NX Filtration to deliver pilot system to produce clean drinking water from the Mekong river in Vietnam

NX Filtration to deliver pilot system to produce clean drinking water from the Mekong river in Vietnam

With an abundant average precipitation rate, Vietnam could be considered a water-rich country. However, the non-uniform rainfall, coupled with strong demographic and industrial developments, makes its water resources extremely vulnerable. 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 2020. Subsequently various parties grouped together to initiate this 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 fiber nanofiltration technology. This technology enables the removal of micropollutants from water in a single step in a very sustainable way, significantly reducing energy requirements and avoiding the use of pre-treatment chemicals.

Other parties involved in this pilot project are VEI (implementing international Corporate Social Responsibility policy on behalf of six Dutch drinking water partners and working on climate adaption and water supply plans) and Pernam (a specialist in innovative water treatment solutions in Vietnam). 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 strongly support Resolution 120 on Climate Change.

Erik Roesink, Founder and CTO of NX Filtration, comments: “This provides another great example of what our direct hollow fiber 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 (including pharmaceuticals, medicines, PFAS and insecticides), colour and selective salts, but also nanoplastics, 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.”