Belgian group hopes to join Vietnam in producing activated carbon from coir

During the course of a recent meeting held with representatives of the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium, Eric Franssen, trade and development director at John Cockerill, said the nation has plenty of advantages in terms of renewable energy, for example its production of biomass heat from industrial waste.

It is possible that John Cockerill can assist the country in converting biomass energy, that produces the same amount of heat as coal, he said. Indeed, the group also owns technology that can produce renewable energy by separating hydrogen from water through electrolysis in order to power vehicles and other forms of transport.

The nation’s central and southern regions harvest approximately 1.4 billion coconuts each year.
Pierre Lambotte, head of the Business and Development Department of John Cockerill, said coconut shells and coir represent an abundant source of raw materials that can be utilised in the production of activated carbon for export.

Furthermore, post-harvest straw, which is plentiful nationwide, can also be used to produce biomass fuel.
This form of technology is especially important in the context of the UN calling on countries globally to take actions aimed at achieving the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

According to Tran Van Cong, Vietnamese trade counselor to the EU, such technology opens up a great prospects for the nation in terms of generating extra value from agricultural by-products moving forward.

The Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium will therefore widely inform associations, localities, and exporters, especially the coconut industry, wood chip industry, and activated carbon production, to enable them to access the technology.

Most notably, John Cockerill has an innovation fund that supports Vietnamese firms in transferring activated carbon production technology.