Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the environmental restoration efforts in Baihe County, Shaanxi, focusing on the remediation of pollution caused by abandoned sulfur iron mines, which has significantly improved local water quality and revitalized the community's economy. Group 1: Historical Context - Baihe County was historically reliant on mining, particularly sulfur iron, which led to severe environmental degradation, including the contamination of local water sources with acidic "sulfur water" [2][5][10]. - The mining practices were crude and unregulated, resulting in long-term ecological damage and health hazards for local residents [5][10][13]. Group 2: Remediation Efforts - Starting in 2000, Baihe County began shutting down all sulfur iron mining operations and initiated pollution control measures, but initial efforts were insufficient [2][24]. - A comprehensive remediation project launched in 2020 involved sealing over 200 abandoned mine shafts and disposing of more than 1 million cubic meters of mining waste [2][24]. - The project faced challenges due to the complex terrain and the need for innovative solutions, such as using a new material called KEP for sealing mine shafts [15][17]. Group 3: Results and Impact - As of mid-August this year, the length of polluted "sulfur water" has been reduced from 56 kilometers to 11.6 kilometers, with water quality consistently meeting national Class II surface water standards [24]. - The environmental improvements have facilitated economic development, leading to the establishment of 30,000 acres of ecological tea gardens and the creation of local jobs [24][28]. - The community has experienced a transformation, with residents noting significant changes in water clarity and overall environmental quality [24][28].

Group 1 - The "Lithium Green Action" research team from Jiangxi University of Science and Technology has successfully developed a short-process green recycling technology for waste lithium batteries, addressing the challenge of efficient lithium resource recycling [1] - The new technology has been applied in multiple enterprises in Jiangxi, processing a total of 17,000 tons of waste batteries and generating an additional output value of over 170 million yuan [1] - Traditional lithium battery recycling faces three main challenges: high reagent consumption in hydrometallurgical processes, lithium loss during pyrometallurgical smelting, and complex combined process flows [1] Group 2 - The team introduced the "waste-to-waste synergy" concept to tackle the high costs and low selectivity of lithium extraction in traditional hydrometallurgical processes [1] - They pioneered flue gas resource utilization technology, achieving a lithium extraction selectivity rate exceeding 97% and reducing lithium extraction costs by approximately 20% compared to traditional methods [1] - The team developed a "layered roasting technique" to efficiently destroy the stable structure of lithium cobalt oxide batteries, resulting in a 66.71% reduction in water leaching residue, thereby lowering the recovery difficulty and costs for valuable metals like cobalt and nickel [1] Group 3 - In processing lithium iron phosphate batteries and sulfur-containing waste, the team innovatively combined waste lead-acid battery recovery with waste lithium iron phosphate battery co-smelting, achieving lithium recovery rates of 96% and lead recovery rates of 98% [2] - The co-smelting process also effectively fixed sulfur generated during melting, achieving a sulfur fixation rate of 99% [2] - Collaborations with companies like Jiangxi Tianqi Jintai Ge Co., Ltd. have resulted in an additional output value of over 40 million yuan within two years [2] Group 4 - The team has applied for seven national invention patents in the battery recycling field, with two patents granted and one international patent applied for [2] - The commitment to "rejuvenate every retired battery" reflects the potential of this technology to inject new momentum into Jiangxi's lithium battery recycling industry [2]