On June 5, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced the "Decision on Awarding the 25th China Patent Awards," recognizing patentees, inventors (designers), and relevant organizations that have made significant contributions to implementing innovation and promoting economic and social development. The patented invention "A Large Particle Spherical Salt and Its Preparation Method," with Tianjin University of Science and Technology (TUST) as the sole patentee and Professor Tang Na from the School of Chemical Engineering and Materials as the primary inventor, and recommended by the China Salt Industry Association, has won the China Patent Silver Award. This achievement marks a historic breakthrough for the university in national patent awards and makes TUST the only university in Tianjin to receive an award in this year's selection.

Salt (NaCl) is crucial to the national economy and people's livelihood, and ensuring the independence, security, and self-sufficiency of salt supply is of great significance. China is the world's largest salt producer, with an annual output of nearly 100 million tons, nearly 70% of which is obtained through vacuum evaporation. Traditional salt products are fine-grained and square-shaped, resulting in high energy consumption during production, a high tendency to solidify during storage and transportation, and a high bulk density that can lead to excessive salt intake. Addressing these issues, this patent has achieved breakthroughs in theory, technology, and equipment, developing a preparation technology for large particle spherical salt that resolves the dilemma of simultaneously controlling salt sphericity and particle size. The large particle spherical salt produced using this patented technology shows a significant reduction in solidification rate during storage and transportation compared to traditional fine-grained square salt, along with markedly lower energy consumption during production. It fills a gap in technology and products both domestically and internationally, meets the public's demand for differentiated salt products, and strongly supports the implementation of national strategies and policies such as the "Healthy China 2030" plan and the "Salt Reduction Initiative." This patent has already entered the United States and Japan via the PCT route and has been granted, achieving the reverse transfer of China's independent salt technology to developed countries.

In recent years, the university has placed great emphasis on intellectual property work, deeply implementing intellectual property strategies. It has successively been approved as a National Patent Collaboration and Utilization Pilot Unit, a University National Intellectual Property Information Service Center, a National Intellectual Property Pilot University Construction Unit, and a Tianjin Intellectual Property Industry Operation Center, among various intellectual property innovation platforms. Projects such as the Tianjin Special Plan for Patent Transformation and the Tianjin Binhai New Area Intellectual Property Operation Service System Project have been approved for construction. Continuous efforts have been made in areas including patent navigation and layout, cultivation of high-value patents, intellectual property utilization and protection, and patent open licensing, leading to an overall enhancement of the university's intellectual property capabilities. Over the past five years, the university has won one announced China Patent Silver Award and three China Patent Excellence Awards, ranking 38th nationally and 2nd among Tianjin universities in the number of awards.

Moving forward, the university will further improve its intellectual property management and operation system, promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, cultivate and develop new quality productive forces, and further boost new achievements in the university's "Pioneer Plan" and "Scientific and Technological Climbing" initiatives.

Background:
The China Patent Award is jointly organized by the CNIPA and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It is the only Chinese government award specifically rewarding granted inventions and creations, representing the highest honor in the field of patents in China. Statistics show that among the winning patents in this session, 3 universities won the China Patent Gold Award as the first patentee, 14 won the China Patent Silver Award, and 90 won the China Patent Excellence Award.