Dương Quang Kiều sits next to his T-sona hot water stove system, which produces hot water from blazing red stoves to serve the daily needs of people in the mountainous region. Photos courtesy of Quảng Nam online newspaper

Dương Quang Kiều and Nguyễn Quốc Vương are two young men who have succeeded in applying their research findings to address real life issues and develop economic projects that generate high revenue for themselves and local people in the central province of Quảng Nam.

The Thủy Sơn Năng machine manufacturing facility in Hòa Hương Ward, Tam Kỳ City, owned by Dương Quang Kiều, has been operational for over a year. Their device produces hot water from blazing red stoves to serve the daily needs of people in the mountainous region.

Kiều recalled that over a year ago, during a practical experience trip to the highlands of Nam Trà My District, he and his friends had no other option but to use freezing cold water flowing from the mountains.

“We felt the deprivation of the highland people, where even hot water for daily use became a luxury for the locals. Seeing the children having to endure the icy water, I felt deeply sorry. I told myself that I must do something to help them,” he told Quảng Nam online newspaper.

During his days in the highlands of Nam Trà My, the electrical engineer was always focused on finding materials to generate energy. He remembered his mother's old wood stove and thought about leveraging the functionality of this traditional stove.

After studying the principles of heat exchange, Kiều created a wood stove system for heating water.

"The traditional three-legged wood stoves use an open fire, generating a large amount of excess heat when burning wood. I researched how to use the excess heat to heat water and store it in a tank by designing a sealed stove and water tank,” he explained.

“When cooking on this stove, the excess heat will heat the water. When it reaches the required temperature, the hot water will move upwards into the tank, mixing with the cold water in the tank, and the cold water will automatically be supplied back into the stove. In this way, the water in the tank gradually heats up and is stored for long-term use," he said.

Kiều said the T-sona hot water stove system consists of a double stove, insulated stainless steel tanks with capacities of 75 litres and 150 litres, water pipes, and a water pressure regulator, which are easily assembled.

In just three minutes of boiling, there is enough hot water to use for three consecutive days. Particularly, the T-sona hot water stove system is equipped with a three-stage filter to provide clean water for daily use.

“The advantages of this system are that it always provides hot water regardless of the weather, requires minimal cooking time, and saves half the amount of firewood. Stainless steel material is safe for health and durable, with a lifespan of up to 20 years, and easy to install,” he said.

“The system also works as an ordinary stove. Users only need to have pots and pans,” he added.

Kiều's wood stove hot water system won the second prize in Quảng Nam Province's scientific and technical innovation competition in 2023.

His first product installed at the Ngọc Linh ginseng garden brought joy to everyone when they first had the comfort of bathing with hot water. This success further motivated him to spread the product throughout the community.

With the support of teacher Nguyễn Trần Vỹ, Kiều installed hot water stove systems at several preschools such as Măng Liệt, Mang Dí, Mang Lùng, and some households growing ginseng in Nam Trà My District.

Vỹ said he couldn’t hide his emotion when seeing his students being able to use clean and warm water in chilly days.

“It's a great happiness when children and local people in the highlands can access hot water for their daily use. I hope that this product will be more widely spread in the community to contribute to changing the lives of people in rural mountainous areas,” Vỹ said.

A T-sona hot water stove system at a preschool in Quảng Nam Province.

In 2023, Kiều's wood stove hot water system won the second prize in Quảng Nam Province's scientific and technical innovation competition. This is a worthy recognition of his creativity for his community.

Algae potential

For Nguyễn Quốc Vương, the first prize in the National Startup Project Development Programme in 2023 for his project ‘AWT-Carbon’ is the result of his years of dedication to algae.

Sharing his journey on the project, Vương said it all started with a passion for chemistry. As a student in the Chemistry Department at the Đà Nẵng University of Science and Technology, Vương had the opportunity to delve deeper into the applied research of algae.

Nguyễn Quốc Vương won the first prize in the National Startup Project Development Programme in 2023 with his project ‘AWT-Carbon’.

In 2019, his first major project was to cultivate algae in biogas tanks to produce diesel. However, the actual results did not meet expectations, so Vương closed this project and sought a new direction.

“I realised the great potential of cultivating algae to treat aquaculture wastewater. This method not only solves environmental pollution issues but also can generate various additional revenues,” Vương said.

Determined to explore this new path, Vương devoted all his time to experiments with algae. After each experiment, he sent samples for testing and identifying strengths and weaknesses.

After more than two years, he completed his scientific research work and applied for a patent. The budget for this research project was about VNĐ1.5 billion (US$60,720).

"With previous research, algae could be used to treat concentrated aquaculture wastewater, but with a cycle of 10-14 days and requiring storage space ten times larger. I researched to reduce the algae growth cycle to 4-5 days, effectively using the existing infrastructure to reduce operating costs and initial investment," he said.

"The first environmental treatment projects were implemented in collaboration with some units in HCM City with promising results," he added.

His research completed half of the journey. The remaining part was to use biomass to create the final product, forming a closed-loop system.

In 2022, Vương established the Vietnam Green Technology Consulting and Development Company, headquartered in Đà Nẵng City, to develop electrolysis technology in algae recovery for wastewater treatment to meet Class A environmental standards and to use biomass as animal feed.

This research project was conducted immediately. Good news came shortly after when an organic chicken farming unit in the southern province of Bến Tre constructed a production line to meet the demand for about 100 tonnes of feed per month.

Vương and his team have applied this technology in many other localities such as Hà Nội, HCM City, Bắc Ninh, Phú Yên, Cần Thơ and Bến Tre. It is expected that the company's revenue in 2024 could reach about VNĐ10 - 15 billion.

Vương said his biggest concern is not being able to bring the project back to his hometown. According to him, Quảng Nam has many ponds, lakes, lagoons and canals. Vương plans to lease these areas, apply algae cultivation technology for environmental treatment, and simultaneously build a production line to meet the demand for 100-200 tonnes of animal feed per month.

"I am working with the People's Committee of Đại Lộc District to develop a pilot model on a four-hectare area in Đại Minh Commune. Based on this, we will build an assessment and feasibility to consider long-term projects,” he said.

Vương plans to develop a pilot model on a four-hectare area in Đại Minh Commune.

Another potential of algae, according to Vương, is to generate carbon credits. Vương calculated that one square metre of algae can absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide than one square meter of forest.

If the project for converting and certifying carbon credits for algae is implemented in ponds and lakes in Quảng Nam Province, it can bring high economic value, he said. — VNS