From March 21 to 22, the 7th Member Representative Congress of China Humic Acid Industry Association and the Academician Lecture Hall on New-quality Humic Acid Empowering Modern Soil and Fertilizer Development, undertaken by Xi’an Shiyou University(XSYU), was successfully held in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.At the conference, a new leading group of the association was successfully elected. Seven academicians, together with five authoritative research experts,made a joint appearance on stage. More than 300 representatives from all sectors of the industry gathered in attendance. Centering on core topics including humic acid theoretical innovation, soil fertility improvement, green agricultural development and industrial integration and upgrading, they presented high-level lectures featuring professionalism, forward-looking insights and practical value. A number of scientific research achievements jointly completed by our university, China University of Petroleum (East China) and other institutions won high recognition from participating experts.
On March 21, the 7th Member Representative Congress of China Humic Acid Industry Association was held in Shaanxi Guesthouse. Liu Jian, former Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, former Counselor of the State Council and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.He pointed out that technological innovation of new-quality humic acid is in line with the needs of high-quality agricultural development, represents the future trend of green agricultural development, and is of milestone significance to the high-quality development of agriculture in China. He expressed the hope that the China Humic Acid Industry Association would leverage its industrial advantages, realize large-scale industrial application through technological innovation and upgrading, and make greater contributions to the construction of ecological agriculture across the country.
Academician Xie Kechang, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a renowned coal chemical industry expert, delivered an online address. He stated that humic acid, known as the“black gold”for cultivated land improvement, carbon sequestration and emission reduction, plays an irreplaceable role in safeguarding cultivated land health, ensuring energy security, consolidating the bottom line of food security, and advancing the green energy transition.The development of new-quality humic acid represents not only technological iteration and upgrading, but also conceptual leaps, industrial restructuring and ecological reconstruction, serving as a vital strategic initiative to promote harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. He emphasized that the three major technological achievements unveiled at this conference adhere to innovation-driven development, marking a leap from the scenario-based application of traditional humic acid to the systematic development of new-quality humic acid. These outcomes provide strong support for China’s humic acid industry to pursue a development path featuring independent innovation, distinctive characteristics, green development and high efficiency.
Vice President Zhang Juntao attended the conference and delivered an address. He elaborated on the university’s historical evolution, school-running characteristics and research achievements, and highlighted the remarkable progress made in recent years in such fields as petroleum and petrochemicals, energy chemical engineering, ecological environmental protection, and resource recycling and utilization. He also stressed the university’s development orientation of safeguarding national energy strategic security, bolstering green and sustainable development, and deepening industry-university-research collaborative innovation.He noted that taking this conference as an opportunity, through in-depth exchanges with industrial experts and scholars,ouruniversity will complete the appraisal and evaluation of its innovative humic acid ecological project achievements, further accelerate the transformation of scientific and research findings, and advance the integrated development of industry, education, research and application. The university will strive to tackle core and bottleneck technologies in the humic acid sector and resource recycling industry, promote in-depth integration between the energy and chemical industry and the new high-quality humic acid industry, and yield more innovative research outcomes. It will contribute Xi’an Shiyou University’s strength to safeguarding national energy and food security and advancing ecological civilization construction.
During the Academician Lecture Hall session, Academician Zhu Yongguan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered a speech entitledPlant Microbiome and Humic Acid Research. He profoundly revealed the intrinsic mechanism of synergistic symbiosis between plants and microorganisms.He emphasized that microbial evolution had laid crucial foundations long before the evolution of plants. Humic acid can effectively foster the cultivation and enhance the activity of soil microbial communities, thereby consolidating the foundation of soil health. His research offers a novel theoretical perspective for maintaining soil microecological balance mediated by humic acid.
Academician Zhang Jiabao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered a speech entitledHumic Acid: Carbon Enhancement, Soil Fertility Improvement and Production Capacity Expansion.He systematically expounded the technical approaches and application value of humic acid in boosting soil carbon sinks, improving cultivated land quality and expanding agricultural production capacity, pointing out a clear practical direction for humic acid to facilitate fertile soil cultivation and yield increase, and empower the high-quality development of agriculture.
Academician Xu Minggang of the Chinese Academy of Engineering presented a report entitledHumic Acid, Soil Health and Food Security. Focusing closely on the two core goals of soil health and food security, he thoroughly analyzed the pivotal role of humic acid in improving soil properties, enhancing soil fertility and ensuring safe grain production, providing solid technical guidance for consolidating the defense line of food security and safeguarding soil health.
Academician Zhang Fusuo of the Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered a lectureentitledLeveraging Humic Acid to Advance Green Agricultural Development. Based on the overall context of agricultural green transition, he systematically illustrated practical strategies for applying humic acid in chemical fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement, agricultural non-point source pollution prevention and control, and agroecosystem restoration. His presentation enabled all participants to gain a clearer understanding of the pathways for humic acid to drive green development in agriculture.
Academician Zhou Wei of the Chinese Academy of Engineering gave a report entitledStrategic Research on the High-quality Development of the Fertilizer Industry. Focusing on the strategic needs for the high-quality development of the humic acid fertilizer industry and combining the actual development of the sector, he put forward systematic ideas for industrial transformation and upgrading, and provided an important reference for the integrated application of humic acid in the research and development of new-type fertilizers and industrial upgrading.
Academicians Shen Qirong and Xu Zhihui of the Chinese Academy of Engineering jointly delivered a lectureentitledFormation Mechanism, Functional Effects and Regulation of Soil Humus. They thoroughly analyzed the improvement mechanism of humic acid on the soil rhizosphere environment, and revealed the interactions among humic acid, soil microorganisms and crop roots from a microscopic perspective. Rich in solid professional content, the lecture enabled participants to gain an in-depth understanding of the functional mechanism of humic acid.
Academician Lu Zhanyuan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering delivered a report entitledKey Technologies for Soil Fertility Cultivation and Productivity Improvement in Farming-Pastoral Ecotones. Focusing on the core demands for soil fertility improvement and yield enhancement in farming-pastoral transition zones, he put forward targeted key technical solutions, offering important guidance for the targeted application of humic acid in such regions.
On March 22, the appraisal, review and on-site inspection of the eco-project achievements of new-quality humic acid were held at the Huyi Campus of our university.Liu Jian, former Director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, former Counselor of the State Council and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Wang Jinfu, President of Xi’an Shiyou University, Li Rong, President of China Humic Acid Industry Association, and Li Shuang, Secretary-General of the Association, attended the achievement appraisal and review meeting. Heads of the University’s Research Affairs Office and the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering also participated in the meeting.
Prior to the meeting, Academicians Xu Minggang and Shen Qirong, together with industry experts including Yang Guidong, Huang Zhanbin, Hu Shuwen, Sun Xiaoran, Sun Xiangyang and Chen Shoulun, conducted an on-site inspection of key assessment items, such as the operation of project facilities, major technical indicators, engineering production capacity, industrial transformation, as well as standardized and large-scale application. Meanwhile, they carried out the appraisal and evaluation of relevant research achievements.
President Wang Jinfu extended a warm welcome to all leaders and experts for their presence and guidance in his address. He pointed out that China is currently further advancing the rural revitalization strategy and the dual carbon goals, while firmly upholding the strategic principle of “food crop production strategy based on farmland management and technological application”. The in-depth integration of green chemical industry and agricultural development has become an imperative of the times.Rooted in its distinctive strengths in energy and chemical engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University has long conducted scientific and technological innovation to meet major national needs. Relying on its disciplinary advantages and core technologies, the university has allocated venues and funds to build an engineering pilot project and facility for the technology of producing potassium humate fertilizer via continuous high-pressure hydrothermal treatment of potassium-rich rocks.He emphasized that the research team led by Professor Tian Yuanyu, jointly established by our university and China University of Petroleum (East China) in the field of energy and chemical engineering, has been committed to relevant research for many years. Through multiple rounds of experiments and continuous process optimization, a complete and mature production process technology has been developed. This marks a major breakthrough in the industrial production technology of humic acid achieved by the two universities, and also serves as a crucial practice for the university to expand its mission from supporting national energy strategies to safeguarding food security. It fully demonstrates Xi’an Shiyou University’s original aspiration of shouldering social responsibilities and serving national development.He expressed the hope that the appraisal and review of the three humic acid ecological project achievements by academicians and experts will enable the university to make new and greater contributions to the transformation of China’s energy and chemical industry as well as the advancement of ecological civilization construction.
Li Rong delivered a keynote speech. He pointed out that as a natural macromolecular carbon-containing compound, humic acid is widely applied in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, petroleum, chemical engineering, environmental protection and many other fields. It plays an irreplaceable role in the development of ecological agriculture, pollution-free production and eco-friendly progress, and serves as a key driver for industrial transformation, the realization of national dual carbon goals, and the promotion of resource recycling and utilization.He emphasized that the three new-quality humic acid ecological projects under this appraisal are closely aligned with the national innovation-driven development strategy and ecological environmental protection requirements. Targeting prominent bottlenecks and difficulties in the industry, the projects feature sound scientificity, innovativeness and practicality. They represent a vital exploration for the transformation and upgrading of the humic acid industry, as well as a beneficial practice in promoting the resource utilization of agricultural wastes, addressing challenges in biomass treatment, easing the shortage of potash resources, and breaking the bottleneck of high dependence on imported potash fertilizers. These efforts are of great significance for advancing the high-quality development of China’s humic acid industry. He sincerely requested all academicians and experts to conduct the appraisal in strict accordance with evaluation criteria so as to ensure high-quality completion of the achievement assessment.
This appraisal meeting centered on three core technological achievements of humic acid ecological technologies: the R&D and demonstration of the technology for producing potassium humate fertilizer through continuous high-pressure activation of insoluble potassium rock, the R&D and demonstration of preparing artificial peat and fulvic acid from agricultural wastes via continuous high-pressure hydrothermal treatment, and the research, development and application of vehicle-mounted rapid pyrolysis technology for producing humic acid from agricultural wastes.Following project reports, on-site defense, expert inquiries and rigorous review, the expert panel spoke highly of the technological innovation, practical value and industrialization prospects of the three new-quality humic acid ecological achievements. All technologies were certified to reach the internationally advanced level, providing crucial support for the resource utilization of agricultural wastes, soil improvement and the upgrading of green fertilizer efficiency.
After the appraisal and review meeting, accompanied by President Wang Jinfu, Liu Jian visited the Iron Man Wang Jinxi Memorial Hall and the University History Museum of our university. He gained an in-depth understanding ofouruniversity’s school-running history, educational philosophy and inheritance of the petroleum spirit.He fully recognized the university’s remarkable achievements in taking root in western China, conducting in-depth research in the fields of energy and agricultural ecology, and implementing national strategies. He also inscribed an inscription for the university as a souvenir, leaving precious calligraphy works.
The successful convening of this grand conference marks an important manifestation of our university’s efforts to deepen industry-university-research integration and serve industrial and local development.Taking this event as an opportunity, the university will continue to advance in the research and development of new-quality humic acid technologies, strengthen collaborative cooperation between universities, enterprises and local authorities, and promote the localized application and transformation of more scientific research achievements in ecological environmental protection and green agriculture. It will make solid contributions from Xi’an Shiyou University to the high-quality advancement of national carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, rural vitalization, and ecological civilization construction.
