From organic waste materials such as green vegetables and fruit peels, group of third-year students majoring in Natural Science Education, the Faculty of Chemistry, the University of Education, a member of the University of Da Nang, researched and combined other materials to create a benign cleaning solution, serving the daily needs of life.

A group of students introduces their products to the public at a recent event. Photo: N.H

The project of producing multi-purpose cleaning enzyme solution from plant waste was carried out by a group of students Tran Thi Quynh Nhu, Nguyen Thi Thao, Le Vo Nhu Thuy, Tran Thi Kim Oanh and Nguyen Thanh Toan. The topic, initially an idea of Tran Thi Quynh Nhu, formed in 2019 participate in scientific research competitions at the high school level, but at that time the project was still rudimentary and simple.

Quynh Nhu said that when she was admitted to the university, she had access to more specialised knowledge, and realised that most people today use chemicals to clean their houses, wash dishes and do laundry while the amount of organic waste like left-over food, vegetable skins, fruit peels that each family throws away every day is large. If left for a long time, it will cause bad odors and pollute the environment, so Quynh Nhu persuaded her friends to research and develop this project.

Student Nguyen Thi Thao, a member of the group, said that to implement the project in practice, the group read a lot of documents, researched methods, learned about natural ingredients that help the product create foam, viscosity, fermentation process; formulas to complete on schedule and time to produce the best product.

One of the advantages of the group is that the members are all students of the Faculty of Chemistry, so they can effectively apply the knowledge they have learned into practice. The group used molasses as a fermentation ingredient, soapberry as a natural foaming agent and cleaner; uses lemon peel, grapefruit peel, peppermint essential oil, cinnamon essential oil to create fragrance…

The product was created according to the process: collecting raw materials, washing, fermenting, filtering to get the product, which can clean dirt stuck on porcelain, glass, plastic, ceramic tiles, and old dirt on drain pipes.

“During the process, the group repeated many times to create the desired enzyme layer. This process needed to be done carefully to avoid bacteria from entering and spoiling the finished product. This can be considered the most important stage of the process”, Thao said.

During the product research process, the first criterion the research group aims for is the practical application of the created product used in daily life. The group wants to create benign cleaning solutions to serve consumer needs such as dishwashing, cleaning the floor, cleaning the kitchen, unclogging drains and other house chores.

After completing the product, the group brought it to the Centre for Technical Standards and Quality Measurement 2 for quality testing and found it qualified for daily use.

According to Nguyen Thi Thao, in addition to studying at school, participating in research and developing projects helped her and her peers gain many skills, including the ability to search for information, apply academic knowledge, develop self-research ability as well as uphold confidence when introducing this beneficial product to everyone. This is a stepping stone, helping Thao and her friends have more opportunities to develop their future careers.

The project ‘Producing enzyme solution from plant waste’ by the above- mentioned five students won a third prize at the city-level ‘Startup project for rural youth’ competition in 2024 organised by the Da Nang Youth Union, a second prize at the 2024 university- level ‘Creative ideas - startups serving the community’ contest; and an encouragement prize in the 8^th ‘Technology startups among students’ contest in 2024 organised by the Youth Union - Students’ Association of the University of Da Nang.

At the 2024 Green Summer campaign of the Da Nang University of Education, a group of students donated 160 bottles of multi-purpose enzyme cleaning solution made by themselves to people in Dien Phong Commune, Dien Ban Town, neighbouring Quang Nam Province.

At the same time, the group transferred technology and instructed people on how to produce the product themselves. In addition, the group also gave natural enzyme multi-purpose cleaning solution to some local people to experience and was highly appreciated for its good cleaning ability and non-harmful skin.

Reporting by THU HA - Translating by A.THU