Prof. Pedro ALVAREZ of Rice University of USA delivers lecture on 'Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment'

Prof. Pedro Alvarez, George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, USA, delivered the 38th PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment” on 6 May 2025 on the PolyU campus. The lecture attracted over 60 participants to join in person and captivated an online audience of over 13,000 from different countries and regions who watched the live broadcast on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, WeChat, Weibo and YouTube.

The lecture commenced with a warm welcome and introduction of the speaker by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR. Prof. Alvarez kickstarted his presentation by underscoring the critical role of water treatment and relevant innovations in safeguarding public health, ensuring access to clean drinking water and bolstering sustainable economic development. He highlighted limitations in conventional water treatment, stressing the urgent need for technological advancements to tackle these challenges.

Prof. Alvarez discussed the emerging opportunities that nanotechnology offers to revolutionise water treatment systems. He explained how it can improve pollutant-removal efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and enable cost-effective decentralised solutions. Illustrative examples included:

• Electrosorption using highly conductive and selective electrodes to remove multivalent ions that can cause scaling.
• Solar-thermal processes, enabled by nanophotonics, to desalinate with membrane distillation.
• Disinfection and advanced oxidation using nanocatalysts.
• Electrocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants of emerging concern.

In conclusion, Prof. Alvarez affirmed that nanotechnology holds significant promise for advancing sustainable resources management, enabling safe and low-energy water treatment and reuse. He envisioned that high-performance modular systems that would deliver multifunctional solutions with minimal infrastructure requirements.

Following the presentation was a lively question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. WANG Tao, Management Committee Member of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, Member of Research Institute for Land and Space and Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment. The audience engaged in a productive discussion spanning practical applications, safety considerations and cost effectiveness of nanotechnology in water treatment with Prof. Alvarez.

Please click here for an online review.