Since ancient times, China has been a traditional agricultural powerhouse. Since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of modern agriculture in China, the output and trade volume of major agricultural products have reached the forefront of the world.
However, modern agricultural waste has not been properly utilized, which not only pollutes the ecological environment but also seriously restricts the development of China's agricultural circular economy.
If agricultural waste pollution control and resource recycling can be achieved, it will effectively alleviate the problem of ecological environment pollution, and also help promote the construction of new rural areas in China, quickly realizing the national green development and dual carbon strategy.
Professor Sheng Liangquan, the leader of the Chemistry Department and the head of the Engineering Technology Research Center for Biomass Conversion and Pollution Prevention and Control at Fuyang Normal University, has made significant progress in the fields of crop straw recycling, resource utilization of livestock and poultry waste, and monitoring and degradation of agricultural pollutants. In recent years, Sheng Liangquan has led a team mainly engaged in research work related to biomass recycling, and has achieved a series of innovative scientific research results. At the same time, he actively participates in industry university research cooperation, and the series of research results on the comprehensive utilization of crop straw have been promoted and applied in many domestic enterprises, generating significant economic and social benefits.
Sheng Liangquan was born in the Taihu Lake, Anhui Province in October 1965, and graduated from the Department of Chemistry of Wuhan University in July 1988. In 2003, he graduated from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Science and Technology of China with a doctor's degree. In 2004, I entered Fuyang Normal University and obtained the qualification to be a professor, teaching courses such as analytical chemistry and instrument analysis. Since then, I have been engaged in frontline research and teaching work for a long time. Selected as a reserve candidate for the eighth batch of academic and technical leaders in Anhui Province in 2011. Formerly served as a master's supervisor at the University of Science and Technology of China, part-time researcher at the Third Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration, and dean of the School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Fuyang Normal University. The current head and master's supervisor of the Anhui Biomass Conversion and Pollution Prevention and Control Engineering Technology Research Center, as well as a doctoral supervisor at Anhui University.
Anhui Province is a major agricultural province in China, with an annual total of over 44 million tons of straw that can be collected and utilized. However, most of the straw has not been properly utilized. To this end, Sheng Liangquan led the team to conduct research on the integration and demonstration of key technologies for converting crop straw into oligosaccharides, and explored the co production mode and process of straw comprehensive utilization, opening up new avenues for high-value processing and application of straw.
In response to the problems of low conversion rate, high cost, low purity, and ineffective treatment of residual waste in the current domestic process of converting crop straw into functional oligosaccharides, the Sheng Liangquan team uses a combination of chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis technology, mixed solid-state enzyme cultivation technology to ferment and produce xylanase, enzyme immobilization technology, and multi-layer membrane separation technology to extract and separate oligosaccharides from agricultural and forestry waste such as straw. A pilot production line for oligosaccharides with an annual output of 10 tons has been established, forming a stable self hydrolysis enzymatic hydrolysis process route. The obtained oligosaccharides meet national standards with a purity of over 90%.
In addition, the team has carried out demonstration and promotion of key technologies for the conversion of crop straw into oligosaccharides and the co production of bio organic fertilizers. Taking Wensheng Biotechnology as a demonstration base, the technology co production process has been improved, which has driven labor employment. It is reported that this achievement has driven Anhui Wensheng Bioengineering Co., Ltd. to invest more than 3 million yuan in research and development and more than 5 million yuan in industrial investment. Established multiple technology demonstration sites, including Anhui Wensheng Bioengineering Co., Ltd. At the same time, the team also compiled all key technologies into a technical guidance manual, which played a role in quickly promoting the application of technology.
Currently, the control and recycling of agricultural waste pollution is an important direction for the country's green development and dual carbon strategy, and composting is the most important way to harmless, reduce, and resource utilize agricultural waste. Sheng Liangquan introduced that humic acid, as a terminal product of composting, plays an important role in reducing fertilizer usage and increasing efficiency, soil remediation, improving plant growth and soil fertility. Regulating the formation of humic acid in aerobic composting is an important guarantee for the healthy development of the organic fertilizer industry and the improvement of product quality and efficiency. However, there have always been challenges in the composting process of agricultural waste such as straw and livestock manure, including significant carbon and nitrogen loss, severe secondary pollution, low conversion rate of humic acid, low composting grade, and low efficiency of fertilizer products.
In response to this, Sheng Liangquan led a research team consisting of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anhui Wensheng Bioengineering Co., Ltd., and Nanjing Ningliang Bioengineering Co., Ltd. After years of research, breakthroughs have been made in the regulation mechanism of composting humification, efficient conversion technology, and the development of humic acid rich products. Their research elucidated the regulatory mechanism of key components and enzymes in the composting process on the formation of humic acid, created a new technology for directional humification composting coupled with functional microorganisms and nano Mn, and developed a new product of humic acid functional fertilizer that promotes growth and improves quality.
Based on this achievement, a total of 7 new products of high-grade organic fertilizers and water-soluble humic acid fertilizers rich in humic acid have been developed. In the past 3 years, the cumulative promotion and application area has reached 10 million mu, with sales revenue of 1.05 billion yuan. More than 500000 tons of agricultural waste have been processed, reducing carbon losses by more than 25000 tons and nitrogen losses by more than 1280 tons, achieving significant economic, social, and ecological benefits.
From the mid-18th century to the present, human beings have experienced four industrial revolutions, greatly improving production and living standards. However, at the same time, with the increasingly serious pollution of water resources by new industries and human activities, it also poses a serious threat to human health. Recently, a large amount of organic substances, such as human medicines, veterinary drugs, personal care products, etc., have been detected in surface water, groundwater, and drinking water. Even if they exist in trace amounts, they can pose a serious threat to human health and even the entire ecosystem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop green, environmentally friendly, and efficient new functional materials for the rapid removal of organic pollutants from the environment.
In recent years, Sheng Liangquan and his team have successfully synthesized ultra-high activity cobalt oxide catalysts with abundant oxygen vacancies by deep reduction of cobalt trioxide in a pyrolysis atmosphere. The rate constants of the activation of peroxymonosulfate by this catalyst for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole are 6.02/min, which are 37.6 times and 86 times higher than the products obtained by cobalt oxide based materials under argon atmosphere and the unreduced effect, respectively. This is much higher than the existing Fenton like systems reported in the literature. A series of characterization results have found that there are obvious oxygen rich defects in the ultra-high activity cobalt oxygen catalyst material, and its morphology, structure, and surface electronic structure have undergone significant changes. EPR and free radical identification experiments have confirmed that singlet oxygen and superoxide radicals play a major role in the degradation of sulfamethoxazole. In addition, density functional theory calculations indicate that oxygen vacancies acting on ultra-high activity cobalt oxygen catalysts can effectively regulate the surface electronic structure, enhance adsorption energy, promote electron transfer activation of peroxymonosulfate, and significantly improve catalytic activity.
When it comes to future work, Sheng Liangquan stated that the first step is the research and optimization of biomass oligosaccharide technology, the improvement of functional evaluation and application system, and the promotion and demonstration of industrialization. Continue to optimize the performance of oligosaccharides using enzymes, improve their catalytic efficiency, stability, and specificity, and reduce production costs. Developing new and efficient enzyme preparations through molecular modification, directed evolution, and other technological means to meet the needs of large-scale industrial production. Research more efficient and environmentally friendly product refining processes, improve the purity and quality of oligosaccharide products, and meet the demand for high-quality oligosaccharides in fields such as food and medicine. Establish a more comprehensive functional evaluation and application system for oligosaccharides, conduct in-depth research on the mechanisms of oligosaccharides in maintaining intestinal microbiota balance, enhancing immunity, and expanding their application scope in functional foods, health products, pharmaceuticals, and other fields. And relying on research results and technological accumulation, we will build a demonstration base for the industrialization of oligosaccharides, promote the transformation and industrial application of oligosaccharides production technology, carry out training and service work on oligosaccharides production technology, provide comprehensive support for enterprises in terms of technical consultation, process optimization, equipment selection, etc., and promote the rapid development of the oligosaccharides industry.
Secondly, in-depth research on the conversion mechanism of biomass organic fertilizer is needed to reduce costs and expand applications. A relatively complete system has been formed around the pre-treatment of agricultural waste such as straw and livestock manure in composting raw materials, composting process parameters, humic acid targeted regulation technology, as well as the development and promotion of new products of bio humic acid and high humic acid content organic fertilizers. In the early stage, the main focus was on optimizing the composting process parameters to increase the production of humic acid. In addition, the steps of biological humic acid extraction and purification were cumbersome, and further research and development are needed to simplify the operation steps and methods. Further research and development of product categories are needed in the future, and the application scope of various products in different regions, soils, and crops needs to be expanded to enhance the production capacity of products and increase yield and efficiency. This technology is expected to be resolved within three years.
Finally, Sheng Liangquan stated that in the future, it is necessary to address the major needs of implementing biomass pollutant control and the technical challenges of building a monitoring prevention and control resource utilization system. At present, with the continuous impact of human activities on the environment and the production and use of more chemicals, four new pollutants have emerged, namely "persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, and microplastics", all of which are toxic and harmful chemicals with characteristics of biological toxicity, environmental persistence, and bioaccumulation. Among them, biomass pollutants, as a persistent organic pollutant, are one of the four major new pollutants that are currently widely concerned and under key control. Developing monitoring, prevention, and control technologies for new pollutants is the key to solving the ecological environment governance in northern Anhui and can provide critical technologies. Regarding this, Sheng Liangquan will lead a team to focus on tracing the source of biomass pollutants in northern Anhui, developing monitoring and green degradation technologies for biomass pollutants, and meeting the significant needs of new comprehensive pollution control.
So far, Sheng Liangquan has been responsible for leading multiple national and provincial-level research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation project, the sub project of the International Marine Resources Survey and Development "Twelfth Five Year Plan" major project, and the provincial science and technology major special project. He has won four third prizes of the Anhui Provincial Science and Technology Award as the first, second, and fourth author; Published over 100 scientific research papers, with more than 80 SCI indexed, and participated in the compilation of multiple monographs; Authorized more than 10 national invention patents.
Agriculture is the foundation of the nation, and the foundation is solid and peaceful. Promoting agriculture through technology means turning "waste" into "treasure". Sheng Liangquan will continue to lead his team in innovative research and development, constantly overcome technical difficulties, effectively promote the control of agricultural waste pollution, adhere to the "dual track" of monitoring and restoration, solve the problem of agricultural pollution, improve the ecological environment, and contribute to the realization of the beautiful Chinese dream.