Second International Conference on Thermal Treatment and Resource Recovery (2nd T2R2): Highlights
The Second International Conference on Thermal Treatment and Resource Recovery (T2R2) was successfully held from 14 to 17 December, 2025 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, under the leadership of Ir Professor Dan Tsang from HKUST’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. A high-impact platform for cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange and collaboration, the T2R2 conference gathers from across the world leading researchers, industry experts, policymakers as well as other stakeholders from civil engineering, environmental engineering, sustainable materials, and resource recovery for enriched, in-depth discussions on thermal treatment technologies, waste-to-resource valorization, circular construction pathways, and decarbonization-oriented solutions.
The opening day of 2nd T2R2 (December 15) commenced with Chairman of the Conference Prof. Tsang’s opening address, followed by a number of high-calibre keynote presentations on a wide range of topics — advanced concrete and sensing, climate-neutral construction, waste-derived construction materials, biomass carbons for CO₂ removal, green hydrogen and electrochemical treatment, distributed monitoring, etc. Day 1 continued in the afternoon with sessions that broadened the discussion from mechanisms to implementation: Sustainable Geochemistry and Critical Minerals (SGCM) Symposium featured such state-of-the-art research as low-carbon binders, life-cycle-informed materials design, UHPC optimization, and clay activation; Resource Recovery Session spotlighted a number of topics including valorization pathways, co-products and circular supply chains, nutrient recovery and scale-up, solvothermal conversion; Sustainable Materials Session highlighted diverse topics ranging from catalytic water decontamination to hydrothermal carbonization and biochar-enabled remediation; finally, Green Technologies Session addressed risk mitigation and resource recovery in complex systems, including antibiotic resistance control, electrocatalytic recovery, nanoscale biochar transformations. (For the full program of 2nd T2R2, visit https://calendar.hkust.edu.hk/events/2nd-international-conference-thermal-treatment-and-resource-recovery-T2R2.)
Continuing into Day 2 (December 16) were rigorous discussions that connected fundamental mechanisms to deployable circular and low-carbon solutions in cement decarbonization, biochar-enabled remediation, electrochemical processes (including PFAS), and advanced sustainable materials: SGCM Symposium further explored advanced frontiers and directions in cement decarbonization, carbonation pathways, LCA-informed materials design, as well as biochar-environment interfaces; Green Technologies Session delved into electrochemical mineralization, thermochemical conversion, advanced separations, and functional carbon materials for environmental protection; and Sustainable Materials Session underscored low-carbon binders, activation mechanisms, microstructure-property relationships, and data-driven optimization. The day concluded with an award ceremony, where a number of Best Presentation awards — for the categories of materials circularity, decarbonization technology, sustainability, as well as for early-career researchers and for students — were handed out. Our heartfelt congratulations to them not only for the excellent presentations but also for their outstanding academic work.
The Department is particularly delighted to congratulate Prof. Tsang and his dedicated team of colleagues for making the 2nd T2R2 Conference such a resounding success. We look forward to more high-level, high-profile events to take advantage of the world-class facilities at HKUST to drive forward more interdisciplinary collaborations and research that will have a long-term impact on global human societies.
