From Humidity in the Air to Drinking Water
June 12, 2009 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Exposed!, Green Health, How To
Deserts are associated with high temperatures, cracked and parched soil, and little water. If any plants exist, they are usually few in number.
Mirages are more likely than oasis and drinking water is a scarce commodity. But some German scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart think they might have the answer.
Working in collaboration with Logos Innovationen, the scientists have discovered a process that will convert air humidity into drinking water. And best of all, the process is energy-autonomous via thermal solar collectors, photovoltaic cells, and vacuum tanks.
Here’s how it works: A brine (salt) solution runs down the tower-shaped unit absorbing water from the air. The water soaked brine solution is then sucked by vacuum pressure into a tank placed a few meters off the ground. Here, it is heated by solar energy to boiling point. This allows the brine and the water to separate, with the fresh water being collected and the reconcentrated brine being pushed back up the tower unit to further interact with the humidity in the air.
So far, this experimentation has only occurred in the laboratory with a demonstration facility the next step.
This concept has huge potential. Able to function in places with no electricity, it could be the answer to water shortages in the many dry places around the world.
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