#159 - Uptime Water, Sea of Galilee, Quantum Catalysts, ZLD, AWG and more
Water Water Everywhere...
Dear Readers,
This week we have some innovations from bigger corporations (cos it’s not always the start-ups that innovate) and some news from the world of water. Remember to share your thoughts, like the post, or share it with friends!
Quantum catalysts for water purification
An Australian company has developed a method they say uses quantum physics to destroy 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and viruses instantly. Called Quantum Disinfection™ (QD), it is certified to international standards, to destroy bacteria and viruses at the molecular level. What’s more, they say that their nano-composite materials have activated surfaces that kills pathogens like bacteria (E. coli, Staphylococcus, Legionella, etc.), viruses (MS2) and protozoa (Cryptosporidium) from water, with no power, no chemicals and no maintenance.
How? - By using the quantum mechanic principals of electron movement and doping, they create powerful catalysts with highly activated surfaces; which makes the catalyst beads form a positive electric field. By virtue of the interaction of microorganisms in water, they are the negatively charged ions. These positively charged beads, attract electrons/ negatively charged pollutants, whereas the positively charged water/ air ions pass straight over the catalyst. Currently targeted at caravan owners, their potential as a standalone system is very high
A Dutch company has developed a technology they call Crystalactor™ that purifies water by crystallization of the target contaminants and converts them into high-purity pellets. These pellets are then removed to be reused as the core metals or substances that they are. This may or may not have financial benefits depending on the use case/ extracted impurities. The core of this solution is a pellet reactor, partially filled with a suitable seed material such as sand or the target mineral.
Feed water is pumped in an upward direction at a superficial velocity of about 40-100 m/h, depending on the application. To crystallize the target elements, they use a reagent to react with and extract said elements to the point that the liquid solution is supersaturated with the contaminant. Being colloidal in nature, the pellets grow and move towards the reactor bottom by gravity. Every so often the largest fluidized pellets are discharged from the reactor and fresh seeding material is added. After the discharged pellets are dried, they can then be disposed of, or reused as the case may be.
Another California based innovator has built their own version of an Atmospheric Water Generator. Called the DewStand, it works by drawing ambient air in through a filter to separate dust particles and other viruses and bacteria. Then using a condensation system (that they do not share much about) they dehumidify the purified air and circulates it back into the room.
The condensed out dew is then collected and sterilized. This sterilized (likely distilled) water is not safe to drink, so it goes through another purification and then a mineralization stage (to make it safe to drink). In compact stand alone dispenser machines, this system looks like it needs electricity to run the process. While they have numerous sizes of devices to cater to industrial and commercial use cases - their residential system shown above can generate about 30 liters a day which is good for a family of 5 to drink comfortably.
In Other News
Despite efforts by the municipal agencies to clean the groundwater, there appears to still be dangerous levels of uranium in the water in Santa Cruz, New Mexico. Not good for a state in drought.
First the history refresher - trichloropropane (TCP) was present in pesticides manufactured by Dow Chemical Company from the 1950s-80s. They were used on crops throughout California and eventually seeped into nearby groundwater supplies. After finding this known carcinogenic (TCP) in their wells, the municipal authorities have gone back to the source to make them pay for the clean-up effort - Dow.
Back in Flint, Michigan, a water analytics company started out of Univ. of Michigan is using machine learning to predict the location of lead pipes and is building a lead service line inventory and will publish it this year as an open-sourced, nationwide map. Go Wolverines!
While coastal cities across the developing world consider adding desalination to their clean water mix, innovation leaders Israel are pumping desalinated water back into the Sea of Galilee (which is actually a lake) and thereby supplying neighboring impoverished Jordan with clean water!
Finally for this week, we wanted to talk about the fine folks at Uptime Water and what they do - they help keep rural drinking water flowing by designing and delivering results-based funding to maintain infrastructure in rural communities across the world. Rather than us talking about it, you can learn more form their video below.
That’s it for this week,
‘Til next week,
Peace!