A view of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal. JVE, which has treated the To Lich River in Hanoi, has offered to treat the polluted water in the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe, Xuyen Tam and 19/5 canals in HCMC

The firm is conducting a pilot project to clean up the polluted water in Hanoi’s To Lich River using bionanotechnology, the local media reported.

The department is also collaborating with the municipal Departments of Science and Technology, Transport and Construction to research its proposal.

However, after checking with several sources, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment concluded that the proposal to replace wastewater treatment stations with nanobioreactor technology was inappropriate, as these traditional-treatment stations are still being used in many developed countries, including Japan, where the new technology was created.

Besides this, the cleanup operation will take two to three months, while unprocessed wastewater is discharged into the canals daily. Moreover, the wastewater contains large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, which cannot be treated by the bionano-technology.

The departments and agencies decided it was necessary to wait for the water quality results of the pilot cleanup program on the To Lich River and to review its detailed outcome, before a decision on the proposal can be made. SGT