On June 5, the China Association for Science and Technology's Alliance for Ecological and Environmental Sciences and Industry announced China's Top 10 Ecological and Environmental Science and Technology Achievements for 2025. The research achievement "Advanced Nitrogen Removal from Municipal Wastewater through Partial Denitrification and Anammox" by the team led by Peng Yongzhen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor at Beijing University of Technology (BJUT), was selected.

After more than a decade of dedicated research, Academician Peng and his team have established a new theory integrating partial denitrification with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). They overcame several key bottlenecks, including the enrichment of anammox bacteria in mainstream municipal wastewater, stable nitrite supply, and low-temperature operation. The team also built the world’s first mainstream municipal wastewater treatment plant based on the anammox process. The technology has since been applied in more than 10 projects across China, providing important scientific and technological support for the low-carbon transformation of municipal wastewater treatment and the achievement of carbon neutrality goals.