The machine making ice from sea water is expected to contribute to the development of the country’s fisheries. (Source: Courtesy of the VAST) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - A machine thatmakes ice from sea water has been introduced into Vietnam for the first time.
Invented by local scientists, the machine will help fishermen create crushedice from the ocean water to make sure their catch stays fresh.
The machine is the product of the Centre for High Technology Development (CHTD)under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST).
This is the first product produced domestically, from research, manufacturingand testing on fishing boats.
The project was chaired by Le Van Luan, a scientist from the CHTD and conductedwithin 18 months from 2016 to 2017.
In April this year, the work was tested and ranked excellent by VAST TestingCouncil.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyen Van Thao, director of the CHTD, said offshorefishing was one of the important directions in the development of the fisheriessector in the country.
Although the fisheries productivity is high, the loss after exploitation ishigh.
According to the Directorate of Fisheries, losses after fishing in Vietnam accountfor 20-30 percent of the productivity, mainly due to the fact that a majorityof fishing boats are small in size and lack of preservation. Therefore,reducing post-harvest losses, despite difficulty, has been identified as a toppriority for the sector.
One of the proposed solutions is the application of ice making technology, inwhich mastering technology of designing and manufacturing snow ice makingmachines will provide an important foundation for the application of snowmakingtechnology in seafood preservation in offshore fishing in the country, he said.
Le Van Luan, head of the research project, said the product has been tested fora long time at the workshop of Mechanics - Electronics of the CHTD and alsotested at seaports and on fishing ships in Hai Phong waters. The evaluation byscientists, testing units and fishing vessels’ owners show the product meetsthe requirements.
The ice machine incorporates a central controller with functions to protect andmonitor system performance, to increase stability and extend the life of thedevice, including: overload protection, protection of high pressure, lowpressure, detection of water level.
Users can easily select and adjust the ice concentration of between 25-95 percent,or at a certain temperature.
It also helps minimise the impact on the environment, efficiently exploitingresources, and bringing greater economic efficiency by increasing quality,prolonging storage time of fish on board due to lower storage temperature thanice made from fresh water, reducing the number of laborers freezing fish as thefish can be immediately stored in ice, Luan said.-VNS/VNA
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