A Central Kentucky h2o filtration and treatment facility is supporting to make a distinction in third-globe countries with moveable filtration technology to supply clean up ingesting h2o.
Sq.1 Systems, primarily based out of Nicholasville, is performing to provide a number of various versions and dimensions of programs which use chemical-cost-free methods to clean almost any form of water supply.
Made by Timm Finfrock, the corporation makes 3 techniques at the Nicholasville site which are bought by two humanitarian companies and are getting transported to Kenya.
“We are a for financial gain small business but we are producing an effect,” stated Joe Montgomery, the president and co-founder of the enterprise. “The simple fact that people’s lives will be manufactured much better and people’s life will be saved by this engineering, there is no question about it that our engineering could make a genuinely huge difference.”
The enterprise has despatched about 40 water filtration models to Africa with 35 extra methods procured by Renovate Africa and Drinking water for the Entire world. They hope to send out almost 600 in whole, and are operating to protected funding.
“The disappearing thoroughly clean water, which is happening, is the largest danger to human life,” Montgomery reported. “The lack of cleanse water is a enormous human challenge.”
Almost two billion men and women lack accessibility to securely managed ingesting drinking water at dwelling throughout the world, according to the U.S. Centers for Disorder Handle and Prevention. Of people, 1.2 billion folks have simple consuming drinking water services, which means men and women are drinking drinking water from an enhanced resource, presented selection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round journey, like lining up and waiting.
To assist beat this, Square1 Systems generates 3 unique purification devices, like moveable programs of distinct measurements which create wherever from 7,000 to 18,000 liters of h2o a day. That gives 1000’s of persons with cleanse drinking drinking water, in accordance to Montgomery.
“Our technologies, fairly frankly, we believe is a activity changer,” Montgomery claimed.
How does the h2o filtration perform?
Montgomery explained the 14-phase filtration method starts when drinking water arrives into the technique and goes via a pre-filter to get any huge organisms floating in the water. It then enters an Electro Micron Seperator Cell — a titanium tube with one more tube inside of which forces the water by means of the holes, and hits it with electrolysis.
This part splits the molecules. Then hydrogen right away turns into gas and any major features like guide or iron drop out of the answer.
This results in a chemical response of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl — aspects that eliminate any dwelling organisms which appear into speak to with germs and viruses.
“What takes place when it will come out of the mobile, is (the outcome) has lifeless or benign organisms and large metals living in it that have been produced out of the molecule framework. All of this takes place in seconds,” Montgomery reported. “This is form of the mystery sauce to our process.”
Drinking water then travels as a result of an further four-action filtration method to clear out everything produced. It also goes by means of an ultraviolet light chamber and ozone generator – a pure disinfectant. Last but not least, the drinking water goes through a charcoal filter.
“Basically what we are carrying out is using it via a series of filters and getting out all the matters we have freed up from this course of action,” Montgomery mentioned.
The company’s method has been EPA lab tested, demonstrating a 99.9% reduction in all micro-organic components and 75% to 95% reduction in most major metals and aspects from a single, 4-minute cure cycle, in accordance to Sq.1 Systems.
Each individual process is computer software managed and functions a cloud centered checking method, which Montgomery mentioned is one of a kind to their firm. This can help the organization keep track of operation, servicing and economic performance.
Montgomery explained the know-how can disinfect and sanitize h2o much more affordable and greater than extensively adopted solutions these kinds of as chemical cure and reverse osmosis. In addition, the scales to price create a substantial volume of clean up ingesting h2o in just a a lot scaled-down footprint than either chemical therapy or reverse osmosis.
When businesses these types of as Transform Africa and Drinking water for the Planet obtain these programs, they transport them to areas in Africa and established them up in commercial places where by bottled h2o is sold.
According to Montgomery, bottled h2o is a $9 billion market in Africa, with folks paying out everywhere from 80 cents to $1 for each liter for drinking water.
After the moveable filters are established up, water created is marketed for about 18 to 20 cents for each liter. Immediately after they fulfill their bottom line, what is remaining more than is about four cents per liter, which goes into the humanitarian mission and is offered absent for totally free.
“It is a commercial enterprise supporting a humanitarian mission,” Montgomery stated.
Dr. Rollan Roberts, founder of Renovate Africa, mentioned the group is effective immediately with African leaders to aid strategic and impactful investments and jobs that are intended to speed up the economic, technological, instructional, social and wellness care transformation of Africa.
“Access to clean drinking h2o is essential to this transformation and the recent lack of clear h2o on the African continent contributes enormously to the economic and social challenges expert every day by the African people today,” Roberts reported in a Sqaure1 Technologies presentation.
“After significant investigation of available methods, we have determined that Square1 Technologies has the best alternative for delivering sustainable, harmless, regionally created cleanse water.”
Dr. Danny Thomas, founder and CEO of H2o for the Globe, said Square1 Technology’s procedure was “the response to the problem.”
“I requested Dr. Finfrock to build me a program that could enable me save life and reverse that horrific statistic. The SQ1 technology that has been produced and is now staying deployed in Africa, will make that distinction and preserve lives,” Thomas said. “I look at myself to some degree an specialist in h2o cure systems and I can say with assurance, there is no technology on the world that compares to the SQ1 Drinking water Therapy and Purification Technology.”
Partnership endeavours are continuing to develop to other nations such as India and China, Montgomery mentioned. Their endeavours have also created an affect locally. For the duration of the Japanese Kentucky floods when a lot of ended up without having accessibility to ingesting h2o, a program was shipped to assistance with obtain.
Square1 is also functioning to companion with corporations in the bourbon distillery business with wastewater, and unexpected emergency management agencies to aid in long run disaster conditions.