Source: People's Daily Online Editor in Chief: Luo Zhizhi, Gao Lei

Water is a strategic resource that supports economic development. Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on the collection of typical cases of industrial wastewater recycling in 2024, which aims to promote the collection of typical cases of industrial wastewater recycling, encourage more enterprises to improve water efficiency, and achieve a new leap in water conservation and pollution reduction.

In recent years, the efficiency of industrial water use in China has been continuously improved, and the efficient utilization of industrial wastewater has achieved significant results. The green development of industry has made positive progress, and new industrialization has been deeply promoted, continuously adding green new momentum to the high-quality development of the economy.

Industry is one of the important areas of water use in China, and the recycling of industrial wastewater is a long-term and arduous task. Professor Hu Hongying from the School of Environment at Tsinghua University stated in an interview with People's Daily that China has abundant water resources, but the per capita water resources are only 1/4 of the global average, resulting in a water shortage of over 50 billion cubic meters in normal years. At the same time, with the acceleration of industrialization, the diversification of product types has led to a more complex composition of industrial wastewater, an increase in wastewater discharge, and a prominent contradiction between water supply and demand.

After years of effort, China has made overall positive progress in the recycling of industrial wastewater, with significant water-saving effects in the industry. Data shows that by 2023, the reuse rate of industrial water above designated size in China will reach over 93%, with a water consumption of 24.3 cubic meters per 10000 yuan of industrial added value, a decrease of about 20% compared to 2020. A total of 21000 water-saving industrial enterprises have been built, with outstanding achievements in industrial water conservation and efficient utilization of wastewater.

Green development is the ecological foundation of new industrialization, which requires us to find a sustainable development path with low resource consumption and less environmental pollution. Hu Hongying said that promoting the recycling of industrial wastewater is an important means to alleviate China's water shortage, water environmental pollution and other problems. It is of great significance to promote the technological transformation and upgrading of related industries, promote industrial green development, and polish the ecological foundation of new industrialization.

Strengthen technological innovation, expand the space for efficient recycling of wastewater, and actively introduce effective practical solutions in various regions. The Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone in Cangzhou, Hebei Province is carrying out the renovation of its sewage pipeline network. Through the "one plant, one pipe" centralized treatment of sewage, it is reused in the production process to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement; Shougang Qian'an Iron and Steel has developed comprehensive wastewater desalination and membrane longevity control technology for steel production, which has solved the problems of frequent cleaning and short lifespan of reverse osmosis membranes; A chemical enterprise in Xinjiang uses recycled water produced by a municipal sewage treatment plant to replenish circulating water for cooling towers, completely replacing circulating cooling water with recycled water, achieving full recycling and efficient allocation of water resources.

Innovative ways of efficient utilization of industrial wastewater and intelligent control have become powerful support points. Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel has achieved "one production monitoring map and one water consumption table for the entire plant" through centralized control, big data analysis, image recognition and other technologies; In Luzhou, Sichuan, a chemical enterprise has installed monitoring systems for production processes such as water reuse, sewage treatment, and circulating water, achieving basic automation program control. Whether industrial wastewater is discharged in compliance with standards and whether production equipment is operating safely can be seen on the large screen in the main control room, with real-time monitoring of industrial wastewater recycling and timely warning of equipment hazards.

Hu Hongying believes that improving the digital management and networked collaboration level of wastewater recycling, establishing a full process control system and risk prevention and early warning system for wastewater recycling, and building a smart management platform can help ensure the safe use of wastewater recycling and further improve the level of recycling.

The policy standard system is constantly being improved by promoting industrial water efficiency through the recycling of wastewater and supporting new industrialization. Previously, ten departments issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Utilization of Sewage Resources", deploying the comprehensive promotion of sewage resource utilization. As an important part of the "1+N" policy system for sewage resource utilization, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued the "Implementation Plan for Industrial Wastewater Recycling" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Plan"), which proposes to focus on six typical industrial industries, deploy seven key tasks, and draw a clear roadmap for further promoting industrial wastewater recycling.

Since the release of the Implementation Plan, various regions have actively responded. Sichuan Province has issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting Industrial Wastewater Recycling in Sichuan Province (2024-2026)", proposing to focus on key water consuming industries and form wastewater recycling models with different emphases. Shandong has issued a list of key tasks for deep water conservation and control, carried out training for key monitored water consuming enterprises, implemented the circular transformation of industrial parks, tailored measures to local conditions, and made multiple efforts to encourage enterprises to actively implement water-saving transformation and wastewater recycling, accelerating the formation of a new pattern of efficient wastewater recycling.

How to promote the recycling of industrial wastewater to a new level? Hu Hongying suggested that, based on the selection of typical scenarios, collaborative efforts should be made in technology, standards, and mechanisms to promote innovation and application of wastewater recycling technology, accelerate the revision of standards for industrial wastewater recycling technology, management, and evaluation, strengthen policy coordination and departmental collaboration, and further enhance the level of industrial wastewater recycling.

The key to activating power and promoting efficient utilization of industrial wastewater lies in. Various regions should further improve the incentive mechanism for wastewater recycling, increase financial support for industrial wastewater recycling projects, introduce special policies for promoting industrial green development through industry finance cooperation, and enhance the enthusiasm of enterprises to participate in industrial wastewater recycling, "said Hu Hongying.