China’s polluted lakes hold potential for cleantech

Rapid economic and social development has taken its toll on 24,800 lakes in China, particularly those of Taihu, Dianchi and Chaohu.

The 13th World Lake Conference kicked off this week in Wuhan, China, and one of the hot topics being tackled is how to address lake pollution with clean technologies, according to the Xinhua News Agency today.

Katsutoshi Yoshinaga, the president of Marine Giken, said his company is looking to return the water quality of China's lakes to normal without using chemicals. Marine Giken’s technology involves an ozonizer, which uses ozone, an unstable form of oxygen, to send bubbles to the lakebed.

This can increase the oxidization and decomposition of the filthy mud, contain microorganism growth, and helping with the flow and self-purification of the water, the news agency reported. Ozonizers are natural and efficient purifiers, with the ability to oxidize everything, including pollutants and microbes.

Another company at the conference, Loveland, Colo.-based Hach specializes in water quality testing and analysis with its technology. The company said China has become one of its most important markets.

And Nanjing Frontier Environmental Technology, a company based in China’s Jiangsu Province, is looking to market its solar-powered eco-restoration system, which it said offers a cost effective solution to cleaning up lakes through algae containment.

The conference, held every two years, continues this week through Nov. 5, bringing together internationally renowned experts on lake environments, providing a platform for academic exchange, and discussing lake environmental protection and management.

The water treatment industry was predicted to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s stimulus package earlier this year, according to researchers at Frost & Sullivan (see China's stimulus package boosts water desal, recycling). Many of the water projects to receive funding were connected to water conditions, stimulating the demand for equipment serving the water and wastewater treatment sectors in China.

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