Recently, the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences announced the winners of the 2024 Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award, with a total of 71 projects receiving the honor. Among them, the project “Key Technologies and Applications for Source Control of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) in Gas Heating Equipment”, jointly completed by MU Lianbo, a 2021-class PhD student from BUCEA, along with Tsinghua University and other institutions, won the second prize for scientific and technological progress.

MU Lianbo, supervised by Professor WANG Suilin, a Beijing Scholar, focuses on the fundamental theories and technologies research of deep and efficient utilization of waste heat from flue gas condensation and emission reduction. He was honored as the third contributor to the project.

The project focuses on source control of NOx emissions in gas heating equipment, conducting research on ultra-low NOx combustion technology and integrated technology of deep flue gas heat recovery and low-nitrogen combustion. It effectively resolves the conflict between “low nitrogen emissions and stable combustion”, as well as between “low nitrogen emissions and energy savings” for gas boilers. The project provides critical technologies for meeting the NOx emission standards for existing gas heating systems. Building on this foundation, methods and equipment have been developed for testing key energy-saving and environmental performance indicators of gas heating equipment, creating an evaluation standard framework that includes factors such as air pollutant emissions, energy consumption, and technical conditions. The outcomes have been applied to gas heating equipment exceeding 100,000 tons of steam in capacity, providing strong support for sustainable air quality improvements. It has significantly driven technological progress in pollution control for gas heating equipment, leading the way nationwide and demonstrating important social and environmental value.

Flue gas condensation heat recovery unit for low-nitrogen gas boilers

The Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award is established by China’s National Office for Science & Technology Awards to recognize individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to science and technology for environmental protection. The award aims to foster the creativity of environmental scientists and promote the development of environmental technology, and is widely respected for its scientific credibility, fairness and authority.

This is the first time a PhD student from BUCEA has received this award.