While water purifier manufacturers might be expecting a reversal in the ban on products using reverse osmosis (RO), Kent RO has launched a new purifier using ‘zero water wastage technology’ that helps recycle the residue water in the way that not even a single drop is wasted, claims the company.
Through this technology, “the discarded water from RO can go back in the overhead tank from where the raw water was drawn. The upgraded version of the Kent RO purifier has the capacity to pump back the rejected water up to 10 storey buildings,” according to the company.
When asked about if this process will deteriorate the water quality in the tank, Mahesh Gupta, chairman, Kent RO Systems Ltd, said, “Addition of the discarded water during the purification will not deteriorate the water quality. There will be no wastage of water as used to happen earlier and minerals content will also be maintained by the use of the technology.”
Conventional RO (a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles) water purifiers require 40 litres of raw water to produce 10 litres of pure and drinkable water, he said, adding “you can imagine how much water is being wasted every day. Realizing this problem and technology lag in the country, Kent RO has come up with this innovative technology.”
Moreover, consumers have two options — they can either replace their existing purifiers with the new ones or simply modify the existing products by spending a little amount, said Gupta.
“Consumers will have to pay Rs 1,500 for modifying their existing purifiers, which will enable us to convert all existing Kent ROs to no-waste purifiers”, while the price of new Kent RO purifier remains almost the same, he informed. Meanwhile, Eko Pro Engineers, a Ghaziabad-based firm, has confirmed that all the claims made by Kent RO to be correct.
Water shortage
Water shortage has been a major concern in the country, especially in rain-deficient parts such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The situation gets worse during the summer season.
According to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), purifiers lead to the wastage of almost 70-80 per cent water during the purification process and asked RO manufacturers to ensure recovery of about 75 per cent of the water.
RO ban
The NGT had asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests to make rules for the use of RO filters and banned the use of RO purifiers in locations where total dissolved solids was low. The NGT, however in November, found that its order has not been implemented yet.
Following this, the Water Quality India Association moved to the Supreme Court to seek a stay on the RO ban. However, the apex court refused to give a stay.