The objective of the water treatment system report is to perform a landscape search for sustainable “water treatment systems”. The report also has information on commercially available water treatment solutions and market trends.
The report will cover an analysis of worldwide scientific references & products that can fit well.
- Recent technology & innovation trends in the water treatment system
- Market forces impacting water treatment
- Details of commercially available water treatment solutions
- Competitive Perspective
- Future Direction
Associated Problems With Water Treatment System
The water treatment system report sheds light on the associated problems, water treatment systems, treatment technologies, and application domains to better understand the trends and innovations. The major challenges faced by water treatment systems are discussed in this section. The quality of wastewater is tested before treatment. Some of the main parameters considered while testing are as follows:
- Taste & Odor of water: Without proper maintenance, treatment plants can smell foully. The obvious smell is that of sewage. Some other odours like the smell of rotten eggs from the hydrogen sulphide as well as a whiff of ammonia get accumulated.
- Cost: The installation cost of a water treatment plant can be seen as a disadvantage. However, once installed, up and running the costs are minimal and the life of the system will extend past that of a septic tank.
- TDS: The level of TDS (total dissolved solids) in drinking water affects the taste of the water. Higher levels of TDS can make the water bitter in taste, salty, foully or brackish.
- Hardness: Higher levels of magnesium and calcium result in hard water. This hard water gets collected in pipes. This will turn into the expensive replacement of pipes and also reduces the lifetime of home appliances.
- Chlorine level: High chlorine levels in drinking water can cause adverse health effects. Some of these effects occur due to the chlorine that tends to form trihalomethanes. Trihalomethanes (THMs), form when chlorine reacts with small organic particles found in water.
- Contaminants: Nitrate exposure to water can be dangerous, especially to infants as it can lead to methemoglobinemia or the “baby blue” disease. Baby Blue is a condition that decreases the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, creating bluish pigmentation.
Water Treatment Systems
The treatment system can be installed into a home appliance or can be a standalone solution with a water treatment capacity up to 150 litres/day. Following are the main parameters that will be considered during the analysis sustainability, TDS, hardness, chlorine level, cost & taste. The water treatment system report hereby discusses the various types depending upon the end goal and required outcome. Some of the essential parts of a water treatment system are:
- Stand-alone systems (Portable).
- Water treatment assembly
- Dispenser
- Integrated System
- IoT / Sensor-based systems.
Treatment Technologies
High TDS content results in various issues like the hardness of water, and higher levels of magnesium and calcium. To overcome such challenges, the advancement in the treatment technologies of water systems is rapidly growing. Some of the treatment technologies are as follows:
- Sustainable
- Conventional
- Hybrid
- Modern /Innovative
- Under Research on pilot scale studies
Application Domains
The experts of Signicent complied information in the water treatment system report by analyzing the advanced technologies and the different domains. Water treated using recent technologies has various applications such as:
- Water treatment capacity ≤150L/day
- Restaurant / Quick Services Restaurants
- Small Scale
- Household
- Water dispensers
Hybrid Systems for Water Treatment
The filtration method involves ultraviolet (UV) and nanofiltration (NF). Nanofiltration removes potential elements responsible for desalinating membranes by fouling and UV kills viruses and bacteria from the water. It offers several advantages such as requiring much less energy and NF does not waste as much water as an RO.
Another combination involves microfiltration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV). RO eliminates total dissolved solids or heavy metal impurities and UV, and MF reduces water wastage. It offers advantages like a multi-technology purification system, reduced water wastage, and safe and clean drinking water.
In some cases, the filtration method has Ultraviolet (UV) and Ultrafiltration (UF). UF and UV remove bacteria, viruses and even cysts from water. Also, UV light keeps purified water pure for longer durations. This helps in removing residual chlorine, herbicides, pesticides, weedicides, insecticides, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons with carcinogenic properties.
One of the Filtration methods involves coagulation and Ultrafiltration. Coagulation controls membrane fouling using polyaluminum chloride. Ultrafiltration separates dissolved molecules on the basis of size. The advantages include an increase in the flux rate, low capital and operation.
Sustainability Aspects
The water treatment system report analyses the sustainability aspects of treating wastewater to accomplish the sustainability goals.
- Water wastage: Purifier especially RO purifier dumps 3-4 litres of water for every litre of purified water. Systems or filtration methods which do not waste water or dump very small amounts of water are considered more sustainable.
- Low carbon emission: Low GHGs emissions or reduced carbon emissions are considered an environmentally friendly indicator.
- Reuse of wastewater: If water is dumped on the generation of pure water during the filtration the wastewater can be reused for other purposes like cleaning utensils is considered sustainable.
- Energy consumption: Certain water filtration assemblies require energy for water purification like reverse osmosis. A filtration system consuming no or less energy is efficient for water purification purposes.
- Recyclable filters: Although water filters are more eco-friendly than bottled water most of the filter cartridges are non-recyclable thus filter cartridges made from recycled plastic or are recyclable are considered good in terms of sustainability.
- Eco-friendly materials: Materials used for water filters are considered eco-friendly if they are easily biodegradable e.g. bamboo charcoal.
Technologies for Water Purification
Aquaporin Inside™ technology: The technology uses functional aquaporins channels or tetramers suitable for filtering water. The membrane consists of two permeable support layers separated by a lipid bilayer having functional aquaporin water. It offers the advantages of water purification without the use of electricity and drinking water purification with ease. This technology is developed by Aquatech, USA.
Automatic Variable Filtration (AVF) technology : This technology is used for wastewater treatment in which the upward flow of influent is cleaned by a downward flow of filter media. It offers the advantage of producing clean water by eliminating contaminants, requiring less power, independent of gravity for water to flow through the system. It is developed by R2O water technologies, process research ORTECH (PRO), and Eureka Forbes.
Water Dispensing Device with TDS Module
The water treatment system report hereby discusses the innovative approach to overcome the issue of TDS levels. Water output that has been purified using the reverse osmosis process has significant variation in the TDS levels from various sources of water over the lifetime of the water purifier. Thus maintaining a uniform TDS level is a challenge. To overcome the above-mentioned challenge, a water dispensing device for dispensing water with constant TDS comprising a feed water inlet, a reverse osmosis unit, a TDS sensor, an outlet for dispensing water and a control circuit.
Each year Signicent provides consultancy to hundreds of organizations to help transform their innovations to value.
Sustainable Water Treatment System
Foshan City Shunde District Bpsafe Environmental Protection Tech CO LTD has been an assignee. Total dissolved solids (TDS) i.e. the total amount of soluble solids in water is higher which influences the taste of purified water. This challenge could be resolved by having a water purifier that can adjust the TDS value of water.
Thus a water purifier which is capable of adjusting the TDS value of water is used to overcome the above-mentioned challenge. It comprises a water inlet, a purified water port, a straight-through water port, a water outlet, an ultrafiltration filter core component, a booster pump, a high-voltage switch, a front carbon rod filter core, an RO membrane filter core, a rear carbon rod filter core and a taste adjusting component.
Method
- It is a four-stage ultra purification assembly with a good purification effect and taste adjustment component.
- The taste adjusting component comprises an adjusting branch pipe, an adjusting valve and a TDS detector. One end of the regulating branch pipe is connected with the secondary filtering outlet, and the other end of the regulating branch pipe is connected with the quaternary filtering outlet.
- TDS in purified water is adjusted by mixing it with secondary filtered water having a higher TDS value.
- Pure water has a low TDS value thereby mixing it with secondary filtered water increases the total TDS value.
- The water purifier also includes a flushometer which is used for controlling the emission of produced wastewater from the RO membrane filter.
- The taste of the water can be adjusted by controlling the TDS value on the regulating valve.
3-in-1 Filter Technology
Water-to-Go Ltd with headquarters in England, UK has a product whose filter works instantly to protect against bacteria, parasites and microplastics. It reduces chemicals like chlorine and improves water taste.
Three technologies are used in the Water-to-Go filter which are mechanical filtration, electrical filtration and activated carbon. A very small pore size aids in stopping contaminants from passing through. And electrical filtration by a positive charge reduces pore size and attracts the contaminants like a magnet, trapping them inside the filter. Activated carbon helps reduce the contaminants whilst also eliminating bad tastes and odours.
The filter is ideal for hiking, camping, international travel and emergencies which allows to take non-salt water from a stream, river, or tap and filter it instantly.
SBM Water UK with headquarters in the United Kingdom has a product named SBM Osmopur Water Filter. The filter system uses reverse osmosis or microfiltration for the filtration of water. The unique filter process produces purified, mineralized, slightly alkaline and pleasantly soft-tasting water. The filter system has a compact design, and high performance.
Advantages
- Compact design
- BPA Free and environmentally friendly
- CE Certification
- Convenient
- Saves money Soft-tasting water
Grundfos Acquires Eurowater
Grundfos is the global water technology company known to provide pioneering solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges. It was established in the year 1945 in Denmark.
Eurowater offers water treatment solutions that provide safe drinking water, softened water, demineralized water, and ultrapure water. It was established in the year 1936 in Denmark.
Grundfos acquired Eurowater in October 2020, thereby significantly strengthening its value proposition within the water treatment business. The acquisition aligns closely with Grundfos’ strategy to strengthen its innovation leadership within water technology and supports the company’s purpose. Grundfos provides expertise in energy- and water-efficient solutions and systems for a wide range of applications, including water treatment for water utilities, industries and buildings.
Global Water Purifier Market
The global water purifiers market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 8.06% during 2020-2026 to reach USD 68.09 Billion by 2026. Growing health awareness, water-born diseases and poor water quality are the major driving factors. Lack of access and awareness in emerging markets are the restraints.
Trends That Will Shape The Future
Treatment of water has become very important in developed as well as developing countries to create a healthier, cleaner and safer environment. Factors that are contributing to the growth in water treatment are the presence of harmful chemicals discharged in water bodies like nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. There are several promising areas for innovation in water treatment systems in the upcoming future.
A few areas are listed below:
- Recyclable filter: Over 99 percent of filters are discarded without recycling which creates a burden on the environment. Reusing the filters will be an important factor in water filtration.
- Hybrid Filtration: Hybrid filtration systems combine a nonwoven, absorbent or inorganic material like activated carbon.
- Smart Filters: More intelligent filters can also be formed with sensors that can be used to measure biological activity and growth and minimize the problems of biofouling in water.
- Reverse Osmosis: Controlling biological growth inside reverse osmosis modules remains a key challenge to make the process more cost-effective and robust.
- Nanofibers: Nanotechnology is likely the biggest emerging technology that will impact the filtration industry. Nanofibers can be used to drive downscale and enhance filtration selectivity.