PhD in Environmental Engineering

Current position: Professor at College of Environmental Science and Engineering at Nankai University, China

Research focus: water and environmental engineering

The other area in which the Chinese researcher works is the recovery and reuse of wastewater using microbial fuel cells, for example, to generate power, which can then be potentially used to partially power the operation of wastewater treatment facilities. It combines disposal with a sustainable way of reducing energy costs.

CV as submitted for the Green Talents award (2009):

Nankai University, China

Research focus: water and environmental engineering

Minghua Zhou is a professor at the College of Environmental Science and Engineering at Nankai University, located in the city of Tianjin in the north of China. He studies methods to mineralize organic pollutants by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as photocatalysis, ozonation, wet air oxidation and electrochemical oxidation. These methods can break down the organic pollutants in wastewater into biodegradable ones or even further to a level where all that is left are water and carbon dioxide. These technologies are very efficient and environmentally sound.

The other area in which the Chinese researcher works is the recovery and reuse of wastewater using microbial fuel cells (MFCs), for example, which generate power, which can then be potentially used to partially power the operation of wastewater treatment facilities. It combines disposal with a sustainable way of reducing energy costs. The jury took notice of Minghua Zhou because at age 34 he has already established himself as a professor with intense research activity and international experience. He also holds more than 15 patents and published more than 50 papers indexed by SCI. During his stay in Germany, Minghua Zhou hopes for an academic exchange in his field of advanced oxidation processes.