The Netherlands: Water becomes soap

Tap water can be activated by electricity so that it becomes a cleaning product without the addition of chemical substances: this is ech2o, an innovation in cleaning technology presented by Tennant. It is just as effective as, or even better than chemical cleaning products, but has neither a negative impact on the environment nor the health risks associated with the life cycle of production, packaging, use, and treatment of waste materials.

"In modifying the properties of ordinary tap water, ech2o works so that it eliminates practically all the negative effects of cleaning on the environment," explains Chris Killingstad, CEO of Tennant. The system works by liberating a large quantity of energy in the water molecules, thanks to a module conceived by Tennant. Inside this module, tap water is transformed in two stages to become a cleaning product.   

In the first stage, the water goes through an electric screen and an oxygenation process, thus forming micro-bubbles with a very high oxygen content. In the second stage, this oxygenated water is passed into a cell where it receives an electric charge. At the end, the water contains both acid and alkali, with detergent properties, which retransform into ordinary water after 45 seconds. All that remains is dirty water which can be transformed back into tap water.

A similar technology is also used in niche applications in the food industry, purification and medical equipment. Tennant is the first company to launch this technique in the area of professional cleaning: from March 2008 some floor-cleaning machines will be equipped with the ech2o system.