The market
The global market for water treatment and drinking water production represents one of the safest investments ever made. Water is an essential commodity for society and industry. The availability of clean water is increasingly under pressure as the population grows and per capita consumption continues to rise. Previously, water was free, a common good. In recent decades, water has become a profitable business with a steady cash flow and increasing costs for the consumer.
The global water and wastewater treatment market surpassed $200 billion in 2009. China leads this market with an estimated annual growth rate of 17%. Wastewater treatment is valued at $40 billion, with over 13,000 companies worldwide operating under long-term service contracts. Until recently, the water treatment model involved sedimentation and oxidation—that is, the settling of solids and the removal of air—followed by subsequent chemical treatment.
The annual volume of chemicals used to treat water in the United States exceeds 10 million tons. The increase in global water demand is accompanied by an increase in the demand for chemicals.
Bottled water consumption has increased by an average of 12% annually over the past decade, with sales estimated at $22 billion. One of the fastest-growing niches in this quest to expand the drinking water supply is the conversion of salt and grey water into potable water through reverse osmosis. Capital expenditures for this technology exceed $2.2 billion annually, but are expected to increase by another 50% over the next four years. Aguas de Barcelona (Spain), part of the GDF Suez group (France), is planning the largest such installation, investing over $1 billion, which will free Barcelona from a chronic water shortage.
Innovation
It is within the context of the global water market that we must assess the arrival of a simple yet extraordinary innovation: the vortex. The vortex has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of water treatment, reducing costs while creating local jobs. This natural phenomenon could one day replace chemicals and membranes, disrupting the current cash flow of seemingly secure traditional suppliers. The vortex technology platform is inspired by the observation that dirty water purifies itself, much like a flowing river. The continuous swirling motion forces air into and out of the water, both discouraging and stimulating beneficial microorganisms.
Two Swedish inventors, development engineer Curt Hallberg and his colleague Morten Oveson, translated their observations into a mathematical model and then created a simple device that mimics the movement of water in a vortex with predictable results. They continued their venture, founding Malmö-based Watreco AB. Watreco AB was named Sweden's GreenTech Company of the Year in 2009. This company is more than just green—it's changing the economic model of water. Recently, Curt also founded Vortex Innovations, a research group that collaborates to find "blue solutions.".
The power of the vortex lies in the predictability of the laws of physics, where air particles are drawn towards the center, from which air is then drawn in. The energy source for this process can simply be gravity, which is guaranteed to power the device 24 hours a day! There are no more chemicals, no more membranes, and energy consumption is minimal.
The first cash flow
The inventors envisioned a wide range of applications for their vortex device and sought the first obvious use in a local market, which was quickly identified as ice making. The handcrafted vortex generator yielded beneficial results: energy savings and crystal-clear ice. Water contains air, dissolved in micron-sized bubbles. The vortex removes this air, and because air acts as an insulator, the resulting air-free water freezes more quickly. The air-free ice is crystal clear and much less prone to cracking. When applied to ice hockey rinks, advertising signs under the ice remain visible all season, increasing advertising revenue. Because there is no air in the ice, aerobic bacteria that typically thrive in ice, such as E. coli and Salmonella, cannot survive. Most of the major Scandinavian ice rinks have since adopted this technology, resulting in a return on investment in a few months, not a few years.
The second market segment that generated cash flow for Watreco AB is golf courses. A golf course can require up to three million liters of water per day. To conserve water, surfactants are added so that it penetrates the turf more quickly and evaporates less. If the water has been pre-treated by the vortex machine, no chemicals are needed, reducing water requirements by 20 to 30 percent. This is a case where the vortex makes chemicals unnecessary. A third market segment is the removal of algae from stable bodies of water, including swimming pools, which are typically treated with chemicals such as chlorine.
The opportunity
Although hockey rinks and golf courses are niche markets, the experience gained in these sectors has prepared Curt Hallberg and his team for growing markets, including industrial water treatment and desalination. Test units of the vortex machine in the Canary Islands demonstrated that its saltwater treatment process allows for the removal of air, thereby eliminating the problem of biofilms. Biofilms grow on membranes, reducing their efficiency. This necessitates shutting down the reverse osmosis desalination plant every two weeks to chemically remove the biofilms. This increases maintenance costs (through an additional chemical requirement) and reduces plant efficiency (since downtime requires backup) as well as the additional capital needed for replacement membranes (since a membrane's lifespan is reduced). If there is no air in the water, aerobic bacteria are excluded. If a vortex is created but no chemicals are used, the membrane's lifespan increases. In fact, the energy cost of producing one cubic meter of drinking water could drop from 2.4 to 1.0 kilowatt-hour.
These are just a few of the vortex applications that have been realized, but more are expected to be revealed soon. However, what we know today confirms that vortex technology reduces operating costs, saves energy, eliminates chemicals, and generates a better return on existing investments. The challenge for traditional industries is that the successful integration of vortex technology into existing facilities requires a new core skill: fluid dynamics. It is now up to General Electric, Siemens, and Nitto Denko to break the mold. In the meantime, entrepreneurs worldwide can create a new competitive model that generates local jobs globally.
