Harnessing the power of nature at home
Abstract
The ever-increasing global trend of bottled mineral water consumption is correlated with less ecofriendly practices involved with bottle production, transportation, and disposal – all which use fossil fuels and contribute to global warming. Aqvita’s novel technology is here to change that by offering instant, tasty, mineral-infused water at home.
Unlike many premium bottled water brands, Aqvita infuses a liquid magnesium and bicarbonate concentrate into purified tap water to recreate a mineral formulation which closely mimics mineral water found in nature.
Aqvita technology generates instant, on-site, customizable mineral tap water from varying water inputs.
Minerals which are scientifically proven as both healthful and delicious tasting are rapidly dissolved into water via Aqvita’s catalyst based technology.
Combined with the Aqwaze digital mapping tool, Aqvita can also enable instant standardization and customization of variable tap water inputs to recreate premium mineral water for the food and beverage industries.
How Mineral Water is Formed
Aqvita is disrupting the premium bottled water industry offering instant, mineralized water on tap. Over the last decades, independent research is showing enhanced bottled mineral water consumption in many regions of the world. This phenomenon is evidenced by the growing number of bottled mineral water brands for sale. Unfortunately, buying mineral water causes increased bottled water use, where the escalating production, transportation, and use of plastic and its inappropriate disposal all have adverse effects on the natural environment.
Growing mineral water consumption may be due to the favorable taste of mineral water versus tap water. Tap water flavors and water qualities vary depending on the geographical region, water source, piping infrastructure, and purification protocols. Often tap water may have off-tastes derived from: elevated levels of the chlorine used for purification; plastic (or polyvinyl chloride) flavors from the piping; or metallic tastes from residual zinc, iron, or manganese from plumbing fixtures. Some geographical regions may have tap water sourced from water bodies which give a salty taste due to the source’s elevated sodium and chloride levels. Some tap waters may have smells or tastes similar to “rotten-eggs” which is due to enhanced sulfates which remain in the tap water. Dangerously, incomplete water purification or sewage contamination can cause foul-smelling, salty, and off-tasting water. Therefore, globally, many populations suffer from a general mistrust in consuming tap water.
The refreshing, mineral-fortified, and sometimes sweet tastes of water from natural mineral springs are due to long residence times of rainwater which flow above and through various geological formations. In this time, nature effectively filters and mineralizes these waters with unique-tasting mineral profiles over months, years, and centuries. Generally, a mineral spring water will contain various types of salts and sulfur compounds. The composition, type, volume, and variety of minerals found in mineral water are dependent upon three natural phenomena.
Residence time and passage through certain locations such as ancient oceanic salt beds
The types of geological formations the water passed through
The presence or absence of naturally formed underground carbonic acid
Mineral waters which contain large varieties of minerals are the ones which have passed through more diverse sets of underground rocks. Waters which contain carbonic acid are more effective at leaching minerals from rock. Underground carbonic acid can be developed naturally through volcanic activity which rises up from the ground and permeates the deep underground water. When carbon dioxide is mixed with water it creates carbonic acid, a weak acid. “Sparkling” mineral water is made via the formation of carbonic acid by adding pressurized gases to the water such as carbon dioxide.
Aqvita’s Mineral Water Formation Technology
First, unlike many premium bottled water brands, Aqvita infuses a liquid magnesium and bicarbonate concentrate into purified water to recreate a mineral formulation which closely mimics mineral water found in nature. This technology contains a specialized micro-dosing apparatus which enables accurate dosing of minute amounts of liquid concentrate.
Aqvita Catalyst-Based Technology
Aqvita’s patent pending technology uses enzymes to speed up the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbonic acid in water. This in turn enables a faster dissolution of minerals into water. Aqvita’s technology consists of using carbonic anhydrase which catalyzes the reaction of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid. Carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme which is found ubiquitously in animals, plants, and microorganisms where it plays significant roles in physical and physiological processes which involve carbon dioxide. It has been shown to catalyze the interconversion of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate: A process that if directed promotes the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Therefore, upscaling organismal carbonic anhydrase catalytic activities is being researched as a tool for enhancing carbon sequestration. Aqvita uses immobilized carbonic anhydrase to enable instant dissolution of minerals into demineralized water instead of relying on slow-dissolving mineral powder solutions. Aqvita utilizes these enzymes to control the dissolution of rocks and increase mineral content in water.
Together with the liquid bicarbonate concentrate and the catalyst based technology, Aqvita outperforms competitors in terms of creating tasty mineral water with a mineral profile close to those waters found in nature with no chloride off-tastes.
Customizable Mineral Water Technology for Any Region or Industry
Several industrial scale water purification techniques include a demineralization step, especially when the source water is desalinated seawater or domestic city water. When removing minerals from the water it generally makes the water slightly acidic and therefore corrosive to piping. In addition, removing minerals from water is known to make the water less flavorful and potentially less pleasant to consume. Therefore, remineralizing desalinated or demineralized water is a common and crucial step in order to improve flavor and reduce the water acidity. This can be done via adding magnesium and calcium carbonates to the water, often done via adding fine mineral powders. However, due to the low dissolution rate of these minerals, this technique is a slow process which may take hours of stirring in order to reach desired magnesium and calcium concentrations in the water.
The ability to recreate favorite, tasty, mineral-infused water at home is a valuable toffering. In comparison to buying bottled mineral water, instant and customizable mineralization technology available at home is both better for the consumer’s pocket and for the environment. Aqvita’s patent-pending technology can filter and personalize tap water no matter the water quality type.
In addition, Aqvita has developed a digital mapping software, Aqwaze.com, in order to evaluate tap water quality at a local home or office. This enhances Aqvita’s ability to know the initial tap water quality for better mineral water personalization via allowing the consumer to control whether they would like to add or remove minerals. For example, the magnesium concentration in tap water across Belgium varies a lot. Not only do higher amounts of magnesium have effects on altering the water taste but enhanced dietary magnesium intake has been shown to potentially reduce the risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other maladies.
A row of refreshing lager, beer, cider and stout, in schooner glasses, with condensation, on a white table top and white background (A row of refreshing lager, beer, cider and stout, in schooner glasses, with condensation, on a white table top and white something
Differing mineral compounds found in tap water across Belgium affects the purification needs and tastes of the water used in the beer industry. The mineral compounds and ratios in the water used in brewing beer can affect the taste of the beer via the following ways. Specific mineral compounds and ratios alter the beer pH, which influences how the beer flavors are expressed on a palate; the sulfate-to-chloride ratio affects which tastes such as bitterness, malty, or hoppy flavors are accentuated; and it can cause off-flavors from chlorine or contaminants. Aqvita’s mineral water technology should be implemented in industries which rely on superior water quality and specific water mineral profiles such as beer. Instead of relying on varying water inputs, combining Aqvita’s technology with the Aqwaze digital mapping tool can enable standardized, customizable, favorable-tasting, clean, instant premium mineral water for the food and beverage industry.