VietNamNet Bridge - A group of students from Hoa Sen University, in conjunction with ECO in Vietnam, has successfully created a system made of special bags that can contain water and biogas, which can help settle pollution. 

The bag is made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), a special material made of petroleum which has high durability of up to 50 years. With many advantages, the bag helps to protect the environment from pollution and protect people’s health in rural areas.

The project named ‘For the Environment’ won first prize and funding worth VND150 million from Lin, a community development organization.

The project has been implemented in the two communes of Tan Loi Thanh and An Hiep of the southern province of Ben Tre.

According to Nguyen Thi Kim Yen, director of ECO Vietnam, An Hiep is a coastal commune, where the underground water is attacked by salt water. There in the locality, rainwater is the only source of clean water for daily use. However, the problem lies in the lack of tools to store rainwater. 

Locals are told to build water reservoirs to contain rainwater for use in dry season. However, the cement-made reservoirs are too costly. Meanwhile, as the reservoirs do not have lids, the water kept in the reservoirs for a long time gets dirtier, and is safe enough for people’s health.

In Tan Loi Thanh commune, many households earn their living with pig farming. The waste water from pig farms has been seriously polluting the environment. Local people either do not think of using biogas systems or they build biogas systems that are only rudimentary. 

Students from the Hoa Sen University, who understand the problems in the localities,  decided to build a system of special bags for containing rainwater and biogas made of HDPE, because they believed HDPE-made bags have high durability and low production costs.

HDPE has many other outstanding features, including ultraviolet (UV) resistance and antioxidants which can exist well under different conditions of the weather.

It is heat insulating, and safe from chemicals and strong acids. Indexes show they have ideal strength, resistance and durability. And most importantly, the material has received a NSF certificate as a material safe to people’s health.

After 20 years of use, HDPE can be recycled to create a kind of resin which will not affect the environment. 

To implement the project, the researchers cooperated with A Chau Company, which is an HDPE supplier. As HDPE is a type of special material, HDPE-made bags must be welded with special welding machines, which can be done only at A Chau.

Kham Pha