News

RCRE hosted a Lab Tour for Diocesan Girls’ School

Five students and their teacher from Diocesan Girls’ School visited Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon (Director of RCRE) and the RCRE laboratory on 18 January 2024.   During the lab visit, Ir Prof. Poon introduced various low-carbon construction materials such as glass-based green concrete, foam glass-based lightweight concrete, sustainable permeable concrete, and the process of turning concrete waste into low carbon products by carbonation, etc. to the students.      

Delegation Visit of Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) to RCRE

A delegation of 9 senior members from CEDD including Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Ir Michael Fong, and Deputy Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Ir Harry Ma, visited the RCRE laboratory on 18 January 2024.   During the lab tour, Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon (Director of RCRE) introduced various low-carbon construction materials such as foam glass-based lightweight concrete, superhydrophobic lightweight foam concrete, sustainable permeable concrete for urban drainage, etc. to the delegates.    

RCRE Member awarded HK$5.41 million from RGC Collaborative Research Fund

Congratulations to Prof. Yuhong Wang, whose project titled “Improving the health and stability of roadside trees in compact urban development through novel road systems and tree root “training” has been awarded $5.41 million funding by RGC Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) 2023/24.   

RCRE Director’s Team secures RMB1.5 million from Aramco to conduct Carbon Neutrality Research

Congratulations to Ir Prof. Chi Sun Poon (RCRE Director), Dr Peiliang Shen (RCRE member) and Mr. Zhenjiang Gu, whose project titled “Turning Recycled Concrete Powders into High-value-added Products by Advanced Carbonation” has been awarded RMB1.5 million funding by Aramco to conduct carbon neutrality research. The project was selected from over 30 applications to win the Aramco Sustainability Techno-Quest: Carbon Footprint Reduction through Alternate Sequestration. Organized by Aramco, The Sustainability Techno-Quest is a research and development (R&D) competition attempts to engage researchers in proposing relevant R&D projects across CO2 solidification and CO2 to oilfield chemicals. It focuses on sustainability and specifically the concept of alternate sequestration, where captured CO2 may be converted to and/or incorporated into materials.    

RCRE Director featured in Economic Digest’s Interview

Ir Prof. Poon Chi-sun, Director of RCRE, and Dr Zhang Shipeng, RCRE member, introduced in Economic Digest’s interview the advanced technologies developed by the team that help reduce the carbon emissions and manage solid waste of construction industry, such as low-carbon concrete materials.   See media coverage: Economic Digest - https://polyu.me/4aA5jyG (Chinese only).    

RCRE Associate Director Awarded HK$4.06 million from the RGC Research Impact Fund

Congratulations to Prof. Zhen Leng, whose project titled “Durable Low-carbon Asphalt Pavement Built with Recycled Waste Polyolefin Plastics through Reactive Extrusion” has been awarded $4.06 million funding by the RGC Research Impact Fund (RIF) 2023/24.   

WASCON2023 – Hong Kong

The 11th International Conference on the Environmental and Technical Implications of Construction with Alternative Materials (WASCON2023) was successfully held from 13th to 16th December 2023 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The conference was jointly organized by the International Society for the Environmental and Technical Implications of Construction with Alternative Materials (ISCOWA), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) of PolyU.   With the theme of "Innovative Valorization of Alternative Materials and Waste towards Circular Construction”, more than 160 papers were presented at the conference and they covered the full spectrum of topics related to the theme. We were honoured to have Prof. Christopher Cheeseman from Imperial College London, Mr Simo Hakkarainen from Peikko Group Corporation, Prof. Baoshan Huang from University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Dr Harn-wei Kua from National University of Singapore, Prof. Zhichao Liu from Wuhan University of Technology, Prof. Chi Sun Poon from PolyU, Dr Hirofumi Sakanakura from National Institute for Environmental Studies, Prof. Julia Stegemann from University College London, and Prof. Dongmin Wang from China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) as our keynote speakers to share their valuable insights in the field. Their contributions have enriched our knowledge in turning wastes into recycled materials in construction.   In addition, we had around 300 participants from academia, industry, and government joining from all over the world, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mainland China, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States. The conference served as an effective platform for sharing insights on new directions for research and innovative solutions to emerging problems and challenges relating to utilization of alternative materials and wastes in construction.   To enhance the overall experience, technical visits to Y·PARK, WEEE·PARK, T·PARK and CIC iHub were organized. The participants have learnt about the process of recycling of yard waste into useful materials at Y·PARK, recovering useful materials from the electrical and electronic appliances through various physical processes at WEEE·PARK, burning sludge and using the excess heat energy to generate electricity for the entire plant’s operation and the public power grid at T·PARK, the knowledge of construction innovation at CIC iHub. The participants found the tours were an eye-opening and fruitful exploration.   We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all speakers, Organizing Committee members and participants who made this conference a resounding success. Your passion and dedication are very much appreciated. Our sincere gratitude also goes to our sponsors, Sanfield (Management) Limited, Beijing Limecho Technology Co., Ltd., Fortum, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI) and Score Tech Mortars Co., Ltd. for their generous supports.  

RCRE hosted a Lab Tour for MTR Corporation

Two representatives from MTR Corporation visited the RCRE laboratory on 22 November 2023. During the lab tour, Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon, Director of RCRE, and Dr Jianxin Lu, RCRE member, introduced some of the low-carbon construction materials developed by the Centre including foam glass-based lightweight concrete, superhydrophobic lightweight foam concrete, sustainable permeable concrete for urban drainage, process of turning concrete waste into low carbon products by carbonation, and 3D concrete printing products, etc.

A Delegation of the Shenzhen Longgang District Government visited RCRE

A delegation of the Shenzhen Longgang District Government visited the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) on 22 November 2023. During the laboratory visit, Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon, Director of RCRE, and Dr Jianxin Lu, RCRE member, introduced some of the low-carbon construction materials and technologies developed by the Centre, including foam glass-based lightweight concrete, superhydrophobic lightweight foam concrete, sustainable permeable concrete for urban drainage and the carbonation process for turning concrete waste into low carbon products, etc. The two parties had an enlightening and fruitful exchange.

RCRE hosted a Lab Tour for KU Leuven, Belgium

Three delegates from KU Leuven, Belgium visited the RCRE laboratory on 8 Nov 2023. During the lab visit, Prof. Poon introduced some low-carbon construction materials such as foam glass-based lightweight concrete, superhydrophobic lightweight foam concrete, sustainable permeable concrete for urban drainage, and the process of turning concrete waste into low carbon products by carbonation, etc.