The official list of winners for the 2025 Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award was recently released. The project "Key Technologies and Applications for Integrated Treatment and Control of Surface-Groundwater Nitrogen Pollution at the Basin Scale," led by Professor Xiaohong Ruan’s team from our school, was honored with the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress.
As the highest-level national award in the environmental field overseen by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award recognizes organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to environmental science and technology. It is widely recognized across society for its scientific rigor, impartiality, and authority.
Project Overview and Innovation
Aligned with major national strategic need for controlling agricultural non-point source pollution, the project tackled several technical challenges, including the widespread occurrence of non-point source pollution, significant spatiotemporal variations, and a lack of targeted prevention and control measures.
Leveraging geoscientific platforms and integrating multi-disciplinary strengths in groundwater science, hydrology and water resources, and geochemistry, the team conducted 15 years of systematic research. Guided by the overall strategy of "elucidating cycling mechanisms, revealing transport patterns, breaking through key technologies, and constructing prevention systems," they established an integrated technological system for the treatment and control of surface-groundwater nitrogen pollution at the basin scale.
Key Achievements and Impact
The project’s outcomes have been successfully implemented in key river basins, including the Huaihe River, Yangtze River (including Lake Taihu), and Haihe River. Key highlights include:
National Recognition: Relevant technologies were selected for the 2019 National Catalogue of Advanced Pollution Prevention and Control Technologies.
Intellectual Property & Research: The project has been granted 16 invention patents, published 48 academic papers, and established 4 technical standards.
Policy Support: The research provided critical technical support for the formulation of national industry standards, such as the Guidelines for the Delineation of Groundwater Pollution Prevention and Control Zones.
