Category: Green Water


After the Nano, TATA releases the cheapest water purifier in the world at Rs.1000.

Filed under: Green Corporations, Green Technology, Green Water, Greening India by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
December 10, 2009

Pure water is one of the world’s most precious natural resources. With much of India’s population denied access to safe drinking water, the delivery of safe, convenient and affordable water purification is one of the biggest social and technological challenges in the country today.

Responding to this challenge, Tata Chemicals today unveils ‘Tata Swach’ – a unique and innovative water purifier. Requiring no energy or running water to operate, an early version of the product first saw the light of day as part of the Tsunami relief efforts. Today, the replaceable filter-based product, which is entirely portable and based on low-cost natural ingredients, delivers safe drinking water at a new market benchmark of Rs30 per month for a family of five.

Speaking at the launch, Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “Safe drinking water is the most basic of human needs. The social cost of water contamination is already enormous and increases every year. Although today’s announcement is about giving millions more people affordable access to safe water, it is an important step in the long-term strategy to find a solution to provide affordable access to safe water for all.”

Tata Swach is the result of years of collaboration between several Tata companies, including TCS, Tata Chemicals and Titan Industries. Based on an innovative concept developed by the TCS Innovation Labs – TRDDC, the Swach technology combines low-cost ingredients such as rice husk ash with superior nanotechnology. The efficiency of the product has been rigorously tested to meet internationally accepted water purification standards.

Water-borne disease is the single greatest threat to global health, with diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid, cholera, polio, and gastroenteritis spread by contaminated water. According to a 2007 United Nations report, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases. In India, such diseases cause more than 1.5 times the deaths caused by Aids and double the deaths caused by road accidents.

via Tata group | Tata Chemicals | Media releases | Tata Chemicals launches ‘Tata Swach’.

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Walk This Way – This is not the way to sell the idea of saving water

Filed under: Green Water by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
November 23, 2009

This is the kind of craziness that will never help. If you just look at things from the point of view of saving water and forgetting about other aspects of life then you come out with this kind of crazy thinking.

To save water we need to look at the world at a deeper level and not just from a consumption point of view.

 

 

GOOD Transparency – Walk This Way.

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The waterpolitics Of The Tibetan Plateau and the future of half the world’s population

Filed under: Green Water, Greening India by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
August 24, 2009

In Asia, the availability of water has become a key issue that could determine whether the region is characterized by cooperation or interstate and international conflict in the years to come.

Undoubtedly, China holds the key to the above question as it controls the Tibetan plateau. The plateau is home to enormous glaciers and the world’s greatest river systems. These rivers act as a ridge-rope for the world’s two most populous countries, China and India, and also to Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia, Pakistan, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, which combined are home to 47 percent of the global population.

via The Geopolitics Of The Tibetan Plateau | Sramana Mitra on Strategy.

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What should Akash Ganga’s Strategy be?

Filed under: Green Strategy, Green Technology, Green Water, Greening India by Suhit Anantula — 2 Comments
June 10, 2009

Akash Ganga is a company based in India which has developed a product to create clean drinking water from air. I blogged about the founder earlier .

Akash Ganga in Hindi translates to the “the perrenial river Ganga from the sky”. Very apt.

I admire the intention behind it and I think it is a great product innovation coming out of India. Now that they have launched a new website with their productI want to figure out their strategy.

Their website and news articles suggest that they are going for the home and office market as a fresh water solution. Is this the right strategy?

It will be interesting to check out the economics.

First, they provide a comparison with reverse osmosis. I think number 4 should be the other way round.

S. No
Criteria
RO
AME
1
Durability
Less, because with increasing use, the ground water TDS load on the RO plant increases, till the membranes break-down.
More, because it does not use ground water, but uses only air. Much longer life than RO plants.
2
Effectiveness in ensuring purity of water
Yes, but depends upon frequent changes of filter membranes. Over time its effectiveness declines.
Yes, and remains so for ever, because its effectiveness is independent of any component of the machine. Effectiveness never declines.
3
Effluent water
Yes, and effluent ratio keeps rising as ground water level is depleted
None at all
4
Short run costs per liter of potable water
Lower. Operating costs are lower as are capital costs
Higher on both counts.
5
Long run costs per liter of potable water
Possibly very high. In the long run (i.e. after 6 years) the RO plant might have to be abandoned due to excessive TDS in ground water leading to frequent collapse of membranes.
Very low, because atmospheric water quality is always very high and stable.
6
Environmental resource depletion
Certainly very high. RO often uses up nearly 2.5 liters of ground water to obtain 1.0 liter of potable water. High rate of depletion of ground water.
None at all. Generation of water vapor in the atmosphere is the only perennial source of water.
7
Microbial presence
Yes if membranes are inefficient; water might need UV treatment
Nil

This may not be the right comparison as they both have their uses. Also, most reverse osmosis plants function from sea water and not ground water.

The market for Akash Ganga is different and it works only under some specific circumstances in terms of high humidity, temparature and continous energy.

Their basic product – AS-650 – 40 liters/day – requires a relative humidity of 80% and temparature of 90 Faranheit consuming 750 watts of power per hour and takes 24hrs to produce 40 litres.

Let’s calculate the cost of running this product.

Appliance
 Watts x Hours per Day x Days per Year ÷ Convert to kWh KwH Per Litre kWh Rate = Cost per Litre
Akash Ganga 750 x 24 x 1 ÷ 1,000 40/18=2.22 Rs 5.5 = Rs. 12.2

It takes about 2.22kwH to generate 1 litre of water and costs about Rs12.2 a litre. Average cost of electricty comes from here .

If we add the capital cost and running costs, it may not be an economical alternative in a home.

Next, what about the right conditions for maximum efficiency. It works I think at 50% relative humidity too but provides the maximum output at 80%.

If we look at today’s map of India there are not many places where this product will provide the maximum efficiency.

(Source: Intellicast )

To really take this forward they need to predict the relative humidity in the various cities in India. A journal article like “Prediction of monthly-mean hourly relative humidity, ambient temperature, and wind velocity for India” could be a good start.

Then combined with temperature averages we can narrow down to a possible list of places.

For Bombay these are the following averages for decades.

Unit Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average temperature
over 21 years		 °F 80 75 77 80 84 86 84 82 82 82 84 80 78
Average high temperature
over 21 years		 °F 87 84 86 89 89 91 87 84 84 86 89 89 87
Average morning relative humidity
over 19 years		 % 82 75 73 79 84 81 84 88 89 91 86 75 73
Average evening relative humidity
over 18 years		 % 58 42 41 48 57 61 72 80 81 74 58 44 39

Add to this the availability of power. There is a 14% shortage of power in India in general due to subsidized power for farmers.

Once locations are filtered through this constraints then market scenarios need to be looked at.

Are homes the best place for this?

I think there needs to be a better strategy in place if this product needs to succeed.

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Jail for Polluting Yamuna

Filed under: Green Waste, Green Water, Greening India by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
November 26, 2008

In a case of judicial activisim the ex-CEO and Board officials of the Delhi Jal Board (Delhi Water Board) have been sentenced to a 2 day jail sentence for not stopping the sewage flow into the storm water drain.

Justice Dhingra while sentencing the officials said “It is only in this country that citizens have to knock at the doors of court in order to get reliefs of the kind sought here. It only shows with what contempt normal citizens of this country are dealt with by authorities and essential facilities like sewage lines are not maintained by DJB despite repeated complaints of the citizen.”

This is extraordinary in two ways. One, that a judge has taken this strong stance and two, that it requires judiciary to get things done.

Of the three brances of a civil society (lesgislative, political and judiciary), it has always been the judiciary which has to step into the role of legislation. This is unfortunate but when the normal process of democracy fails then somebody needs to take charge.

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Water Trading anyone?

Filed under: Green Water by Suhit Anantula — 1 Comment
May 20, 2008
Green business: Carbon works, why not water? | Citywire
Under a cap and trade system, water polluters could have the option to reduce pollution in their own operations or buy water pollution-control or water quality credits from another source at a lower cost than if they undertook the pollution control themselves.

In theory a cap and trade system would achieve the same overall water-quality improvement at a lower overall cost. It would also allow water treatment technology transfer if integrated into a larger global market system.

And such programmes don’t have to be limited to water-quality problems, either. Industries, farmers or cities could also conceivably buy and sell credits for water use, driving down the cost of water conservation and efficiency programmes.
[...]
The holistic effect is to add to the sustainability of the commodity. The general trend in the price of water rights to abstract also has seen some incremental growth. A record was recently achieved in the US of close to $30,000 for an acre foot per year (325,851 US gallons or 1,233.5 kl (or m³) per year) – not bad considering similar rights were trading at $500 five years ago.

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Allianz RCM Global Water Fund

Filed under: Green Finance, Green Water by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
April 8, 2008

One of the clean tech areas of the future is Water. Allianz has launched a new fund which will target this area across the world.

“Less than 0.007% of all the water in the world is potable, or safe for consumption,1 yet the demand for fresh water is steadily increasing,” said Bozena Jankowska, portfolio manager of the Allianz RCM Global Water Fund. “Solving this global water challenge demands a long-term effort from institutions around the world which we believe will require significant investment from the private sector.”

The Fund will seek long-term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of companies that are substantially engaged in water-related activities that relate to the quality or availability of or demand for potable and non-potable water. The following are included among these activities:

  • Water production, storage, transport and distribution;
  • Water supply-enhancing or water demand-reducing technologies and materials;
  • Water planning, control and research;
  • Water conditioning, such as filtering, desalination, disinfection and purification;
  • Sewage and liquid waste treatment; and
  • Water delivery-related equipment and technology, consulting or engineering services relating to any of the above-mentioned activities.
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BioteQ

Filed under: Green Technology, Green Water by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
April 2, 2008

BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc., a waste water treatment company focussing on mines has won an Environmental excellence award from Globe Foundation.

BioteQ was honoured for the water-treatment plants it designs and operates at mines around the world, using a proprietary system that removes acid and heavy metals from runoff water leeching from mine sites – a major environmental headache for mining companies for decades.
[...]
“[The companies] outsource the whole water-treatment issue to us, we manage the water, we build the plant and run it, and generally we create a financially sustainable treatment process, in that the sale of metals from the process sustains the treatment plant …”

The amount of cleaned water runs to billions of litres. For example, BioTeq cleaned 920 million litres of acid-waste water from Xstrata’s Raglan nickel-copper mine in northern Quebec last year. Mr. Marchant says the processed water was safe enough to be used in the sensitive arctic ecosystem of Nunavik – something unthinkable in the past.
[...]
Currently, the method most mining companies still use to stop acid water from leeching into the ecosystem involves catching the tainted water with lime, resulting in a toxic sludge that must be carefully stored. The expense is considerable – as is the waste, notes Mr. Marchant.
[...]
In the BioteQ system, a mixture of sulphur-loving bacteria neutralizes the acid in the water, leaving behind the heavy metals that come away in the mining process, such as copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt and selenium. These metals can then be sold on the market.

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Profiting From China’s Green-Tech Movement

Filed under: Climate Change, Green Technology, Green Water, Greening BRICs by Suhit Anantula — Leave a comment
December 18, 2007

Money Morning investigates the green tech opportunities flowing from the problems in China.

Money isn’t the only thing flowing through China right now. Pollution has filled the streets, contaminated the rivers and clouded the skies.

Half of China’s population – 600 people to 700 million people – drinks water contaminated by human and animal waste. In fact, 1 billion tons of untreated sewage is dumped into the Yangtze River each year. And, according to a recent study conducted by the World Bank, air pollution causes more than 400,000 premature deaths every year.

With the health of its population fading and global opposition to carbon emissions rising, China has no choice but to address its pollution epidemic. And thanks to a blistering economy and a stockpile of cash reserves, throngs of investors are eager to help Beijing wash away its troubles.
[...]
According to a Cleantech Network report and industry insiders attending the clean energy forum in Beijing, water treatment and energy efficiency projects boast the greatest investment potential.
[...]
Both Guo and Liu agree that the greatest obstacle to solving the nation’s water crisis is economics.

“Artificially low water prices, as well as lack of preferential policies from the central government, mean that it doesn’t make economic sense for companies to adopt costly technologies to improve water usage efficiency and re-utilize wasted water at the moment,” Guo told InterFax.
[...]
The second biggest environmental concern for China is the nation’s suffocating air pollution. So far, China has relied heavily on coal-fired power plants to power its rapid industrial expansion.

Between 2003 and 2006, worldwide coal consumption increased as much as it did in the 23 years prior. China was responsible for 90% of that increase. China used 2.5 billion tons of coal in 2006, more than the next three highest-consuming nations combined. The country is home to more than 2,000 coal-fired power plants, and a new one goes into operation every week.
[...]
The nation’s climate-change program has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 950 million tons over the next two years. Last week, at the U.N. climate conference in Bali, Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China’s investment in renewable energy would reach $20 billion this year.

“China is already the world’s factory,” Yang Ailun, climate change program manager at Greenpeace China, told Bloomberg News. “It could be and should be the manufacturing hub of clean technology for the world as well.”
[...]
China-based manufacturers of alternative energy technologies are already taking off in a big way. Companies specializing in alternative energy have seen their stock prices soar. Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) has seen its stock price skyrocket by 137% this year. Solarfun Power Holdings Co. (SOLF) has jumped 125%.

Vcs are already there. Large companies like GE are building desalination plants. Suntech’s technology was developed in Australia. More entrepreneurs are looking to China for growth in this area. For individual investors, ETFs can be a possibility. However, figuring out the right value at this time is tough. And there is always the need for people who can understand China and the green tech sector!

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Akash Ganga – Water from thin air

Filed under: Green Innovation, Green Water, Greening India by Suhit Anantula — 11 Comments
December 12, 2007

Arun Natarajan points to the profile of S. Sivakumar, founder of Akash Ganga in The Mint.

All his life, Sivakumar, who looks an unlikely capitalist in his casual trousers, shirt, and bushy white moustache, has been interested in understanding what makes some people rich, and others poor.

At the Delhi School of Economics, where he completed his doctorate, his thesis was on this subject. He studied 200 families across three generations in rural India. His conclusion: “Affluence is a matter of chance.”

That discovery changed his political viewpoint…His interest in understanding the genesis of wealth did not…he was convinced that water, or the absence of it, held the key.

The idea for Akash Ganga came to Sivakumar in 2004, mainly as an offshoot of his research…The scientific basis behind Sivakumar’s air-to-water conversion is the heat exchange process: In this case, it involves sucking in air from the atmosphere and blowing it over cold gas resulting in the creation of water (in much the same way, condensate, or water, forms on the outside of the windows of a heated room in winter or an air-conditioned room in summer).

To Sivakumar, Akash Ganga, named after the tributary of the Ganga that provides water to the heavens in Hindu mythology, is more than a company; it is a mission. “I am doing this under a business format because there is no other format to take it to the people,” he says.
[...]
By mid-2004, Sivakumar and his team worked out how to make water from air. AGL invested in a modest 3,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility and started rolling out its products. Priced between Rs9,200 (USD 235) (for an 8-litre version) to Rs42,500 (USD 1,087) (for a 120-litre one), the machines were powered by electricity, and sold through stores that sold consumer durables such as television sets, washing machines and refrigerators. The Akash Ganga machines produced a litre of water at an average cost of Rs0.80 a litre (USD 0.02c), but, surprisingly, found little success. The company was unable to sell the product as it lacked the resources to market the product on a larger scale.
[...]
Since the process of converting air to water results in a drop in temperature (one reason why some air conditioners leak water), AGI has pitched its products as a three-in-one as the company terms it: an airconditioner, water creator, and air cleanser.

The machine produces ISO standard water for drinking and the company has sold some 400 machines till now. Considering fresh water is a major decreasing resource in the entire world and particularly in India, this innovation has some good potential if the economics work out.

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