Yu Zhiming: I would like to be a red tide firefighter for a lifetime

"I would like to be a red tide firefighter for a lifetime"

——Record of Yu Zhiming, researcher at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

"I would like to be a red tide firefighter for a lifetime" "I would like to be a red tide firefighter for a lifetime" ——Record of Yu Zhiming, researcher of Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences——Record ofYuZhiming , Researcher of Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences ——Record of Yu Zhiming, researcher of Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Researcher Yu Zhiming guides the development of modified clay control technology for red tide
.

Photo courtesy of the Ocean Institute

Large-scale application of modified clay to control red tide technology
.

Photo courtesy of the Ocean Institute 

China's red tide control technology went abroad and signed a cooperation agreement
.

Photo courtesy of the Ocean Institute

Yu Zhiming

Yu Zhiming

Researcher and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has long been engaged in research on offshore eutrophication and red tide prevention and control
.

He has presided over dozens of projects including the National Outstanding Youth Fund, Key Fund Projects, Innovation Group Projects of the National Foundation of China, and Key R&D Programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology

Chinese Academy of Sciences

"Red ghosts" often harass and innovatively propose new solutions

"Red ghosts" often harass and innovatively propose new solutions

It is like a red ghost, disturbing the ecological civilization of the sea all day long, and it often reappears after the treatment, and plagues countless farmers and scientists in the world
.

——It is the red tide
.

This is a kind of seemingly inconspicuous marine microalgae.
It is affected by the increasing extent and depth of ocean utilization by human activities to form red tides.
As the outbreak time becomes longer and longer, the frequency becomes higher and higher.
Red tides give China every year.
The economic loss caused reached 30 billion yuan, and even threatened the safety of the cold source of coastal nuclear power.
It is also listed as one of the three major offshore environmental problems in the world
.

The red tide problem plagued scientists from all over the world, and also once plagued Yu Zhiming, who has been committed to research on offshore eutrophication for a long time
.

In the 1970s, Japanese scientists proposed to use the natural minerals in the clay to combine with the red tide algae cells to settle the red tide algae to the bottom through flocculation and sedimentation, thereby eliminating the red tide
.

However, although the method is good, 100 to 400 tons of clay are used per square kilometer.

"How to improve the treatment efficiency of natural clay?" After thinking about it, Yu Zhiming led the team to further research and found that natural clay carries a negative charge on the surface of seawater, and red tide organisms also carry negative charges.
Negative negative repulsion makes natural clay flocculate more efficiently.
It is very low, which makes it difficult to apply the clay on a large scale
.

On this basis, Yu Zhiming pinpointed the direction of the next research, that is, artificially changing the surface properties of the clay, changing the surface of the clay from negative to positive, so as to improve the treatment efficiency and solve the "red ghost"
.

 

Focus on modified clay to make red tide afraid of "eating soil"

Focus on modified clay to make red tide afraid of "eating soil"

After many experiments, Yu Zhiming and his team further focused their attention on changing the surface properties of clay particles, improving the surface positiveness, and increasing the bridging effect with red tide organisms
.

He led the team to "go after" and put forward the theory of clay surface modification for the first time in the world.
He used artificial means to change the surface properties of natural clay, and developed a more efficient red tide treatment material-modified clay, which made a breakthrough.
Natural minerals are an international problem of low efficiency, large dosage, heavy siltation, and difficulty in large-scale application of harmful red tides
.

Experiments have proved that after surface modification of natural clay, the flocculation ability is enhanced, which can cause a large number of red tide organisms to settle and die
.

At the same time, the modified clay can also inhibit the reproduction and growth of residual red tide algae cells and prevent red tide from breaking out again

The modified clay material invented by Yu Zhiming has greatly improved the treatment efficiency, and the field consumption has been reduced from 100 to 400 tons per square kilometer to 4 to 10 tons
.

At the same time, he also led the team to independently research and develop supporting spraying equipment to realize the automation of red tide control operations

In recent years, Yu Zhiming has applied this technology in more than 20 waters along the coast of China from south to north, and has become an effective "fire extinguisher" for the current red tide emergency response
.

Yu Zhiming was also called the "Red Tide Firefighter" by everyone

In Yu Zhiming’s view, “red tides were originally a natural phenomenon of the marine ecosystem’s self-regulation, but under the interference of human activities, it becomes a signal of the continuous degradation of the offshore ecosystem, which is an ecological disaster
.

Like a fire, once it occurs, , Should be dealt with quickly to reduce losses

This is what Yu Zhiming thinks, and even more so
.

After ten years of research, he finally defeated the "red ghost" and picked up the "fire extinguisher" of modified clay, making the red tide afraid of "eating soil" ever since
.

 

Take the clay abroad to establish an international leader position

Take the clay abroad to establish an international leader position

In Yu Zhiming's view, as an applied research, "red tide control research must go to the scene and use field applications to test the results
.

"

Facing the international red tide outbreak, Yu Zhiming's team decided to take the modified clay out of the country and further test the modified clay in the wider sea
.

In 2017, the Chilean delegation came to China to learn about red tide treatment technology with modified clay, and signed a number of cooperation agreements.
The red tide treatment technology with modified clay went abroad and exported to Chile.
This is the first time that a Chinese scientist has entered an environmental protection technology with independent intellectual property rights.
Chile has set a good example for the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development
.
At the 18th Global Harmful Algae Blooms Conference held in France in 2018, Yu Zhiming and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute of the United States signed a cooperation agreement to jointly deal with red tides off the coast of Florida.
So far, the technology has been successfully implemented in the coast of Florida, the United States.

.
In recent years, frequent red tides along the coast of Peru have caused a devastating blow to the country's scallop aquaculture industry
.
In November 2019, Yu Zhiming was invited to lead a Chinese red tide management team to the Peruvian Secura breeding area to carry out technical demonstrations and guide on-site applications, which was widely recognized by all walks of life in Peru
.

At the 18th Global Harmful Algae Blooms Conference held in France in 2018, Yu Zhiming and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute of the United States signed a cooperation agreement to jointly deal with red tides off the coast of Florida.
So far, the technology has been successfully implemented in the coast of Florida, the United States.

.
In recent years, frequent red tides along the coast of Peru have caused a devastating blow to the country's scallop aquaculture industry
.
In November 2019, Yu Zhiming was invited to lead a Chinese red tide management team to the Peruvian Secura breeding area to carry out technical demonstrations and guide on-site applications, which was widely recognized by all walks of life in Peru
.

"The marine environment is changeable and complex.
For different waters and red tide algae, treatment materials and technologies must be adjusted in time to ensure that they are both effective and environmentally friendly
.
" Yu Zhiming said, "Several overseas cooperations have been improved after on-site inspections.

At present, we have developed 3 series and more than 10 kinds of modified clay materials for the common red tide algae in the coastal waters of our country, and cooperated with enterprises to transform laboratory preparation into engineered production process to ensure large-scale application on site
.
"

The International Fisheries Professional Journal commented on the invention of Yu Zhiming’s team: “The red tide control plan provided by Yu Zhiming and his team is innovative, and it is a
“ red tide fire extinguisher ” made in China .
”

Facing the complicated domestic and international offshore environment in the future, Yu Zhiming said: "I will continue to be a good firefighter for red tide disasters, and I am willing to write a new chapter in marine environmental protection for a global community with a shared future
.
"