Decentralized water treatment by waste-to-product approach using low cost-high performance adsorbents and ion-exchange.

Vietnam is facing environmental problems related to water. Due to a lack of infrastructure, decentralized systems are thought to be a good approach to water treatment in terms of sanitation and environmental protection in Vietnam. Such systems are not costly in terms of construction, maintenance and operation, and they can be applied not only for low-income countries but also for communities with sparse populations. We propose a decentralized water treatment in a waste-to-product approach, which uses suitable waste sources from local regions to produce adsorbents and ion exchange for the removal of organic matter and heavy metals from water sources. This approach minimizes waste, helps to safeguard the environment and public health, while at the same time accelerating a positive change for both urban and rural areas in Vietnam. The joint research project aims at the improvement of water and sanitation conditions by low cost–high performance decentralized water treatment using an integrated system consisting of an adsorption filter and ion exchange column at pilot scale.