Carbon neutrality is an inevitable requirement for the development of ecological civilization, and 2021 is the first year to initiate carbon neutrality. China's proposal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak carbon emissions by 2030, whether it is a 40 year or 10-year deadline, can be said to be very urgent.

Under the requirement of carbon neutrality, all parties need to work together to reduce energy consumption and achieve energy transformation of enterprises through improving production technology. Not only does energy need to change, but every industry and even everyone needs to participate. The fundamental way to achieve carbon neutrality at the same time is to adjust the structure, reduce pollution and carbon emissions, and adopt a multi pronged approach.

Recently, the Water Environment Research Foundation in the United States proposed the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in all wastewater treatment plants by 2030.

The energy consumption and carbon emissions of sewage treatment account for 1-3%, making it a major energy consumer. With the improvement of emission standards, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are increasing exponentially. Exploring the technological path of sewage treatment under the background of "carbon neutrality" is key. To achieve carbon neutrality in sewage treatment, there are generally three paths: improving quality and efficiency, energy conservation and consumption reduction, and energy resource recovery. Improving quality and efficiency in the short term will still be the main goal, and it is necessary to enhance processes and update equipment to improve energy efficiency and reduce existing carbon emissions.

On this basis, sewage plants with conditions and rigid demands will face process technology upgrades. Going further, sewage resource utilization, energy recovery, and effective component recovery are deep level demands for "carbon neutrality". In terms of wastewater and sludge resource recovery, energy neutralization water plants can achieve energy recovery from influent organic matter and residual sludge, matrix co digestion, heat recovery, sludge pyrolysis, and phosphorus resource recovery.