Possible new drinking water source

[svadagio]

Saw this and thought it interesting. Looks like something that could be "home brewed easy". Less energy than RO. Sorry for the length but I removed a lot.


Bob




This machine makes drinking water from thin air


By Giovanna Rajao and Michael Schwartz, CNN
April 24, 2014 -- Updated 1002 GMT (1802 HKT) | Filed under: Innovations
Israeli company Water-Gen has developed a device for extracting drinking water from air. It's already being used by the military, but Water-Gen says its future is in civilian uses.
HIDE CAPTION

Water for the battlefield and beyond

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Israeli company has developed device for extracting water from air
• It says its water generator is more energy efficient than others
• Its technologies are already used by the military in seven countries

Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) -- Water. A vital nutrient, yet one that is inaccessible to many worldwide.
The World Health Organization reports that 780 million people don't have access to clean water, and 3.4 million die each year due to water-borne diseases. But an Israeli company thinks it can play a part in alleviating the crisis by producing drinking water from thin air.
Water-Gen has developed an Atmospheric Water-Generation Units using its "GENius" heat exchanger to chill air and condense water vapor.
"The clean air enters our GENius heat exchanger system where it is dehumidified, the water is removed from the air and collected in a collection tank inside the unit," says co-CEO Arye Kohavi.
"From there the water is passed through an extensive water filtration system which cleans it from possible chemical and microbiological contaminations," he explains. "The clean purified water is stored in an internal water tank which is kept continuously preserved to keep it at high quality over time."
Several companies tried to extract water from the air ... But the issue is to do it very efficiently.
Arye Kohavi, co-CEO Water-Genius
Energy efficient
Capturing atmospheric humidity isn't a ground-breaking invention in itself -- other companies already sell atmospheric water generators for commercial and domestic use -- but Water-Gen says it has made its water generator more energy efficient than others by using the cooled air created by the unit to chill incoming air.
"Several companies tried to extract water from the air," says Kohavi. "It looks simple, because air conditioning is extracting water from air. But the issue is to do it very efficiently, to produce as much water as you can per kilowatt of power consumed."
He adds: "When you're very, very efficient, it brings us to the point that it is a real solution. Water from air became actually a solution for drinking water."
The system produces 250-800 liters (65-210 gallons) of potable water a day depending on temperature and humidity conditions and Kohavi says it uses two cents' worth of electricity to produce a liter of water.
Civilian uses
Developed primarily for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Water-Gen says it has already sold units to militaries in seven countries, but Kohavi is keen to stress that the general population can also benefit from the technology.
He explains: "We believe that the products can be sold to developing countries in different civilian applications. For example in India, [drinking] water for homes is not available and will also be rare in the future. The Atmospheric Water-Generation Unit can be built as a residential unit and serve as a perfect water supply solution for homes in India."
Kohavi says Water-Gen's units can produce a liter of water for 1.5 Rupees, as opposed to 15 Rupees for a liter of bottled water.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by svadagio

Saw this and thought it interesting. Looks like something that could be "home brewed easy". Less energy than RO. Sorry for the length but I removed a lot.


Bob




This machine makes drinking water from thin air


By Giovanna Rajao and Michael Schwartz, CNN
April 24, 2014 -- Updated 1002 GMT (1802 HKT) | Filed under: Innovations
Israeli company Water-Gen has developed a device for extracting drinking water from air. It's already being used by the military, but Water-Gen says its future is in civilian uses.
HIDE CAPTION

Water for the battlefield and beyond

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Israeli company has developed device for extracting water from air
• It says its water generator is more energy efficient than others
• Its technologies are already used by the military in seven countries

Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) -- Water. A vital nutrient, yet one that is inaccessible to many worldwide.
The World Health Organization reports that 780 million people don't have access to clean water, and 3.4 million die each year due to water-borne diseases. But an Israeli company thinks it can play a part in alleviating the crisis by producing drinking water from thin air.
Water-Gen has developed an Atmospheric Water-Generation Units using its "GENius" heat exchanger to chill air and condense water vapor.
"The clean air enters our GENius heat exchanger system where it is dehumidified, the water is removed from the air and collected in a collection tank inside the unit," says co-CEO Arye Kohavi.
"From there the water is passed through an extensive water filtration system which cleans it from possible chemical and microbiological contaminations," he explains. "The clean purified water is stored in an internal water tank which is kept continuously preserved to keep it at high quality over time."
Several companies tried to extract water from the air ... But the issue is to do it very efficiently.
Arye Kohavi, co-CEO Water-Genius
Energy efficient
Capturing atmospheric humidity isn't a ground-breaking invention in itself -- other companies already sell atmospheric water generators for commercial and domestic use -- but Water-Gen says it has made its water generator more energy efficient than others by using the cooled air created by the unit to chill incoming air.
"Several companies tried to extract water from the air," says Kohavi. "It looks simple, because air conditioning is extracting water from air. But the issue is to do it very efficiently, to produce as much water as you can per kilowatt of power consumed."
He adds: "When you're very, very efficient, it brings us to the point that it is a real solution. Water from air became actually a solution for drinking water."
The system produces 250-800 liters (65-210 gallons) of potable water a day depending on temperature and humidity conditions and Kohavi says it uses two cents' worth of electricity to produce a liter of water.
Civilian uses
Developed primarily for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Water-Gen says it has already sold units to militaries in seven countries, but Kohavi is keen to stress that the general population can also benefit from the technology.
He explains: "We believe that the products can be sold to developing countries in different civilian applications. For example in India, [drinking] water for homes is not available and will also be rare in the future. The Atmospheric Water-Generation Unit can be built as a residential unit and serve as a perfect water supply solution for homes in India."
Kohavi says Water-Gen's units can produce a liter of water for 1.5 Rupees, as opposed to 15 Rupees for a liter of bottled water.

I does look interesting, but how big a barge do you need to tow this monster behind you sailboat?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I does look interesting, but how big a barge do you need to tow this monster behind you sailboat?

According to the brochure, it weights 80Kg for a unit which ain't too bad.

The problem is it only good for 40 - 80 litres per day and uses 310Wh per litre.

Compare that to a basic RO watermaker that will produce the same amount in less than an hour using less that 1/10th of the energy.

[a64pilot]

Gee I have a water maker like that in my boat. I use it too keep cool when I have shore power though

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Gee I have a water maker like that in my boat. I use it too keep cool when I have shore power though

Yeah, and we had another kind that worked the same way when I was a kid, but the main purpose was to reduce the humidity in the air inside the house. That was just a small one--probably 1/8th the size of that thing--but it produced nearly a quart of water each day in the moderately-humid air of Omaha, NE.

Now, maybe the breakthrough here is the amount of electricity that this thing uses to extract water from the air. But the basic notion of extracting water from air is not even CLOSE to being anything new.

[DeepFrz]

Drinking water produced from air conditioners and dehumidifiers has been discussed on CF before. The outcome was that it was not a good idea. The equipment will have to be kept scrupulously clean and sanitized. I think, if my memory serves, there was also a problem with dissolved solids.