The 13th China Hotel Culture Festival and International Hotel Healthy Sleep Conference was held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang from April 23 to 26. This cultural festival is themed "New Consumption, New Momentum, New Growth", fully demonstrating the new industries, new models and new momentum that reflect the new quality productivity, such as brand culture, innovation culture, health culture, and catering culture that currently lead the high-quality development of the accommodation and catering industry. CCTV.com, as a key central news website, integrates media resources, gives full play to media advantages, invites interview guests, conducts in-depth interviews around the theme of the conference, empowers the development of the accommodation and catering industry, and helps the high-quality development of the hotel industry.

Today, as the global economy and environmental protection are increasingly closely linked, the cultivation of new quality productivity and technological innovation have become the core driving force for sustainable development. In the face of this challenge, Ren Qilong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a professor and doctoral supervisor at Zhejiang University, shared his insights on emerging green technologies and their possible revolutionary impact on multiple fields such as the accommodation industry in the next decade in an exclusive interview with CCTV.com. Professor Ren pointed out that new technologies will not only greatly improve energy efficiency and environmental friendliness, but will also redefine industry standards and consumer expectations. Optimizing resource use and reducing environmental footprint from the source is the key to achieving green transformation.

Question: In your research and work practice, which technologies or methods have been proven to be the key to promoting green and sustainable development?

Ren Qilong:Biomass plays an extremely important role in promoting green development. In my years of research and practice, some key technologies have been proven to be essential to promoting green and sustainable development. First of all, biomass technology has played an indispensable role in promoting green development. By replacing traditional fossil fuels, biomass not only helps to reduce environmental pollution, but also avoids excessive depletion of natural resources. For example, the development of biodegradable plastics reduces dependence on petroleum resources and significantly reduces the long-term burden of plastic waste on the environment. Chemicals extracted from biomass, such as environmentally friendly cleaning detergents, also have much lower environmental impact during the production process than traditional chemical products.

In addition, the efficient utilization technology of carbon dioxide also shows great potential. By using carbon dioxide as a green solvent, we can not only replace traditional harmful solvents such as chloroform, but also avoid additional carbon dioxide emissions during the production of chemicals. For example, in sponge production, traditional processes require the addition of a variety of chemical additives to form a porous structure with certain strength and toughness. The residues of these additives in the product may affect the indoor air quality and endanger human health. In order to solve this problem, we have proposed two treatment methods: one is to use harmless and odorless materials as much as possible; the other is to reduce or avoid the use of these harmful substances in the production process, and quickly remove these residues in an efficient way after the production is completed. Using supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent, harmful gases can be efficiently extracted and replaced, eliminating the persistent escape of harmful gases and causing harm to human health. This technology is also a new measure and means to change traditional practices in chemical engineering.

Question: What do you think of the current energy-saving and emission reduction technologies and strategies? What new technologies or improved methods are recommended to the accommodation industry?

Ren Qilong: Although the current energy-saving and emission reduction technologies have made certain progress, they still need to continue to innovate and optimize in the face of the ever-increasing environmental protection standards and the increasingly severe energy situation. As far as I know, this year the China Hotel Association plans to revise the national standard of "Green Hotel", which is also to keep up with the current environmental protection technology and energy situation.

The application of new energy is one of the effective ways to save energy and reduce emissions in the accommodation industry. The use of photovoltaic energy can provide hotels with green electricity and reduce dependence on traditional fossil energy. Installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of the hotel or using photovoltaic landscape to enhance the architectural aesthetics can also significantly reduce energy costs.

Building automation and AI control systems will also have a significant impact on the accommodation industry. Through highly integrated intelligent systems, hotels can manage energy use more finely, such as automatically adjusting lighting and air-conditioning systems to ensure that energy is used most effectively when needed. Through accurate data analysis, resources can be allocated more reasonably, waste can be reduced, and the environmental protection and economic benefits of the production process can be improved.

Question: From the perspective of chemical engineering, how should green building materials be optimized in hotel construction and interior decoration? What are the main environmental advantages brought by these materials?

Ren Qilong: The application of green building materials in hotel construction and interior decoration should focus on the environmental protection, energy efficiency and improvement of indoor environmental quality of the materials. When selecting green building materials, they should comply with the principles of low emission, low energy consumption and renewability. For example, the use of recyclable metal and glass materials, the use of recycled wood or bamboo instead of traditional wood, and the use of non-toxic or low-toxic paints and adhesives. These materials have less impact on the environment during manufacturing and use, which helps to reduce the overall carbon footprint.

Secondly, the use of green building materials should also take into account the impact on indoor air quality. Choosing materials that do not release harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde-free wood panels and ecological paints, can significantly improve indoor air quality and provide hotel guests with a healthier and more comfortable living environment.

While promoting green technology, we are also working to fundamentally solve the problem, and optimizing the selection of building materials is an important aspect. For example, we emphasize no longer using traditional harmful building materials, but give priority to those that have less impact on the environment and human health. In addition, the use of sustainable forestry wood, or the selection of alternatives such as composite materials and bioplastics, these practices not only reduce dependence on virgin forests, but also reduce the environmental burden by using recyclable or biodegradable materials.

This strategy of solving the problem from the source is similar to the gradual update of refrigerants, which gradually transitioned from the initial Freon to the third and fourth generation refrigerants, effectively avoiding the destruction of the ozone layer and the negative impact on the global climate.

Question: In the next decade, for multiple industries, which emerging green technologies do you think will have a significant impact on the accommodation industry? How to prepare for these changes?

Ren Qilong:In the next decade, with the continuous advancement of science and technology, it is expected that a series of emerging green technologies will have a revolutionary impact on the accommodation industry. These technologies will help the industry achieve higher energy efficiency and environmental protection standards and promote its development in a more sustainable and customer-friendly direction.

The further popularization and cost reduction of renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaic power generation and wind power, will become a key factor in changing the accommodation industry. The integrated application of these technologies can not only help hotels significantly reduce operating costs, but also reduce dependence on traditional energy. At the same time, with the maturity of energy storage technology, the continuity and stability of these energy solutions will also be significantly improved.

Secondly, the widespread use of green building materials such as bio-based plastics, recycled wood and non-toxic paint will gradually become the new industry standard. These environmentally friendly materials can not only reduce environmental pollution, but also significantly improve indoor air quality, providing guests with a healthier and more comfortable accommodation environment.

In order to meet these technological changes, accommodation companies should develop a comprehensive sustainability strategy that considers long-term environmental impacts, while responding to government environmental policies and market trends to cater to consumers' growing demand for green accommodation.

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