whole industrial chain/cross-industry, carbon accounting methods and carbon reduction paths for pollution control in typical energy industries, highly efficient adsorbents applied for resource recovery, wastewater treatment for reduction of pollution and carbon emissions, and control of new pollutants.

Affiliated Institutes

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Institute of Reducing Pollution and Carbon from Wastewater

The Institute mainly conducts R&D and application of technologies in areas such as the development of highly efficient adsorbents, wastewater resource recovery, advanced treatment of industrial wastewater, new pollutants perfluorinated compounds control, and wastewater carbon accounting, reducing pollution and carbon from wastewater. The Institute is based on the Environmental Chemistry Institute and the New Pollutants Control Team of the School of Environment, Tsinghua University. Currently, the research emphasis includes highly efficient adsorbent application for wastewater resourcezation and advanced treatment of industrial wastewater and the control of new pollutants.

Core technology/products

Adsorbents for highly efficient removal of new pollutants perfluorinated compounds in water/wastewater, and the complete set of adsorption & regenerat


  • Modified active coke and resins for highly efficient removal of PFOS and its substitutes from electroplating wastewater.

  • Highly efficient resins for recovery and removal of PFOA and its substitutes from fluoropolymer production wastewater

  • Adsorbents for the removal of perfluorinated compounds from underground water

  • Adsorbents for removal of low-concentration PFOS and PFOA and their substitutes from drinking water

  • Adsorbents for pretreatment of water sample to enrich perfluorinated compounds

  • Adsorption and degradation technology during the regeneration process for the removal of perfluorinated compounds as well as the complete set of equipments


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Figure: Prepared adsorbents for the highly efficient removal of perfluorinated compounds


*R&D team: Institute of Reducing Pollution and Carbon from Wastewater

Resource recovery technology and the complete set of equipment for high-value metals in industrial wastewater


  • Highly efficient adsorbents for enriching high-value heavy metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium ions in wastewater

  • Highly efficient regeneration methods for obtaining the regeneration solution containing high concentration of metals

  • Electrodeposition technology for obtaining high-purity metal plates and realizing the high-value recovery of heavy metals with significant benefits

  • After the treatment, the heavy metal ions in effluent stably meet the discharging standards

  • It can be used for resource recovery from industrial wastewater in electronics, chips, electroplating, nonferrous metals, new energy batteries industries.

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Figure:Adsorption and regenerating results of highly efficient recovery of nickel and copper by resins

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Figure: Recovery results of nickel and copper plates by electrodeposition


*R&D team: Institute of Reducing Pollution and Carbon from Wastewater

Application Cases

  • Removal of perfluorinated compounds

    The hydrophobic aminated resin material aiming on the PFAS in electroplating wastewater are designed to develop a PFAS-removal process based on the key technology of activated coke or resin adsorption. The first demonstration project in China centred by activated coke or resin adsorption to remove typical PFAS in chromium-containing wastewater efficiently is established. Operation results showed that, after conventional treatment of chromium-containing wastewater, activated coke was able to treat 1500BV of wastewater with over 90% removal of PFOS and its substitutes and residual concentration of typical PFAS lower than 10μg/L; hydrophobic aminated resin was able to treat 20000BV of wastewater with over 95% removal of PFOS and 6:2FTS and residual concentration of typical PFAS lower than 10μg/L.


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    Figure:Demonstration project for the removal of PFAS from electroplating wastewater by modified active coke (500 tons/day)


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    Figure:Demonstration project for the removal of PFAS by hydrophobic aminated resin (1000 tons/day)

  • Recovery of heavy metals

    The key technological process combining resin adsorption and electrochemical deposition is developed targeting on the valuable nickel and copper in electroplating wastewater containing these elements. The technology is applied in the nickel and copper-containing wastewater treatment process in an electroplating industry in Changzhou, on a project scale of 120 tons per day. The recovery rate of nickel and copper is over 90% from wastewater, achieving both environmental and economical benefits. The heavy metal recovery technology combining resin adsorption and electrochemical deposition in this demonstration project has the advantage of low operating cost and high purity of products, as well as gaining positive profits from wastewater treatment, which can be promoted to the wider application in wastewater recycling project of electroplating parks across the country.


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    Figure: A demonstration set-up for recovery of heavy metals recovery from electroplating wastewater using resin adsorption-electrodeposition technology, as well as the obtained nickel & copper plates