In the field of sewage treatment and water environment governance, Academician Ling Jianjun, with decades of unwavering dedication and innovation, has written a history of continuous breakthroughs from technological research and development to the transformation of achievements. His research and development journey not only connects a series of core technologies that fill domestic gaps, but also witnesses the leap of China's environmental protection equipment from the laboratory to industrialization and from the domestic market to the international stage.

I. Start: Focus on core technologies and lay a solid foundation for research and development

Ling Jianjun's research and development journey began with tackling the "bottleneck" problems in the field of sewage treatment. In the early years, urban sewage in our country generally faced the bottleneck of treating low-carbon, high-nitrogen and high-phosphorus water quality. Traditional technologies had high energy consumption and unstable efficiency in nitrogen and phosphorus removal. In response to this pain point, he led his team to initiate the research and development of the "Low-oxygen High-efficiency biological doubling Wastewater Treatment Technology".

In 2008, he led the undertaking of the Jiangsu Province Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Special Fund Project "Research and Development and Industrialization of Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Treatment Technology and Equipment for Urban Sewage" (Project Number: (BA2008017), for the first time, introduced the concept of "synergistic action of biological flora in a low-oxygen environment" into wastewater treatment. By optimizing the reactor structure and flora regulation technology, it achieved efficient purification of low-carbon, high-nitrogen and high-phosphorus wastewater. This project not only broke through the limitations of traditional technologies, but also established his core idea that "technological research and development must be rooted in industrial demands" - clearly defining the "industrialization" goal at the early stage of research and development, and simultaneously promoting the modular design of equipment, laying the groundwork for subsequent practical application.

In 2011, the research and development of Ling Jianjun's team entered the national-level project level. As a core member, he participated in the National Science and Technology Major Project "Development and Industrialization of Key Equipment for Low-carbon Operation of Wastewater Treatment Aeration Systems" (Project No. : 2011ZX07316-001), and was responsible for the sub-project "Research and Development of Key Technologies and Equipment for High-Efficiency Surface Aeration". In response to the problems of high energy consumption and low oxygen utilization rate of traditional aeration equipment, the team developed a small-diameter convex ring-shaped disc aeration machine. By optimizing the structure and operation parameters of the aeration disc, the oxygen utilization rate was increased by more than 30% and energy consumption was reduced by 20%. The related technology won the second prize of Jiangsu Science and Technology Award in 2011, providing key equipment support for the "low-carbon operation" of sewage treatment.

Ii. Breakthrough: From Laboratory to Industrialization, Building a Technological Closed loop

The year 2012 was a crucial juncture in Ling Jianjun's research and development journey. This year, the project he led, "Research and Industrialization of Low-Oxygen High-Efficiency Biological Doubling Wastewater Treatment Technology and Modular Equipment" (a project funded by Jiangsu Province's Special Fund for the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements, project number BA2012055), entered a critical stage. Based on the previous technology, the team further broke through core technologies such as "directional domestication of biological flora" and "integrated reactor integration", and successfully developed modular sewage treatment equipment - this equipment can be flexibly combined according to the volume of sewage to meet the needs of towns of different scales, and its occupied area is 40% less than that of traditional processes, and the operating cost is reduced by 25%.

In 2014, this technology passed the acceptance inspection and was industrialized, filling the gap of domestic low-carbon, high-nitrogen and high-phosphorus wastewater treatment technology, and won the 22nd Excellent Patent Award of the National Intellectual Property Administration. In the same year, the environmental protection research project he undertook in Jiangsu Province, "Industrialization and Integrated Application of Complete Sets of Equipment for Small-town Sewage Treatment - Key Technologies and Equipment for High-Efficiency Surface Aeration" (Project No. 2014009), was concluded. The complete sets of equipment developed by him were applied in many small-town demonstration projects across the country, promoting the standardization and large-scale production of small-town sewage treatment equipment.

The "closed-loop thinking" of technology research and development and transformation of achievements has become increasingly clear at this stage: In 2017, the "Low-Oxygen High-Efficiency Biological Doubling" project was accepted by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology and has been cumulatively promoted and applied to over 200 sewage treatment projects across the country. In 2018, the "Decentralized Sewage Treatment Mode and Device" developed by its team (in collaboration with Japan's Daiki Company) was awarded the certificate of the National Construction Industry Science and Technology Achievement Promotion Project. The core equipment, "High-Efficiency and Stable Purification Tank", has become one of the mainstream choices for rural sewage treatment.

Iii. Expansion: From domestic to international, technology export and market deepening go hand in hand

While implementing domestic technologies, Ling Jianjun set his sights on the international market. He led Lingzhi Equipment Co., LTD. (formerly Lingzhi Environmental Protection Co., LTD.) to expand its overseas business and promote its independently developed sewage treatment technology and equipment to the countries along the "Belt and Road".

In 2016, the sewage treatment project of the leather industry park in Dhaka, Bangladesh was launched. This was the first large-scale overseas landmark project undertaken by Ling Jianjun's team. The total investment of this project is approximately 80 million US dollars. In response to the problems of high-concentration COD and excessive chromium ions in tann-making wastewater, the team's innovative "Orbal-like oxidation ditch type integrated phosphorus and nitrogen removal inverted A²O process" was adopted, achieving the standard discharge of wastewater. This has resolved the contradiction between "industrial development and environmental governance" for the local area and has also become a model for China's environmental protection technology to "go global".

Since then, the team has successively completed projects such as the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone Sewage Treatment Plant in Cambodia and the Zamvalley Sewage Treatment Plant in Angola. The application of technologies has covered many countries in Asia, Africa and South America, and has verified the reliability and competitiveness of China's environmental protection technologies in the international market.

Four. Deepening: Continuously iterate and innovate to lead the industry's development

Ling Jianjun's research and development has never stopped. In 2021, the "Low-Carbon Integrated Sewage Treatment Device" developed by its team was awarded the title of "Specialized, Refined, Unique and Innovative Product" by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, and won the first prize of the Invention Award of the China Association for Invention in the same year. In 2022, the "Double-Membrane Oxidation Ditch Treatment Technology and Integrated Equipment for Rural and Town Domestic Sewage" won the First prize for Scientific and Technological Progress of the China Private Science and Technology Contribution Award, continuously leading the field of rural and town sewage treatment technology.

In the same year, as the sub-project leader, he undertook the Jiangsu Provincial Ecological Environment Research Project "Transformation and Promotion of Precise Treatment Technology for Rural Sewage with High Terrain Compatibility and Low-Carbon Ecology" (Project No. 2022005). In response to the characteristics of rural sewage such as "dispersion and complex terrain", he developed modular treatment technologies suitable for different terrains, which have been applied in multiple rural demonstration projects. It provides technical solutions for environmental governance in rural revitalization.

V. Accumulation: Honor and Responsibility Reveal the true colors of researchers

Decades of research and development accumulation have earned Ling Jianjun wide recognition in the industry: he won the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2012, the Excellent Award of the China Patent Award twice in 2010 and 2021, the First Prize of the Huaxia Construction Science and Technology Award in 2011, and the Excellent Award of the China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Innovation Achievement Award in 2019... In 2016, he was awarded the title of "Economic Figure of the Year" and "Leading Entrepreneur of the Belt and Road Initiative" in Jiangsu Province. In 2025, he was honored as a "Contemporary Inventor". Behind these honors lies an affirmation of his dual-wheel drive model of "technological innovation + industrial implementation".

Ling Jianjun has also spared no effort in academic inheritance and social services. Since 2009, he has served as the representative of the council units of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry and the All-China Environment Federation. Since 2010, I have served as a postdoctoral supervisor at Chongqing University and as a graduate student advisor or part-time professor at several universities including Nanjing University and Nanjing Agricultural University, transforming research and development experience into educational resources. Since 2020, he has served as a member of the Water Treatment Equipment Sub-technical Committee of the Standardization Technical Committee for Environmental Protection Machinery of the Machinery Industry, participated in the formulation of industry standards, and promoted the standardization development of sewage treatment equipment.

From the first provincial-level scientific and technological achievement transformation project in 2008 to the title of "Contemporary Inventor" in 2025; From domestic small-town sewage treatment plants to large-scale industrial wastewater treatment projects overseas, the research and development journey of Academician Ling Jianjun is a microcosm of China's environmental protection technology evolving from following to leading. With his persistence of "making breakthroughs every year and moving step by step towards industry", he has interpreted the original aspiration of scientific researchers to "write papers on the land of the motherland", and has also injected lasting impetus into the technological progress and sustainable development of the sewage treatment industry.