With an abundant average precipitation rate, Vietnam could be considered a water-rich country. However, water resources in the country are vulnerable due to non-uniform rainfall, alongside strong demographic and industrial developments. In several areas, groundwater is exploited beyond the recharge capacity, resulting in falling water tables, causing land subsidence and salinity intrusion, especially in the Mekong river delta. Therefore, there is an increasing need for alternative solutions for water supply in the country.
NX Filtration’s involvement started with a visit of the Vietnamese ambassador in the Netherlands to NX Filtration in September last year. Subsequently, various parties grouped together to initiate a pilot project to demonstrate the viability of producing drinking water directly from the Mekong river. Central to this solution is NX Filtration’s direct hollow fibre nanofiltration technology, which enables the removal of micropollutants from water.
Other parties involved in this pilot project are VEI and Pernam. NX Filtration also has initial discussions with the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), a development fund with a mandate to bring clean drinking water to 12.5 million people. The DFCD is supporting climate change adaptation investments in Vietnam, and supportive of Resolution 120 on Climate Change.
Erik Roesink, founder and CTO of NX Filtration, commented: “This provides another great example of what our direct hollow fibre nanofiltration technology can achieve. In similar situations in Indonesia and the Philippines, we have recently demonstrated that we can directly produce drinking water from rivers or surface water on a large scale.
“We can remove micropollutants, colour and selective salts, but also nano-plastics, bacteria and viruses from water in one single step. At the same time, we provide great sustainability benefits to our customers, by significantly reducing their energy consumption and eliminating the need for pre-treatment chemicals.”
