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Specifications of the household "Izumrud" devices If a family of 4-5 members consumes 20 liters of purified drinking water daily, (exclusive consumption of purified water), operational and economic features of some water purifying devices (home and imported) will be as follows: (see Table 4). Table 4 sums up the following data:
Cost of the device, US $;
Performance (Q), l/h;
Replaceable elements required;
Period during which a continuously working device produces a daily amount (20 liters) of purified water for one family (T20 =20:Q), hours;
Operation time before the cartridge or the whole device is replaced, when its service life is over, under the condition of full daily supply of the family with purified water (T0 = rated service life, l:20, days). In the brackets, interval (days) between cartridge washing (regeneration) sessions is indicated, if it is provided for technically.
When analyzing the data of Table 4, the following service requirements for water purifying devices are to be taken into account:
time spent for the production of a daily amount of purified water should be as short as possible, and the device is not to be continuously employed during operational period;
replacement of the cartridge or the whole device (or washing and regeneration of the device) must not be too frequent;
specific economic expenditure for purified water production should be minimal.
Models of the devices in Table 4 are arranged according to the cost of a complete set. Table 4. Comparative service and cost parameters of some household water purifiers
| Device |
Cost of the
device, US $ |
Q l/h |
Replaceable elements required
(their cost in US $) |
T20 hours |
T0 days |
| "Colibri" |
8 |
70 |
Yes |
0.3 |
25 |
| "Geyser" |
9 |
30 |
Yes |
0.67 |
250 (25) |
| "Barrier" |
12 |
8 |
Yes (8) |
2.5 |
25 |
| Brita |
25 |
15 |
Yes (6) |
1.3 |
7.5 |
| Instapure F-3CE |
28 |
170 |
Yes |
0.12 |
38 |
| Nerox |
40 |
0.83 |
Replaceable module |
24 |
125 |
| Aqualon |
16 |
8 |
Replaceable module |
3 - 3.5 |
250 |
| "Izumrud", modifications M,C,S,MF,KF |
90-300 |
50 - 60 |
No replaceable modules required |
0.3 - 0.4 |
1825
(5 years)
(10 - 200) |
| Nimbus 3 |
170 |
1 |
Yes (83) |
20 |
180-200 |
| Nimbus CS-2 |
390 |
1 |
Yes (90) |
20 |
180-200 |
| Instapure RO-100 |
650 |
0.8 |
Yes |
24 |
180-200 |
For some water purifiers the cost of a replaceable cartridge is not indicated. In some other cases its cost ranges from 23% to 67% of the cost of the whole device (from $6 to $90). The Brita device, whose rated service life for Moscow water is 150 liters, under the condition of complete daily supply of a family with purified water requires replacing the cartridge every 7-8 days, the total expenditure being $317. The Nerox module needs to be replaced 3 times a year, the total expenditure being $120. Similar expenditures when the "Barrier" filter is employed are about $130 a year, "Aqualon" - $23. Replacement of cartridges for the "Nimbus" device approximately twice a year costs about $160-180 (not taking into account the initial cost of the device). This is not so much if judged by the standards of affluent countries (in case of a water purifier's active operation during a year the cost of one liter of purified water is no higher than 20 cents), but absolutely unacceptable for a country, where average annual income hardly exceeds 100 USD. The most expensive model of the "Izumrud" device can treat, in about half an hour, the amount of water sufficient for satisfying daily requirements of a family consisting of several persons (near to 20 l/day). The device requires no extra service expenditures, provided it is operated properly. The cost of one liter of water purified by the "Izumrud" devices during the whole service period (5 years) is equal to some shares of a US cent. If counted in prices of bottle drinking water, the "Izumrud" devices recoup themselves in a few days.
| Production capacity of different modifications of the "Izumrud" devices, l/h |
| 40-60 |
200 |
500 |
1000 |
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