The world is heading toward acute water scarcity in the coming years, and we’re far from ready to tackle it. Today’s governments face significant challenges in water purification for burgeoning urban populations and water generation for marginalized communities. New technological innovations are the way forward to solve these challenges.
Current State of Water Generation and Water Purification Industries
According to UNICEF, half the world’s population could face water scarcity by 2025, while the World Bank predicts that water demand will see a 30% rise by 2050. Frost & Sullivan finds the key factors that will trigger water crises are climate change, rapid industrialization, population bursts, and contaminations. In response, companies and municipalities can address the challenges head-on by focusing on sustainable energy solutions, out-of-the-box business models, and efficient workflows. In that regard, atmospheric water generation (AWG), solar-powered water generation, filtration-based water purification, and nano-material-based water purification systems will play more prominent roles. However, today’s solutions must embrace the affordability and efficiency required for mass deployment, and an apathetic attitude towards sustainable practices makes the situations more complicated.
Key Technologies in Water Generation and Water Purification
The current water generation processes use either solar power hydro panels, liquid desiccants, and heat exchangers to condense the humidity from ambient air or nanotechnology to absorb ambient air. The success of these systems relies on their ability to perform in low-humidity regions and without nonrenewable energy sources, water production volume, simplicity of design, and scalability.
If the AWG systems improve on the dependencies, they can be a compelling solution for water-scarce regions. AWG technologies are cost-effective in the long run, and as autonomous machines, they carry little operating expenses, making them ideal for remote, off-grid lifestyles and industrial use cases.
Water generation and water purification technologies are crucial in supporting growing municipalities. People need consumable treated water to be free from all contaminants, including chemicals and microorganisms. Solutions include filtration techniques such as corn cob membrane filtration, automatic variable filtration (AVF), forward osmosis to rid water of contaminations, and catalysis processes that use catalysts to remove contaminants. The impacts of these techniques rely on backwash maintenance, contaminant removal efficiency, speed, application diversity, and energy consumption. By diversifying water purification use cases across residential and industrial customers and addressing the removal efficiency, these processes can go mainstream very soon.
Key Innovations in Water Generation and Water Purification
Many companies are researching and introducing innovative applications based on the foundational technologies of water generation and purification. SOURCE, a US hydro panel company, uses solar-powered panels to pull air into desiccant technology that absorbs water molecules that then condense into water. Watergen, based in Israel, uses heat exchanger technology to generate water. Once the air is drawn into the machine and purified by a dust filter, it goes to the heat exchanger, where it reaches its dew point to extract water. The water then goes through multiple filtrations and UV lamp treatments to keep it pure. Drupps uses a proprietary liquid desiccant material to absorb the humid air and make it go through numerous filters to eliminate impurities. Canada-based AWN Nanotech uses an innovative nanomaterial consisting of pores to move air within while the carbon nanotubes transform the air into clear water.
On the water purification front, Corncob, Inc. has discovered the effectiveness of corn cobs in catching contaminants and purifying the water. Sun-dried cobs are often cut into small pieces or powdered to create a purifying layer, making it both a scalable and robust solution. India’s Eureka Forbes uses AVF technology and a proprietary media bed to rid water of impurities in multiple stages. Puralytics uses advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to make catalysts react with the UV light, triggering oxygen that removes water contaminants. UK-based Modern Water utilizes a low-energy forward osmosis process consisting of feedwater transformation and regeneration.
Growth Opportunities in Water Generation and Water Purification
The technologies and innovative applications for water generation and purification have immense growth potential. However, unlike existing energy-intensive solutions, AWG systems must be streamlined in water-scarce regions, and hydro panels must be encouraged. Since many water-scarce areas are also economically weaker, governments must increase their involvement and implement incentives to expedite deployment. In recent years, the US and Chinese governments have started investing in AWG and purification programs.
For sustainable development, communities can achieve shared goals by encouraging R&D collaborations between water generation and purification companies. The Watergen-Baynunah partnership, World Bank’s Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP) with the Dominican Republic, and Toray Industries-Chinese Water Affairs Group-ORIX Corporation partnerships are steps in the right direction.
Conclusion
Avoiding impending water scarcity is a major challenge, and current solutions alone cannot help us. Only by investing in collaborative research and government assistance can we achieve the required efficiency and refinement for the mass adoption of water generation and purification solutions.
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