On April 24, 2026, Juan Manuel Lema Rodicio, Distinguished Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering of University of Santiago de Compostela and President of the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences, visited the Biogas Institute of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs upon invitation. He delivered a special academic lecture titled “How much, how and why are organic micropollutants biotransformed under anaerobic digestion?”

In his lecture, Professor Lema Rodicio focused on three core issues concerning organic micropollutants in wastewater sludge: occurrence characteristics, transformation pathways, and removal regulation. He systematically elaborated on the distribution patterns of hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds, the effectiveness of thermal pretreatment in pollutant reduction, and the mechanisms of cometabolism-driven biotransformation. He further clarified the key roles of metabolic activity, enzyme–substrate compatibility, and thermodynamic constraints in determining transformation efficiency. His insights provide new theoretical foundations and technical approaches for enhancing the targeted removal of organic micropollutants in sludge treatment and addressing practical challenges in sludge disposal.

Following the lecture, Professor Lema Rodicio visited several research laboratories, including those focused on anaerobic microorganisms, straw resource utilization, animal waste-to-energy and pollution control, and microbial synthetic biology and biomanufacturing. He engaged in in-depth discussions with research staff and explored potential collaborations in jointly undertaking research projects and co-organizing international conferences.

Professor Guangqing Liu, Executive Dean of the Belt and Road Global Cooperation Research Institute at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Professor Chang Chen, Deputy Director of the Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center at the same university, also attended the exchange activity, together with institute researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students.