Prof. Li Guoqing: Bridging Business and Academia with Real Value

Before joining the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,?South China University of Technology in 2003, Prof. Li Guoqing had already accumulated?22 years of front-line and senior management experience at?SINOPEC. His diverse experiences equipped him with a?rich practical understanding of industry demands and a solid theoretical foundation, enabling him to offer?valuable insights and serve as a bridge between the enterprise and academia.

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From Business?to Academia: Testing Theories in Practice

Prof. Li has been keen to translate technical theory into practice throughout his academic tenure. He has enhanced the energy optimization methods for petrochemical process systems ("the five-step method") and developed an optimization computing platform that expands the expert system for process optimization and system thermal integration, improving computational efficiency.

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During his?transition from industry?to academia, Prof. Li recognized a significant insight: "Every teacher, especially those in engineering schools, harbors a strong desire to develop practical technology for industry."

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Building Bridges to Industrialization

Starting in?2006, Prof. Li began leading students directly into enterprises. For instance, in 2014, he initiated the first of four collaborations with Chambroad Petrochemicals, which is nearing completion this year.

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Over a decade of applied research and industry collaboration, Prof. Li has observed numerous benefits from this partnership model for both universities and businesses.

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The most immediate benefit for businesses has been at least a 5% reduction in energy consumption, translating to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan in annual savings for large petrochemical companies. Through these interactions, companies have also embraced new concepts. Working?with many businesses, Prof. Li's team?can effectively summarize?and disseminate?their diverse experiences and advantages nationwide in a qualitative and quantitative way, which helps to foster greater understanding and collaboration among them.

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For the university, practical enterprise experience deepens students' theoretical studies. Students tasked with energy-saving projects in factories handle multiple sets of process equipment, delve into equipment functionalities and control principles, perform comprehensive simulations, and ensure their calculations reflect real-world operations. This process promotes independent thinking, deepens their appreciation of theoretical principles, and brings them back to the fundamentals in a practical context.

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The Ideal of a Chemical Researcher

Prof. Li believes that businesses must be proactive in integrating new research outcomes with industry applications.

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He points out the dual focus of business development: expanding outwardly and refining operations internally to reduce costs. However, he observes that many companies are preoccupied with expansion. He advocates treating energy saving and emission reduction as routine work, continually reducing energy costs through system heat integration and process optimization. Remarkably, energy-saving investments in the chemical industry are usually modest, often only involving adjustments to heat exchange equipment and pipelines, with a payback period of just over a year, yielding immediate benefits.?

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In 2017, evaluations of 11 projects completed by Prof. Li's team showed a total cost saving and efficiency increase of 1.43 billion yuan per year.

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More importantly, these initiatives significantly reduce carbon emissions and pollution.

Prof. Li's research, applicable to industries characterized by "transfer of momentum, heat, and mass, and chemical reactions",?such as petrochemicals, steel, thermal power, and papermaking, holds substantial value for the national dual-carbon strategy. His aim is not only to enhance corporate profits but also to contribute to national efforts in energy conservation and emission reduction.

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Prof. Li has pioneered a novel approach to industry-academia-research integration. Two years ago, with support from South China University of Technology, he founded a company in the university’s National Science and Technology Park to provide students with additional career opportunities. His goal is to undertake substantive projects that also allow participating students to build their own careers.