Greening Ho Chi Minh City
In 1998, the city of Nantan, Japan, decided to launch a project to green the town by utilizing its biomass resources and waste streams to generate clean and renewable energy. The Yagi Bio-ecology Centre (YBEC) became the kernel of the project and processes biomass generated in the community, mostly from animal manure, food waste and the local tofu industry. It uses carbon-neutral methane gas generated in the waste treatment process to produce electricity and heat, which are in turn used to run its waste treatment facilities (see picture, click to enlarge).
In an effort to build an entire recycling-oriented community, scientists reviewed the lifestyles of inhabitants and the economic activities within the community. Now the town is trying to save energy and reduce environmental pressure by promoting recycling of organic resources and controlling waste generation.
Scientist Yoshiteru Nakagawa, a driving force behind the eco-city, shared his experience with 40 collegues from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan last week, at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on urban bioenergy, on community level recycling and workable biomass projects, and on collaboration strategies between various stakeholders like policy makers, scientists, and the community.
Phan Minh Tan, director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Science and Technology Department, announced the city will become an 'eco-twin' of Nantan, drawing on its experience.
Biomass-based energy and recovery of unused resources will be encouraged to fill the shortage of fossil fuels and preservation of the environment, he explained. Ho Chi Minh City - a nascent mega-city of of 6.5 million - is located near the Mekong Delta, one of the world's richest and most productive agricultural zones. Vast amounts of waste biomass can be recovered from this local agriculture, for the production of fuels and power (earlier post).
Programmes for renewable energy, energy saving, and expanding the use of biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas have already been launched for application in daily life in Ho Chi Minh City's satellite towns, and will be expanded to other towns in the Mekong River Delta, the seminar said.
Dr. Phan Dinh Tuan from Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Technology spoke about ongoing research into manufacturing cellulosic ethanol from rice straw - an abundant resource that is often burned and wasted:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biogas :: Ho Chi Minh City :: Vietnam ::
His colleague, Dr. Nguyen Huu Luong, heads a team trying to produce biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
Dr. Bui Xuan An of the Agricultural and Forestry university is trying to produce biogas from animal manure and waste.
On the second day of the workshop, participants visited rice fields and rice and cassava mills in an outlying Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi district and the neighbouring province of Tay Ninh to get an impression on the availability of biomass resources and current waste management practises at the community level.
Scientists from Vietnam are also partnering with one of Europe's top science institutions, the German Fraunhofer Institute, to develop highly efficient biomass burners specially designed for rice straw (earlier post).
In an effort to build an entire recycling-oriented community, scientists reviewed the lifestyles of inhabitants and the economic activities within the community. Now the town is trying to save energy and reduce environmental pressure by promoting recycling of organic resources and controlling waste generation.
Scientist Yoshiteru Nakagawa, a driving force behind the eco-city, shared his experience with 40 collegues from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan last week, at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on urban bioenergy, on community level recycling and workable biomass projects, and on collaboration strategies between various stakeholders like policy makers, scientists, and the community.
Phan Minh Tan, director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Science and Technology Department, announced the city will become an 'eco-twin' of Nantan, drawing on its experience.
Biomass-based energy and recovery of unused resources will be encouraged to fill the shortage of fossil fuels and preservation of the environment, he explained. Ho Chi Minh City - a nascent mega-city of of 6.5 million - is located near the Mekong Delta, one of the world's richest and most productive agricultural zones. Vast amounts of waste biomass can be recovered from this local agriculture, for the production of fuels and power (earlier post).
Programmes for renewable energy, energy saving, and expanding the use of biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas have already been launched for application in daily life in Ho Chi Minh City's satellite towns, and will be expanded to other towns in the Mekong River Delta, the seminar said.
Dr. Phan Dinh Tuan from Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Technology spoke about ongoing research into manufacturing cellulosic ethanol from rice straw - an abundant resource that is often burned and wasted:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biogas :: Ho Chi Minh City :: Vietnam ::
His colleague, Dr. Nguyen Huu Luong, heads a team trying to produce biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
Dr. Bui Xuan An of the Agricultural and Forestry university is trying to produce biogas from animal manure and waste.
On the second day of the workshop, participants visited rice fields and rice and cassava mills in an outlying Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi district and the neighbouring province of Tay Ninh to get an impression on the availability of biomass resources and current waste management practises at the community level.
Scientists from Vietnam are also partnering with one of Europe's top science institutions, the German Fraunhofer Institute, to develop highly efficient biomass burners specially designed for rice straw (earlier post).
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