BSB Nanotech and Effort to “Turn Ash to Cash”

BSB Nanotechnology Joint Stock Company (BSB Nanotech) is a pioneering manufacturer of silica and nano silica from rice husk ash - a byproduct from rice production, which is applied in many different fields with outstanding values. Particularly, with a large-scale commercialization, this solution is also groundbreaking and motivational to the circular economy in agriculture, not only in Vietnam but around the world.

ECO OK - multifunctional agricultural product extracted from rice husk ash with pioneering nanotechnology

Vietnamese product - global value

As one of the largest rice producers and exporters in the world, every year, rice milling in Vietnam produces about 10 million tons of rice husks. Seeking technological solutions to effectively utilize the value of this waste resource is a top concern of authorities, scientists and environmentalists, as well as millers.

After many years of pursuing a good solution to this concern, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung, a businessman who studied and worked in the Russian Federation, and his colleagues returned to Vietnam to embark on research, with a high determination of realizing the dream of “turning rice husks into gold”. BSB Nanotech with the Biosilico brand, headquartered in Saigon Hi-Tech Park, empowered the realization of that goal.

After many years of diligent research, BSB Nanotech successfully tested and applied a completely new rice husk burning technology, which separates rice husk ash into high-content silica, SiO2. This amorphous silica can be used as an input for many manufacturing industries such as pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, rubber, paint, glass, concrete and fireproof materials, especially agriculture and superinsulation materials.

The production of silica from agricultural byproducts offers many environmental, technical, technological and commercial advantages over conventional methods of making silica from sand and quartz.

Biosilico Can Tho Factory in Tan Loc ward, Thot Not district, Can Tho city

With the current price of VND600,000 - 1,000,000 a ton of rice husks at rice millers, 10 million tons of rice husks is valued at about US$300 million a year, equal to about 10% of rice exports. If rice husks are well treated, specifically from refined rice husk ash into silica with a high purity of over 99%, the value may reach over US$10 billion.

In late 2021, at Saigon High-Tech Park, Sanofi Vietnam (a member of Sanofi Group - the world's leading pharmaceutical manufacturer) and BSB Nanotech signed a cooperation agreement for the “Rice Is The New Green” Project (RING Project). Specifically, BSB Nanotech was a strategic partner in consulting on solutions for burning rice husks in boilers and processing ash from Sanofi's boilers, and thereby creating a source of pure silica for pharmaceutical production for export.

This was a significant step of BSB Nanotech in its effort to turn rice husk ash into silica for application in many fields and help reduce CO2 emissions, thus affirming its successful mission of fostering a new circular economy.

In particular, with core requirements of circular economy principles, this solution has met international ESG standards that investors are interested in. “The RING Project with BSB Nanotech's superior technology is a sustainable circular economy project and also affirms the outcome of the “Comprehensive international cooperation solution program,” said Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung.

For a better future

Located in the center of the Mekong Delta - the rice granary of Vietnam, BSB Nanotech factory (located in Thot Not District, Can Tho City) can source all input elements locally for production. To ensure the quality and progress of products as committed, BSB Nanotech has built a good workforce, improved techniques, strictly controlled production stages and achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification since 2020.

BSB Nanotech is currently a multi-business concern. Its most outstanding business is producing Biosilico-branded nano silica from rice husk ash. In particular, with a large production output and diverse applications, the company has coordinated with partners around the world to expand the application scope of Biosilico from paints and coatings to additives for rubber, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other industries.

BSB Nanotech Company successfully tests spraying ECO OK on OM18 rice variety cultivated according to the EcoCyle model, summer-autumn 2023 crop

Specially, a Vietnamese paint company has used silica made from rice husk ash at half the price compared to imports to make self-cleaning paint and fireproof paint and export its products to countries in the region.

By researching silica production solutions, BSB Nanotech also succeeded in advanced rice husk processing solutions to achieve high added value like converting rice husks into biomass energy. This is a positive step towards sustainable agriculture and a circular economy in Vietnam.

Furthermore, as a business that works for social interest, BSB Nanotech also actively contributes and shares with the community through education, training and social security activities. A typical example is supporting the iAN Scholarship Fund of the iAN International Alumni Network, with the mission of “Connecting generations - Adding wings to the future”.

To further promote the circular economy and increase the added value of rice husks in rice processing, the company also hopes local authorities will facilitate BSB Nanotech to expand operational scale, enabling many farmers to participate in the circular agricultural economic chain, increasing incomes and preparing for a more innovative and sustainable agriculture.

BSB NANOTECHNOLOGY JOINT STOCK COMPANY (BSB NANOTECH)
Website: https://www.biosilico.vn
Email: info@bsb-nt.com

By Ngoc Tung (Vietnam Business Forum)