Aug12

out of thin air.

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water from air

Two billion people on earth are without clean drinking water, and this problem will only be exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Fortunately, independent businesses are working on a myriad of differing solutions. One Israeli company, Watergen, has taken advantage of the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere contains 13 billion tonnes of fresh water and developed technology that filters water vapor out of the air.

Michael Mirilashvili, the leader of Watergen, told BBC, “A big advantage of using atmospheric water is that there’s no need to build water transportation, so no worries about heavy metals in pipes for example or cleaning contaminated water from the ground or polluting the planet with plastic bottles.”

The technology works by quickly drawing air into the machine and using condensation to produce fresh water at the low cost of seven to 15 cents per liter. The machine does use electricity, but if this can be supplied via renewable sources, the machine would have a very little environmental impact.

Water gathered from the atmosphere still faces the issue of condensing air pollution. Although lead was banned in 1999, it is still found in UK air in 2021. However, partner researchers from Tel Aviv University proved this to be a small obstacle when they were able to extract the water to a quality set by the World Health Organization.

Watergen’s technology can provide up to 1,585 gallons of water per day and has already been used at hospitals in the Gaza Strip and villages in Central Africa.

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“water is the driving force of all nature.”

-leonardo da vinci

 

 

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source credits: BBC news, Natalie Lisbona, Optimist daily

70 responses »

  1. This is the definition of magic, when you can pull something out of thin air. The solutions for global problems like the water crisis exist, but we must choose to find these ideas to have any long term benefits. Wonderful post, Beth!

    Liked by 5 people

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  2. well, that’s a new take on ‘pulling something out of thin air’ – and one I find both fascinating and wonderful. IF this is going to work, and with a low impact on the environment, I can only wish those ‘inventors’ all the success they deserve!

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. Water, water, every where,
    Nor any drop to drink.

    – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    But yeah, it sounds like we’ll all becoming increasingly more reliant on technological solutions to cope with water shortages.

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. We spend all our time fixing our own mistakes. I don’t think we learn anything from that. We pollute the air and then work to get the pollution out of the air while companies can pay fines to keep putting the pollution IN the air. People need water. I’m so happy they are finding a way to supply it. I think we are crazy.

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  18. God provides, all it takes is trained men who know what to look for and are willing to serve. A great way to help humanity. Lovely post Beth! 😊

    Liked by 2 people

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  29. I have never taken water for granted. As a child, we had to pump it outside and as an adult who lived in Taiwan for 14 months, I found out how precious water is and still go nuts when people leave a tap running. It’s brilliant to find a way to extract water from the atmosphere but that still doesn’t absolve us from paying more attention to the water we have. I think I’m on a rant here. These guys are geniuses. Now if someone could figure out how we could quit putting poisoning the water we have here in the ground. Dad gum it.

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  31. It sounds fab! Yet, hat happens when we’ve sucked all the water out of the air?
    Man is inventive, but he is not considerate of anything but himself.
    Will he give any of this water to the animals, forests and whatever else he is taking it away from by doing this?

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