Vietnam Army successfully manufactures hand-held seawater filtration device

A new product by scientists from the Center for Precision Engineering Technology (CNCKCX), Institute of Military Science and Technology (Ministry of National Defense), has turned the salty seawater of Truong Sa into liters of fresh water.

For a long time, fresh water has come to the Truong Sa soldiers by train; or after every sudden rain... However, there is a new product by scientists from the Center for Technology and Precision Mechanics (CNCKCX), Institute of Military Science and Technology (Ministry of National Defense), which has turned the salty seawater of Truong Sa into liters of fresh water like lava water...

A way to love teammates

Although the facility is modest and the staff is less than 100 people, from the CNCKCX Center, many advanced technologies have been born and effectively applied in practice, in which the technology of producing Personal Seawater Filter Equipment Clusters is an example.

The choice and determination to invest in research, design and manufacture this product comes from the affection of scientists at the Center for soldiers operating in special environments, lacking fresh water, especially soldiers operating in sea and island areas such as Truong Sa archipelago.

If we talk about the device that converts seawater into fresh water, it can be seen that this is not a new technology, and this type of product is sold quite a lot on the market. If we only think like that, we will not be able to recognize the "specialty" of the product that the CNCKCX Center has researched, designed and manufactured. The "specialty" of this product is shown in that it does not run on electricity like the products on the market, but is used by hand, and a 6-year-old boy with normal physical condition can operate it easily.

Colonel Phan Quang Tuan (right) and Major Nguyen Thanh Binh with B20.01 seawater filtration equipment

Colonel Phan Quang Tuan, Deputy Director of the CNCKCX Center, shared: Based on the practical needs of some units, especially those stationed on islands, in 2012, the CNCKCX Center's engineers "initiated" the research, design and manufacturing project of the RO.BT1 Seawater Filter and then the B20.01 Seawater Filter.

If not told, few people know how much effort the Center's engineers have put into creating these two useful products. In order to save the most money, they had to use the cutting method, instead of using expensive molds like foreign technology; and the material used to make the tube body of the RO.BT1 filter is polymer. Having to withstand a pressure of 50kg/square centimeter, the tube burst many times; then there was the problem of the leaking partition between the seawater tank and the fresh water tank...

“Sometimes it is tiring, but thinking about the benefits it brings to soldiers operating in difficult areas, we encourage each other to make the product,” said Major Nguyen Truong Son, Head of Technology Department, Head of the RO.BT1 Seawater Filter Project.

In the middle of the capital, where can we get seawater for the testing process? Initially, the project team mixed salt water at a ratio of 4/1,000. But that was still not realistic, so they moved to Do Son beach (Hai Phong) to transfer salt water to the Center. However, realizing that the seawater here had low salinity, not meeting the requirements of the project, the route to transport the seawater for testing was extended, from Hanoi to... Cua Lo (Nghe An).

Truong Sa sea water...no longer salty

Not letting down the efforts of the people, the two seawater filtration devices were both completed in 2013, and through testing and practical use at the unit, both gave very good results. The RO.BT1 seawater filtration device has the capacity to filter 0.89 liters of fresh water/hour, while the B20.01 seawater filtration device has a capacity of 4.5 liters of fresh water/hour.

Not stopping at the initial achievements, they are currently nurturing the plan to strive to reduce the production cost of the product by purchasing filter membranes in raw material form to manufacture filters for the device, instead of having to buy imported filters at high prices. Only then will the product have the opportunity to be mass produced to serve the army, while creating conditions for fishermen to access this product...

We, along with Major Nguyen Truong Son and Major Nguyen Thanh Binh, Head of the Center's General Planning Department, and Head of the B20.01 Seawater Filtration Equipment Project, tested the operating capacity of the two devices. With a leisurely squeezing rhythm on the RO.BT1 device and a rhythmic bending rhythm on the B20.01 device, the seawater gradually turned into fresh water, dripping and filling up the two glass cups. When we brought it to our mouths, the water gradually seeped into our throats, sweet as filtered water. Yet when we took a sip of water from the bucket, our mouths tasted salty. That's how we saw the miracle of those water filters.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics and delegates visited Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Lam demonstrating the RO.BT1 seawater filtration device on the voyage to Truong Sa, April 2014.

Standing next to him, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Lam, Party Secretary, Deputy Director of the CNCKCX Center, recounted his profound memories of the voyage with the RO.BT1 water filter to Truong Sa last April. Before going to the island, the working group had given him an afternoon to demonstrate the features and effects of this water filter, in front of the attention of 10 military generals and many senior officers on board. After taking a sip of fresh water that had just been converted from Truong Sa seawater by the device, Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics, Head of the working group, emotionally confided to everyone, the gist of which was that in emergency situations, with this device, we will have fresh water, and just one sip can save a person's life.

After that trip, the RO.BT1 water filter stayed with the officers and soldiers of Da Tay A island. The officers of the CNCKCX Center still regularly contacted the brothers on the island, and always received information: The water filter was still working well, thanks to which the brothers' fresh water source was more abundant.

That information always makes scientists at the CNCKCX Center feel warm, because they have brought fresh water to Truong Sa, not by train, but by the intelligence of scientists in soldier uniforms...

Source: People's Army Newspaper