Prof. Zhiguo Yuan AM Awarded RGC Collaborative Research Fund 2025/26 for Advancing Circular and Sustainable Urban Wastewater Management through Waste‑Derived Iron Salts

4 Feb 2026

The Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong SAR Government has awarded the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) 2025/26 to a research project led by Prof. Zhiguo Yuan AM, Chair Professor at the School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), and project team member of UN FIRST Programme.

Developed with experts from CityUHK, HKUST, HKU, and PolyU, the project—“Waste-derived Iron Salts Enable Integrated and Sustainable Urban Wastewater Management”— enhances Hong Kong’s leadership in sustainable water systems. It introduces a locally produced alternative to conventional iron salts by converting biogas CO₂ and municipal waste iron into ferrous carbonate (FeCO₃), a greener, safer, and more cost-effective solution. This creates a circular supply chain, linking two major waste streams to chemical production for the first time and offering a future-ready approach to urban wastewater management.

Comparison of the current iron salt supply chain and the new circular FeCO₃ based system.

Under the UN-FIRST framework, this technology shows strong potential for future application in research, demonstration sites, and community focused outreach. By enabling local production of treatment chemicals and reducing dependence on imported and carbon intensive iron salts, the technology fits closely with UN-FIRST’s mission to advance sustainable, accessible, and resilient water solutions—especially in underprivileged regions. In doing so, the project provides UN‑FIRST with practical evidence and a replicable model for deploying decentralised, low-carbon treatment.

We view the receipt of this CRF award as a meaningful contribution to UN-FIRST, supporting its global mission by validating a scalable solution that marks tangible progress towards climate-adaptive wastewater management.

We congratulate Prof. Yuan on this achievement. As he works to complete this sustainability-driven project, we wish him every success in developing this future-ready approach to circular urban water systems.

For more information on RGC Collaborative Research Fund projects, please visit the RGC website at: https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/crf/funded_research.html