The market
Although our planet seems with a volume of around 1.4 billion cubic kilometers of water, 97 % are salt water, 2 % are frozen in the form of glaciers and only 1 % are available as drinking water . It is therefore imperative to recycle our wastewater. It is estimated that on the global scale, only 14 % of all wastewater is treated. In Latin America and Africa, less than 2 % of wastewater is purified. If we are based on the figure that global demand for water treatment products should reach $ 59 billion by 2013, the potential could amount to $ 420 billion. In India, urbanization feeds the demand for new water treatment systems and services with an annual rate of 10-12 % and in China, growth reaches 17 %.
The world's population will increase from 7 billion people today to around 10 billion in 2050. Three -quarters of the world's citizens will live in cities. Concretely, we may have to build a new city every day for each slice of +200,000 inhabitants over the next 40 years. Drinking water supply will be put to the test, which will require massive investments in water treatment factories. Governments normally prefer to invest in drinking water supply, with five times more funds than wastewater treatment. This imbalance explains practically why two million people die each year from avoidable diseases transmitted by untreated water.
Studies from the World Bank demonstrate - to many surprise - that fecal pollution is getting worse as countries get richer (and sanitation systems are aging). The sewer network of most urban areas deteriorates and must be rehabilitated or renovated. About 30 % of all wastewater in Sweden simply do not reach the purification stations and contaminate groundwater by viruses and chemicals. About 17 % of the German public sewer network must be rebuilt, which represents 76,000 kilometers.
Canada has calculated that its waste treatment and wastewater treatment infrastructure will require additional investments of $ 80 billion in the next 15 years simply to meet its growing needs, connect around 12 million citizens to sewers and replace disused installations. Canada needs an additional 27,000 kilometers of piping at a cost of $ 300 per meter to connect the areas? not connected. The cost of installing sewers and water treatment stations in urban and peri -urban areas costs $ 1,000 per capita in the third world, and up to $ 8,000 in industrialized countries. During this period of excessive public deficits, it is difficult to imagine that politicians will have the funds necessary to invest in public health in such a degree.
Innovation
Strict health regulations and tight government budgets guide innovations to investments that guarantee lower operating expenses. Non -chemical solutions are therefore more and more privileged. These costs already represent 60 % of the investment and operating costs of water treatment systems. This includes ultraviolet disinfection, membrane filtration and ozonation. However, the advent of increased water recycling creates new opportunities for chemical industries, because recycled water is more prone to bacterial contamination than fresh water. The cheapest chemical option is chlorine, but installation operators are looking for less toxic spare solutions.
Bertil Eriksson of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, studied water and air flows through buildings and designed a simple network of pipes, controlled by valves, which allows the treatment of all waters in each building without needing septic pits. Its complete system treats all waste from the kitchen, shower and toilet thanks to a combination of ventilation systems, heat recovery, water purification and drainage. The objective is to eliminate the risk of contamination, while reducing municipal investment spending and preserving the environment, including groundwater. This integrated system is the subject of a series of patents that constitute the framework of "Splitbox" technology.
While the simplified system costs around $ 25,000 for a single -family home, it offers multiple advantages, as are natural systems. First of all, there is a minimum need for pipes, pipe installers and plumbers, saving construction. Second, the SplitBox recovers the energy of drying, hot domestic wastewater and the ventilation of the house. Third, water drains in the floor also serve as ventilation ducts to channel excess humidity (bathroom) to too low humidity (bedroom). Fourth, faeces and paper materials are treated in a special drying system, where it is mixed with organic kitchen waste. Finally, nutrients, in particular potassium extracted from urine by a combined precipitation/absorption process followed by oxidation of wastewater, leave behind pure water. The dry substance, free from bacteria and viruses, can be sold on the market as fertilizer. This is managed by a 2x1x2 meter control unit for a family home.
The first cash flow
Mr. Eriksson and his team then proved the economic viability of this integrated unit managing water, humidity, energy and health in family homes in northern Sweden. He created the company Splitvision AB to market his invention. Quickly, he received orders from apartment buildings, the original conceptions of which he adapts to modular cabinets, with a treatment capacity adapted to the needs of the occupants. The most important thing concerns all waste from water for 42 households.
The opportunity
While savings in infrastructure costs are compensated by the investment in the processing box piloted by valves via a simple network of sensors, real savings are in terms of the elimination of the septic pit, the network of pipes and wastewater treatment plants. This saves capital expenses at home and the municipality, while eliminating the need for continuous maintenance and the excessive use of chemicals. Municipal governments may no longer need to borrow, increase taxes and manage something that is the least pleasant work of everyone: treating the waste from others. A preliminary analysis said that Timphu, the capital of Bhutan, could save up to $ 140 million in investments if houses, apartments and offices adopted this technology.
Human establishments are not the only ones to fight against excess of raw and not treated waste. Boat and pig farms are faced with the same problem, often more acute. The Splitvision AB team channeled its know-how in the treatment of animal manure by means of a simple Splitbox- Agri which is part of a 40-foot container, replacing the large external storage reservoirs which are an important source air pollution. The system reduces transport costs by 90 %, eliminates the risk of groundwater contamination and provides quality water for irrigation and a dry fertilizer with proven commercial value. The SplitBox offers an innovative business model, eliminating massive investments and unpleasant jobs, thus releasing funds that could be redirected to more urgent needs, and more pleasant professions.
