3.

RAW MATERIAL STUDY OF BOTTLED WATER

The major raw material of the bottled water is raw water, and it has got a large dump of
underground water that qualifies and is suitable for the drinking fabricate of purified water with
very little further processing and adding minerals.

In general the major raw material and input that are needed to produce bottled water are:
1. Raw Water
2. Packing materials
3. Additives
4. Labels

3.1. Water Resources in Ethiopia

 Water Potential Areas

Water exists in Ethiopia in different forms, each of which may have multiple uses. There is
surface water which is stationery, as in lakes and ponds, running water in the form of rivers and
streams, and ground water in aquifers or mixed with soil. All the above forms of water are
available in abundance everywhere in the country. The exploitation of ground water even in the
most extreme dry areas along the border with Somalia and Djibouti is very common.

Finally, there are two sources of raw water supply in Ethiopia. These are ground water that
sourced from springs, rivers that bring into being from the ground in different forms and surface
water that originate in the lakes, ponds, rain water and others found on the surface that needs
special treatment for drinking.

 Ground water Potential in Ethiopia

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures
of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can
yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in
rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is
recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at
springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for
agricultural, municipal and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells.
The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called
groundwater hydrology.
Ethiopia has abundant surface and ground water resources potential of which groundwater has a
lion-share. Ground water potential of Ethiopia is estimated to be above 10 billion cubic meter
/year while only very little is explored and developed.

Most of the developed groundwater resources are mainly used for domestic and industrial water
supply. So far, only 20.4% of the Ethiopian landmass has been mapped at 1:250,000, 36.8% at
one million scales and the whole country at two million scales (Ethiopian Geological Survey).

Ground waters in unconsolidated aquifers are usually of excellent quality; being naturally
filtered. The water is normally clear, colorless, and free from microbial contamination and thus
requires minimal treatment. As a consequence of the slow travel times in the flat plains and due
to the long contact time with the sediment, the groundwater often contains significant quantities
of minerals in solution. This solute content varies and depends on the residence time of water in
the aquifer and the mineral composition of the aquifer itself as seen in the flood plains of the
alluvial aquifers in the Rift Valley.

High concentrations of fluoride are also common in most of the Rift Valley boreholes and
springs. The concentrations are above 1.5 parts per million (ppm) which is over the limits for
drinking water established by the World Health Organization.

In the urban centers, industrial effluents and leaky septic tanks are becoming a threat as
contaminants of ground water, which has repeatedly been manifested from hydro geological
investigations carried out in several major towns like Dire-Dawa, Jimma, and Dessie etc and
substantiated by the high concentrations of nitrates in these localities.

It is occurring in different parts of the country within different hydro geologic environment and
aquifer settings that is being partly developed, among others, for water supply purposes. It is
known that most of the water supply sources of the country are from groundwater and much
work is also expected in the future to satisfy the water supply coverage to over 90% of the
population of Ethiopia by the year 2012 from the existing coverage of about 52 %.( Ministry of
Water Resource).

The ground water bed with a dependable water supply varies in depth between 150m in the
Ethiopian highlands and 350m in the lowlands. In conclusion, there is plenty of ground water
available in the country for both domestic and possible export purposes by packing with bottle
and piping. Ground water is available everywhere in Ethiopia except those arid areas of the
country where clean water supply is unsatisfied especially rural part of the country most of the
time attacked by drought.

 Types of ground water

The ground water varieties are based on the origin it emerged from. According to the origin
there are three kinds of ground water.
Kinds of groundwater
1. Connate: - entrapped brackish water found in the open spaces in the rocks.
2. Juvenile: - water originating directly from magma.
3. Meteoric: - fresh circulating water in the open spaces in rocks and is the type we often refer
to as "the groundwater".

In addition there is also called ordinary ground water. Ordinary ground water only varies in
their physic-chemical composition of mineral substances. They are either available as hard
water with high contents of calcium and magnesium or as soft water with low contents. Water is
considered “hard” if it measures more than 120 parts calcium and magnesium per million liter
or 7.0 grains per gallon (website: http: www.sjwater.com/quality/hard.jsp).

Natural spring water, that is a type of bottled water, is a great choice for most peoples. This
water will have dissolved minerals, and tastes much better than other types of bottled water.
Especially in the highlands, spring water generally need little processing to make them portable
for consumers. Water may be treated with ultraviolet light to kill organisms in the water, and
may also be run through micron filtration, which removes particulate matter (such as fine sand,
silica, etc.).

Water is not usually carbonated (containing bubbles), however rarely, natural spring water may
bring into being naturally carbonated and endowed with mineral substances.

 Surface water

Surface water is water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean; it
is related to water collecting as groundwater or atmospheric water. Surface Water potential is
about 110 billion cubic meters in Ethiopia.
Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to
evaporation and sub-surface seepage into the ground. Although there are other sources of
groundwater, such as connate water and magmatic water, precipitation is the major one and
groundwater originated in this way is called meteoric water.

Almost all of the basins radiate from the central ridges that separate the Rift Valley from the
highlands of Ethiopia to all directions out of the country. Basins drained by rivers originating
from the mountains west of the Rift Valley flow West into Sudan, and those originating from
the Eastern highland flows east into the Republic of Somalia. Rivers draining the Rift Valley
Basins System originates from the adjoining highlands and flow North and South of the uplift in
the Center of the Ethiopian Rift Valley North of Lake Ziway.

There is very big variation in the size of the Basins. The size of a basin is mainly the function
of the geological formation. The Wabe Shebelle Basin is the largest basin in Ethiopian with an
area of 202,220 km2 followed by the Abbay Basin covering an area of 199,812km 2. The
smallest basin is the Aysha Basin with an area of 2,223 km 2 followed by the Mereb that has an
area with in Ethiopia of 5900km2.

 Seasonality

The raw ground water is available all year round. Seasonal fluctuation only occurs on the
surface waters of the country, reaching their peak level during their rainy seasons (summer) and
low level in the dry season (winter). Ethiopian water bottlers report to have adequate capacity
to supply the world market throughout the year if there is a market.

 Use of Surface and Ground Water in Ethiopia

Even if surface and ground water potential is high in Ethiopia the most consumable water is
ground water like spring water, rivers and running water. This is because Ethiopia is among the
developing countries that around 60 to 70% of the people are living in rural part of the country
and where urbanization is not expanded as it needs.
These people are consuming ground water that naturally clear, colorless, and free from
microbial contamination and thus requires minimal treatment. But surface water is not
consumable that much because it needs special treatments for drinking purpose because
naturally it is salty water most of it is created around rift valley by volcanic eruption.
3.2. Packing Materials

The packing of containers should protect the water from contamination and damage and allow
appropriate handling and storing. Packing materials played great role in promoting the product,
identifying brand name, the expiry date and the overall content of the product that added to the
major raw material i.e. water.

The major auxiliary materials required by the plant basically constitute the filling and packing
materials. Some of these auxiliary materials to name a few are polyethylene terephtalate (PET)
bottles with pilfer proof caps, labels, polypropylene rolls for wrapping of filled bottles.

PET bottles can be either imported in their final form or be pre-heated and blown to final size
from the imported PET performs. Currently, in Ethiopian, the bottled water factories are to
produce PET bottled for the packing of mineral water. These factories to produced PET
packing products and caps have three options. The first option is using PET resin, HDPE and
LDPE resin as a raw material for PET pre forms and caps production. The second option is by
using pre form to produce final Pet bottle products and the third option to purchase final
products for other producers.

The annual requirement for auxiliary materials is based on the rated capacity of the plant and
their estimated costs are based on the producing capacity.

 PET (Poly Ethylene terephthalate) bottles

Polyethylene terephthalate (sometimes written poly(ethylene terephthalate)), commonly
abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the
polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers;
thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber.

The majority of the world's PET production is for synthetic fibers (in excess of 60%) with bottle
production accounting for around 30% of global demand. In discussing textile applications, PET
is generally referred to as simply "polyester" while "PET" is used most often to refer to
packaging applications. The polyester industry makes up about 18% of world polymer
production and is third after polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Depending on its processing and thermal history, polyethylene terephthalate may exist both as
an amorphous (transparent) and as a semi-crystalline polymer. The semi crystalline material
might appear transparent (particle size < 500 nm) or opaque and white (particle size up to a few
microns) depending on its crystal structure and particle size. Its monomer (bis-β-hydroxy
terephthalate) can be synthesized by the esterification reaction between terephthalic acid and
ethylene glycol with water as a byproduct, or by trans-esterification reaction between ethylene
glycol and dim ethyl terephthalate with methanol as a byproduct. Polymerization is through a
poly condensation reaction of the monomers (done immediately after esterification/trans-
esterification) with water as the byproduct.

Water Packing Pet Bottles are processed using pure raw materials. PET is a by-product of
petroleum, and is in raw granule form imported. These raw materials are procured from leading
suppliers especially imported to Ethiopia from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
Our Drinking Water Bottles are manufactured according to the customers’ specifications. These
PET Water Bottles are light in weight and available in various sizes from 200 ML to 5000 ML
with neck sizes 28mm/30mm. These are also available in different shapes and colors.

The water bottlers use PET (Poly Ethylene terephthalate) bottles for packing their waters. They
either produce their own plastic bottles using semi-finished PET bottles or buy them in the size
they need from local or foreign producers. But most of bottling company imported raw granule
and processed here according to the shape they need in line with brand name. The bottling
company called yes (Alemayehu Nigussie Natural spring water PLC) imported the finished
bottle and simply the process here is packing and marketing.

Some bottlers lack financial resources to buy the PET in bulk and have to rely on smaller
volumes, transported by air. This is rather expensive and raises the cost price drastically.
Moreover, because of the recent sudden upsurge of oil prices, the price of the raw material for
PET has increased.

Most of the bottlers have installed an ejection & blowing machine to produce different sizes of
PET bottles including the Capp. Shortfalls are supplemented with a supply from only two local
producers of PET bottles, one of which is Hagere Roha PLC that can supply 6 million bottles, 5
million pre-forms and 11million Capps for bottled water producer. Furthermore, bottler Burayu
spring water bottling company also supplies PET bottles to other bottlers in the country. In
addition to the above local suppliers ITF PLC is also producing the bottled water called VIVA
brand and the company is producing for themselves and supplying to others.

Ser. Raw material Source

No Import Domestic
Pet Granule √
HDPE √

 Poly bag or poly sheet

The Poly bag or poly sheet is packing material that used to roll the bottled water in doze. The
doze usually contains 12 pieces of 0.5 or 0.6 liter of bottled water and 6 pieces of the rest liter
bottled water i.e. (1 litter, 1.5 litter and 2 litters). The factories buy the poly bag or poly sheet
from domestic market.

3.3. Additives Added to Bottled water

 Magnesium - Mg++
Almost all human cells have some level of magnesium in them, and adults need three to four
hundred milligrams of magnesium every day. Magnesium is important for the regulation of
muscle contractions and the transmission of nerve impulses, and it activates energy-producing
enzymes. Bone structure also relies on magnesium, and it expands blood vessels, which lessens
the risk of heart attack. Nervousness, lack of concentration, dizziness, and headaches or
migraines may result from magnesium deficiency. Most bottled waters have below 20 mg/l of
magnesium, though some may have as much as 1000 mg/l.

 Calcium - Ca++
Adults need about eight hundred milligrams of calcium per day--babies don’t require as much,
but fifteen to nineteen year olds need significantly more. The many benefits of calcium include
It stabilizing bone structure, teeth, and cell membranes; ensuring nerve and muscle impulses are
properly transmitted; and helping to prevent blood clotting. Calcium also has a balancing effect
for numerous skin allergies. Bones decalcify (osteoporosis) and fractures become more likely if
a body is not getting enough calcium. Bottled water usually has less than 100 mg/l of calcium,
but a few examples have about 500 mg/l.

 Potassium - K+
Two to four grams is usually a sufficient day’s supply of potassium. Children and young people
should pay particular attention to their intake, since potassium aides the growth of cells. The
pressure of water between cells is regulated by potassium, which also makes sure each cell gets
enough food. Potassium has special roles to play in muscle contraction and the formation and
conduction of impulses of the heart. Potassium deficiency can weaken skeletal muscles and
make smooth muscles tired. Typical potassium content in bottled water is less than 5 mg/l, but
some can have as much as 50 mg/l.

 Sodium - Na+
A person’s level of exertion largely determines his or her daily requirement of sodium.
Normally about three grams are necessary, but severe physical stress can bring the requirement
up to fifteen grams or more. The heart’s metabolism is affected by sodium, as is the regular
contraction of the heart. Today, we rarely have to worry about sodium deficiency: Salt is an
integral part of many foods, especially those that are highly processed. Sodium in bottled water
ranges from 10 mg/l in most bottled waters to 1,200 mg/l in a few waters.

 Sulfate - SO4-
Sulfates are the salts of sulfur. Give support to the liver in detoxification and help digestion by
stimulating the gall bladder. Sulfates in high doses act as a laxative. Fish, meat, and milk
contain sulfates, which are an important component of protein. The human body only absorbs
small amounts of sulfates, but these amounts are sufficient to stimulate peristalsis by binding
magnesium and sodium to water in the intestine.
This effect makes mineral waters rich in sulfates, which taste slightly bitter, suitable as
“nonalcoholic bitters” after a meal. Most bottled waters have well below 100 mg/l of sulfates,
but San Pellegrino and a few others can reach 500 mg/l.

 Bicarbonate - HCO3-
Present in all biological fluids, bicarbonate is essential for maintaining our bodies’ pH balance.
The substance is also found in stomach secretions. Lactic acid generated by physical activity is
neutralized by bicarbonate dissolved in water; a similar process raises the pH of some acidic
foods. The typical range for bicarbonate in bottled water is 50 to 200 mg/l, but it can reach up to
about 1,800 mg/l in waters.

 Silica - SiO2
Most adults need between twenty and thirty milligrams of silica daily. [An essential mineral
building block, silica is one of the body’s greatest energizing nutrients.] Silica reduces the risk
of heart disease and may prevent osteoporosis; it also helps tissue repair by serving as an
antioxidant. Hair and nails are strengthened by silica. If bottled waters contain any silica, it’s
usually less than 20 mg/l, and the higher levels in waters such as Fiji and Antipodes are well
below 100 mg/l.

The Aqua Safe Pure Natural spring water is so unique that is occurs as naturally carbonated
water and has varied mineral substances discussed above (Aqua Safe Pure Natural Spring Water
Factory label).

3.4. Labeling Material

A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or
article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label
may also be printed directly on the container or article.

Labels have many uses: product identification, name tags, advertising, warnings, and other
communication. Special types of labels called digital labels (printed through a digital printing)
can also have special constructions.

 Application and use

Labels can be supplied:
 separately
 on a roll
 on a sheet
Labels in required size and desired number of color print can be locally available from the
public or private enterprises. The main source of raw materials for labeling is imported. Most of
the factories are buying the raw material from import supplier and the price in the local market
is indicated in the table below, however, the price for imported is not available due to lack of
data.

3.5. Market Arrangement for raw materials

The major raw material used to process the bottled water is as discussed water. Water is
naturally gifted in the form of ground water and surface water. Ethiopia is the one that endowed
with natural water spring, lakes, river and basins. So, using this natural resource bottled water
processing industries now a day participating for further refining, adding and packing available
for the market. Naturally available and the companies are not purchased rather the planted at the
location where spring water is plentiful. But, packing materials are imported from abroad or
purchased local importers. The international market of raw material can be purchased directly
from the producer themselves or from the brokers of foreign countries who by from the main
suppliers and sell it in to other countries and the transportation cost, it mainly covered by the
buyer but it may also depend on the agreement of buyer and seller.