Editor's Note: With the support of national policies and the aid of advanced technology, the sanitation industry is on the cusp of a brand-new transformation. As new quality productivity develops, the application of numerous high-tech solutions is continuously advancing in the field of sanitation, leading to a metamorphosis across the entire industry. Various intelligent sensing technologies have achieved rapid perception of personnel, vehicles, environments, and equipment across all domains and processes, laying a solid foundation for refined control over every aspect of sanitation operations. The accelerated implementation of unmanned and automated technologies has brought unprecedented convenience and efficiency to sanitation work. The sanitation industry is striving to improve the efficiency of resource utilization and reduce the negative impact on the environment.
New Quality Productivity Accelerates the Transformation of the Sanitation Industry
—Summary of the 2024 China Environmental Health Expo
■ By Wu Min, our reporter
From November 10th to 12th, the 2024 Annual Meeting of the China Urban Environmental Sanitation Association and the China Environmental Health Expo (hereinafter referred to as the Expo) was held at the China International Exhibition Center (Beijing Chaoyang). With the theme of "Accelerating the Development of New Quality Productivity to Promote the Modernization of China's Sanitation," the Expo featured over 150 participating units showcasing the latest products, equipment, practical technologies, and solutions in the environmental sanitation industry.
Through the Expo, what trends in the development of the sanitation industry can we observe? Our reporter takes you on a journey to discover the answers.
Unmanned Sanitation Vehicles
Transforming Sanitation Workers into Operators
This year's Expo showcased many sanitation products that, under the "blessing" of the energy revolution marked by pure electricity, have integrated new internet technologies to achieve leapfrog development. For instance, various manufacturers exhibited pure electric unmanned small sanitation vehicles at the Expo.
In this new track, there are not only traditional sanitation equipment manufacturers but also many high-tech and new energy companies that represent new quality productivity.
Kandela (Shenzhen) New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kandela) is a "new face" at the Expo. The company introduced a multifunctional sweeping robot called the Kandela Sunshine S200. This robot resembles a small locomotive. Expo staff explained, "This product has been on the market for over two years, has been sold and implemented in 13 provinces and cities in China, and has covered an area of over 300 million square meters. Relying on its self-developed intelligent driving platform, combined with intelligent control decision-making, multi-source fusion perception, and autonomous controllable software architecture, it can achieve unmanned driving and precise avoidance. At the same time, with high-intelligence SLAM algorithms, the robot can efficiently scan and map the sweeping area in real-time, achieving optimal path planning even in complex environments, and smooth sweeping, maximizing intelligence. Through core intelligent algorithms that actively recognize garbage, conduct garbage patrols, return to charge when low on power, and dump when full, the sweeping efficiency is high, truly achieving cost reduction and efficiency increase."
Fulongma Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Fulongma), as a traditional sanitation equipment manufacturer, is also actively transforming into intelligent unmanned cleaning equipment. At this Expo, Fulongma brought the SD15 pure electric intelligent driving sweeping robot. This robot, in appearance, is full of technology and high-end. Zhang Shutian, the product manager of Fulongma, introduced, "This is an intelligent sweeping robot capable of autonomous movement, perception, understanding, decision-making, and task execution. It has full-process unmanned operation capabilities and high mobility and travel capabilities. Developed based on a skateboard chassis, through visual perception, AI algorithms, and intelligent recognition technology, coupled with a backend cloud control management platform, it can provide all-round, efficient, and intelligent cleaning services for urban parks, urban roads, commercial complexes, and other areas." Zhang Shutian emphasized that this is the world's first L4 level unmanned sweeping robot based on skateboard chassis technology, which has been deployed in large-scale events such as the Asian Games and the Universiade, achieving all-weather, full-process unmanned operation.
If Kandela and Fulongma are mainly manufacturing enterprises focused on product production, then Qiao Yin Urban Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qiao Yin) is a comprehensive enterprise representing urban management. In order to connect the upstream and downstream industries and reduce company operating costs, Qiao Yin has independently developed several artificial intelligence robots. For example, at this Expo, Qiao Yin brought the Model-Y outdoor 1-ton unmanned sweeping robot and the Model-Q200 park half-ton unmanned sweeping robot, among others.
Seeing so many unmanned small road sweeping robots at the Expo, the reporter also had concerns: how many manual workers will these robots replace? In the future, will sanitation workers all be laid off? Zhang Shutian's answer dispelled the reporter's doubts. He said, "Now is not the time to worry about sanitation workers being laid off, but to urgently solve the problem of recruitment difficulties for sanitation service companies." To address the shortage of human resources in sanitation operations, many companies have joined the ranks of developing unmanned road sweeping robots. "In the future, the new generation will only need a mobile phone with an APP with corresponding functions to operate the robot to work from home, no longer needing to perform sanitation operations in harsh environments such as wind and sun." Zhang Shutian said that technological innovation will gradually transform sanitation workers into operators, improving their working environment.
New Waste Incineration Technology
Turning "Plague Gods" into "Wealth Deities"
Once upon a time, waste incineration plants were like plague gods. Wherever they were built, local residents would move away, and housing prices would plummet because people believed that waste incineration might produce toxic and harmful gases. However, at this Expo, the advanced technology brought by environmental protection technology companies showed everyone that "plague gods" can also become "wealth deities."
As the first A-share environmental protection dual-carbon listed company under the holding of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Zhongke Runyu Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhongke Environmental Protection) has a highly representative domestic waste treatment technology. The company has been practicing such a model: taking domestic waste incineration power generation projects as the main body, establishing a circular economic industrial park that coordinates the disposal of catering waste, sludge, medical waste, and other types of waste, and providing heating services to surrounding industrial enterprises in a "cogeneration" model.
Tong Lin, the deputy secretary of the party committee and general manager of Zhongke Environmental Protection, stated that Zhongke Environmental Protection is driven by environmental protection and technology, forming a good situation for the joint development of green electricity, green heat, and green gas. At the same time, the company has vigorously carried out technological research and development, focusing on industry pain points and difficult issues such as AI + intelligent incineration technology, multi-effect flue gas purification technology, and harmless and resourceful technology for fly ash, and developing new quality productivity to promote high-quality development of the industry.
For example, the company's research and application of key technology for the preparation of high-performance thermal insulation materials based on fly ash from waste incineration is a very good example of turning "plague gods" into "wealth deities." It is understood that this technology uses oxygen-enriched combustion to achieve low-cost melting treatment of fly ash from waste incineration. The fly ash melt after temperature adjustment and homogenization is then spun into low-cost, low-energy-consuming, high-performance thermal insulation cotton fiber through a high-speed centrifugal machine with four rollers. Currently, the demonstration line of this technology has been successfully operated and has completed tests with various fly ash blending schemes. The fly ash that was once despised by people is now not only harmless and environmentally friendly but also has become a "wealth deity" with high economic value.
New Evaluation System
From Coarse to Precise Financial Input
The sanitation field has always been a key area for significant financial investment. At the Expo, the reporter not only saw the changes brought to the sanitation industry, sanitation workers, and the public by the development of new quality productivity but also witnessed how to save financial funds through an evaluation system.
Zhonghuanjie Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhonghuanjie) is an urban and rural environment and public service operator invested and controlled by CITIC Industrial Fund, with business covering environmental sanitation, garbage classification, municipal maintenance, green maintenance, property services, emergency protection, and other fields.
According to Chen Liyuan, the executive vice president of the China Urban Environmental Sanitation Association and the general manager of Zhonghuanjie, in long-term exploration and practice, Zhonghuanjie has polished the "Zhonghuanjie Urban and Rural Environmental Evaluation and Governance System." This system includes a set of quality standards that meet and exceed the standards of civilized cities and sanitary cities, a set of evaluation and governance mechanisms, and a set of digital tools that connect inspection, evaluation, collaboration, and governance. The establishment of this system not only ensures the high quality of Zhonghuanjie's services but also provides data support for resource allocation and operation management, helping local finances to invest precisely.
