We know that electricity can be created from sunlight and coal can be made from wood. But, now it is possible to get water from thin air on a scale that can make a real difference. Water is not a commodity yet, but it may soon be, so here is what may help when society hits that stumbling block. Continue reading “The Economic Times”
Hydroponics describes the growing of plants without soil. The plants grow in an inert medium, receiving all their nutrients through specially treated water by adding nutrients to it. Continue reading “Water from Air for Farms of the future.”
This is higher than the approximately 32.6 million billion gallons of fresh water (the rest locked up in ice-caps and glaciers) present on earth.
Mumbai-based WaterMaker (India) Pvt Ltd, Kolkata-based AKVO and Hyderabad-based Skywater Pvt Ltd, for instance, have set up atmospheric water generators (AWG), to condense the moisture in the atmosphere into water. The water is then filtered and purified through several filters, including carbon, and reverse osmosis, and UV sterilisation lights to get rid of impurities and heavy metals to produce pure drinking water.
While the concept is not new globally, particularly in the US, Europe and Middle East, the technology, which works well in coastal areas where humidity is high, is yet to achieve scale in India.
WaterMaker, which is among the first few Indian companies in this segment (commencing operations in 2005), manufacturing AWGs of capacities ranging from 120 litres to 5,000 litres a day, admits that the demand has been lukewarm in India.
Of its total sales of 3,000 units worldwide, only about 50 units have been sold in India till date.
“The scenario is changing slowly and steadily, with people becoming more conscious of the environment,” Meher Bhandara, Director, Waterworks, told BusinessLine. Companies, which were initially focusing on industrial units, are now looking to tap the household segment.
AKVO, a unit of Kolkata-based Trishan Exports Pvt Ltd, which recently entered market, has come up with a prototype for household segment with a model capable of producing 40 litres a day, priced between ₹30,000- 40,000 per unit, Navkaran Singh Bagga, director, AKVO, said.
A senior research scholar at the School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, cautions that the contaminats in atmospheric water could be high, particularly for a country like India, which has a dense population.
“Atmospheric water has to be treated properly as it is loaded with heavy metals such lead, mercury and cadmium among others coming from industrial activity, vehicles, etc,” he said.
This explains the high capital cost of owning such machines.
While an industrial AWG of 1,000 litres a day capacity could cost upwards of ₹1 lakh, a domestic unit with a 40 litres a day capacity costs between ₹30,000-40,000.
This apart, the average cost of electricity consumed for a 40 litres/day machine works out to be close to ₹56 a day or ₹1,680 a month.
A reverse osmosis machine costs in the range of ₹15,000–25,000 and entails an additional annual maintenance cost of ₹3,500-4,000. However, for every litre of pure water produced using RO technology, close to four litres are wasted.
The average cost of a mineral water dispenser works out to be ₹600-700 a month (considering a family of four consumes about 360 litres a month for drinking). The capital cost (one-time cost of acquiring a dispenser) is approximately ₹150.
The success of the AWGs will, therefore, depend upon the pricing and efficacy of the product.
India’s huge population makes it very vulnerable when it comes to water shortage and scarcity. Continue reading “Water Scarcity – India’s Silent Crisis”
AKVO heralds the dawn of a new era; presents India’s most cost efficient and indigenously manufactured Atmospheric Water Generator, producing purest form of water from thin air.
KOLKATA: City-based Trishan Exports Pvt. Ltd’s unit Akvo is planning to set up a manufacturing unit in Howrah district for generators capable of producing potable water for households directly from the atmosphere.
“We are planning to set up a manufacturing line in Howrah for household atmospheric water generators (AWGs). The capacity of the household model will be about 40 litres a day. Total outlay would be around Rs 40 crore,” said Navkaran Singh Bagga, director, Akvo.
The company said the 40-litre model is likely to be priced between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 per unit.
“We are already working on this project and hope to commence production from January-February 2018 near our existing plant meant for industrial size AWGs,” he said.
Currently, the company is producing industrial size AWGs with capacity ranging from 1,000 litres a day to 5,000 litres a day at the Howrah plant.
With the union government already planning adequate measures to address the depleting groundwater crisis and unavailability of clean drinking water, a product like Akvo AWGs are ideal for industrial demand, homes, public and private institutions, defence and a perfect model for natural disasters to aid human need and prevent contamination. The most abundant source of fresh water is the earth’s atmosphere.
Akvo AWG replicates the natural process of condensation by simulating the dew point, which allows it to make water continuously using plug and play method. Akvo AWG machines can generate water entirely depending on the level of humidity and atmospheric temperature which is ideal in Indian conditions for AWG machines to function to its optimum level.
Company officials claimed since power is the only input expense, the cost fo ..
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Soon, unit at Dhulagarh to produce water from air.
AKVO presents indigenously manufactured atmospheric water generator.
AKVO heralds the dawn of a new era; presents India’s most cost efficient and indigenously manufactured Atmospheric Water Generator, producing purest form of water from thin air.
Payojal ki kami dhur karne ke liye Akvo ne par ki naye technique.
