On the afternoon of November 20, 2025, at the invitation of the School of Energy and Mechanical Engineering of Nanjing Normal University, Professor Mengxiang Fang, Supervisor at the School of Energy Engineering of Zhejiang University, Director of the Qingshan Lake Energy Research Base, and Adjunct Vice President of the Western Development Research Institute, delivered an academic lecture titled "CO₂ Chemical Absorption and Carbon Capture and Utilization Technology" at the Multi-functional Hall of Houde Building in Xinbei District. The lecture was attended by Professor Hongmin Yang, Professor Chuanwen Zhao and Professor Yanjiao Ma, as well as faculty and graduate students specializing in related research fields. The event was chaired by Prof. Chuanwen Zhao.

Professor Fang Mengxiang structured his presentation around the theme "Energy and Power Challenges Under Carbon Neutrality—Carbon Capture Technology—CO2 Utilization Technology—Opportunities in CCUS." He systematically elaborated on the research progress and application prospects of carbon capture and utilization technologies, closely linking global climate change trends with China’s "Dual Carbon" policy framework. He provided a detailed introduction to the principles, process characteristics, application scenarios, and current research challenges of various carbon capture technologies, including CO2 chemical absorption, CO2 adsorption, membrane separation, oxy-fuel combustion, and chemical looping combustion. He highlighted that chemical absorption technology, due to its strong adaptability to flue gas and high technological maturity, has become the mainstream approach in industrial demonstrations. Focusing on key issues in chemical absorption methods, Professor Fang shared the latest achievements in the development of anti-oxidant/degradation absorbents with low-energy-consumption, optimization of large-scale towers and capture equipment, control strategies for amine escape, innovations in energy-saving absorption and regeneration processes, and the 150,000-ton-per-year post-combustion carbon capture industrial demonstration project. He also systematically outlined typical CO2 utilization pathways such as CO2-EOR, CO2 mineralization curing, CO2 microalgae utilization, CO2 thermochemical conversion, and electrochemical CO2 reduction for producing high-value chemicals and synthetic fuels, offering an in-depth analysis of the development potential and practical challenges in the industrialization of CCUS technology.

During the Q&A session, faculty members actively raised questions regarding key materials and equipment in chemical absorption technology. Professor Fang addressed each query in detail and encouraged young scholars and students to seize the significant opportunities presented by the "Dual Carbon" strategy. He urged them to actively engage in fundamental research and engineering practices in the CCUS field, focus on critical scientific issues and industrial bottlenecks, and contribute their expertise and efforts to advancing the green transition and low-carbon development of the energy sector.

This lecture provided a high-level platform for faculty and students to engage in dialogue with a leading expert, broadened their understanding of cutting-edge carbon capture technologies, ignited their enthusiasm for exploring energy transition research, and effectively promoted the integration of interdisciplinary collaboration and industry-academia cooperation.