16 封面專題 • COVER STORY 澳大新語 • 2025 UMAGAZINE 32 that often struggle to handle highly concentrated and persistent pollutants. This system integrates electrochemical and electrocoagulation processes to effectively remove resistant organic compounds, phosphorus, nitrogen, and heavy metals. It increases purification efficiency by three to ten times while reducing treatment costs by 50%. Suitable for treating various types of wastewater, including landfill leachate and textile industry effluent, the system is now being scaled up for pilot testing and early commercialisation. For sludge treatment, the team has developed a system to recover high-value resources from sewage sludge produced by municipal sewage treatment plants. Using a series of innovative extraction technologies, researchers recover sulphated polysaccharides (which have anti-tumour and anticoagulant potential) and industrial-grade sodium alginate from municipal sludge. The system improves sludge dewatering efficiency by 80% and transforms waste into valuable materials. To address public concerns about using sludge-derived materials for medical purposes, the team adopted a ‘take from water, use in water’ approach— repurposing the sulphated polysaccharides as fish feed additives (formulated with 0.5% sulphated polysaccharides). Experiments have shown that fish such as large yellow croaker, black sea bream, and yellow croaker, when fed with this additive for three to four weeks, have significantly higher survival rates under bacterial and viral exposure, creating new opportunities for sustainable aquaculture and marine ecosystem protection. In addition, the team has developed a ‘real-time automatic volatile fatty acid (VFA) and alkalinity analyser’ to support the fermentation of residual sludge after polysaccharide extraction for VFA production. This innovative device can complete analysis in just three minutes—making it ten times faster and 90% cheaper than traditional equipment, while maintaining high accuracy. It has already been used in several wastewater treatment plants in Hong Kong, providing an effective monitoring tool for the anaerobic digestion industry. Reflecting on the team’s achievements, Prof Hao says, ‘Our close collaboration with universities and enterprises in neighbouring regions provides strong support for both research innovation and practical application. This reflects UM’s strength as a university rooted in Macao while serving the wider region.’ From optimising energy demand management and enhancing power system reliability, to advancing comprehensive water resource management, UM is driving ecological sustainability across Macao and the region through multidimensional technological innovation. As research deepens and regional collaboration grows, these technologies are poised to make a greater impact—advancing global sustainability goals in renewable energy and environmental protection. 澳大成功從污泥中提取硫酸多糖 UM successfully extracts sulphated polysaccharides from sludge 郝天偉教授 Prof Hao Tianwei
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzM0NzM2