By Olamide Francis
A recent report by the United Nations indicates that three out of ten people lack access to safely managed drinking water while six in ten people lack access to safely managed sanitation facilities.
The challenges are more prevalent in the developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa, where lack of access to water for drinking and sanitation facilities may affect the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
A Nigerian company, Hoblot Nigeria Limited (HNL) has come up with a disruptive innovation technology to help the country mitigates the impact of perennial problem of unsafe water, and thus enables the Federal Government achieve the SGD on schedule.
Hoblot innovatively tackles the problem of water scarcity in Nigeria through Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) Technology which extracts water from humidity.
Mr. Chinenye Anyanwu, Managing Director of Hoblot Nigeria Limited, speaks to NatureNews.Africa about his company’s technology franchise on AWG and efforts to make clean water available in developing countries.
NatureNews: Can you, in layman’s terms, describe the mechanism behind your technology?
Anyanwu: Air contains humidity which is water vapor. Atmospheric water generators are machines that filter the air (to ensure it’s clean), condense that water vapor by cooling it down below the dew point, which is done in a condensation chamber made of food-grade materials and thanks to an optimized refrigeration circuit. Then water is treated with filtration, activated carbon, ultrafiltration, ultraviolet technology (to ensure no germs are present) and, finally, mineralization. This obtains high-quality drinking water at reduced energy consumption.
NatureNews: What is the benefit of your AWG technology over the metal-organic framework popular among scientists?
Anyanwu: Good question! The investor has a meeting about a R&D project on MOF we’re developing right now. Basically, refrigeration-based condensation is much cheaper and the quality of water produced is always high. MOF is still in the research phase to make it cost-competitive and check water quality.
NatureNews: Does your technology works the same way across diverse geography or customised for Africa’s climatic conditions?
Anyanwu: No. Water generated and its related energy cost depends on air temperature and humidity. We have done extensive and audited testing in the climate chamber to know this and it’s documented.
NatureNews: As scientists have agreed that a single technology isn’t best for all kinds of geography. How is Hoblot working to overcome the geography barrier?
Anyanwu: From our side, we ensure we’re the best technology by calculating a case study with the weather conditions of the location.
NatureNews: Do you see a future where AWG technology will be common in Nigerian homes? How?
Anyanwu: Yes, with low-cost domestic AWG is able to produce 20 liters per day.
NatureNews: What temperature and humidity condition is your technology based on to make water? How do you track the change in condition to enable the technology to work effectively?
Anyanwu: The higher the temperature and the relative humidity are, the more water is generated and the lower the cost per liter is. The lower limit is 5ºC and 10% RH.
All generators are documented as of the water produced as a function of air temperature and humidity. Generators have been tested in Climate Chamber and audited and certified by TÜV Rheinland to provide real generation of data as a function of air temperature and humidity.
NatureNews: How cheap is your solution considering the purchasing power of developing countries where you want to reach?
Anyanwu: It depends on the alternative. It’s competitive against bottled water but it’s not the same against tap water.
NatureNews: What is the warranty for your AWG technology?
Anyanwu: Product lifespan is between 15 and 20 years. There’s a basic warranty of one year that can be extended up to five years.
