The environmental and health issues facing Vietnam's rural brick-making industry likely are of little concern to most college students, or just about anyone else in Atlanta. But a team of Georgia Tech students has taken on the problem and developed a solution they hope to turn into a profitable business with a social good.
Mekong Green Tech wants to clean up brick-making operations across Asia by using a simple, low-cost technology. Rural industries in developing nations often burn waste biomass, a dirty process that emits carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Brick kilns are one of the main offenders, and Vietnam is cracking down on the industry. Mekong Green Tech developed a gasifier to cut emissions; it can be used with existing kilns.
Unlike some student-launched businesses, Mekong Green is well beyond the concept stage, with a demonstration model of its gasifier in use in Vietnam. Interest among local brick makers is high, team members said.
The business recently won first prize in Georgia Tech's Ideas to SERVE Competition for innovative business concepts that can help society or the environment. And this week, Mekong Green is in the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston, where 42 finalist teams (out of 400 entrants) are competing for more than $1 million in prizes and the chance to attract investors.
Mekong Green started with Marc-Antoine Pare, a 2010 graduate, who did his senior design project on gasification in cooking stoves in Nicaragua. After graduation, he moved to Vietnam to work on the stove project when he saw a bigger problem with brick kilns. There are more than 100,000 brick kilns across Asia, the team said, citing Brick by Brick, a report on Asia's brick industry.
"He said this is a much bigger opportunity," said Chris Quintero, a mechanical engineering senior and team member.
The technology also has applications beyond brick making, he said.
Quintero and fellow team member Hannah Kates plan to move to Vietnam as well after graduation, joining Pare.
"They're so impressive," said Alan Flury, director of the Business Plan Competition. "It's a team that's thoroughly committed."
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