A new device for collecting water from the air: cheap and efficient. Water generator from air How to condense water from air
If you have ever found yourself in extreme conditions of stay, you may be familiar with the problem of obtaining water. For example, travelers have every chance of getting into a situation where the water has run out, and there is neither a river nor at least some spring nearby. And everyone knows from childhood that a person can live much longer without food than without water. If you find yourself without water for a long time, help may not wait.
But there is a way to get some water out of the air, as it can condense.. To get the amount of water that is enough to keep the body in a functioning state, you need to build a special device. It is made from those items that are usually taken with them on a trip. To build a condensing device You will need:
- Shovel
- A piece of polyethylene
- A thin tube used in droppers
- stones
Construction steps
Water from the air will condense for a long time. It can take more than a day before half a liter of water is collected. Therefore, it is recommended to make several of these "traps" for water. At night, the condensation process goes much faster than during the day - polyethylene cools down quickly, but the ground under it does not.
Ecology of consumption. Science and technology: How many times has it been said that clean, usable water is the basis of all life on Earth and is becoming more and more rare every year. That in the near future wars will unfold not because of oil and other minerals, but precisely because of her darling? ..
How many times has it been said that clean, usable water is the basis of all life on Earth and every year it becomes more and more rare. That in the near future wars will unfold not because of oil and other minerals, but because of it, dear?.. Already now, about one person out of five is experiencing difficulties with a lack of drinking water. And even city dwellers who are accustomed to the comfort provided by modern water supply systems should not forget about it.
What did they say in geography class? "Most of the Earth's surface is covered with water..." That's about 326 million cubic miles of water. 97% of them are salty from the seas and oceans, and only 3% are fresh. But even of this part, 99.3% are in the form of ice, and half of what remains is underground.
By 2025, nine billion people on the planet will share the same amount of available water. Most of them will live in large, overcrowded cities, putting enormous pressure on local water resources. And if you remember that city water pipes constantly have to be repaired, patched and updated, then the future seems completely black and unenviable.
So where do you get clean water? The air contains, according to various estimates, from 12 to 16 thousand km3 of moisture (or 0.000012% of all water on Earth). This volume can be compared with the amount of water in the Great Lakes of North America (the largest natural reservoir of fresh water in the world).
Meanwhile, in many of the world's poorest and most populous countries, the air is so humid and warm that water could condense directly from it.
A cubic meter of air contains (depending on humidity) from 4 to 25 grams of water vapor. The existing installations can collect on average about 20-30% of this amount. The best conditions for them (high humidity and temperature) are in countries located within 30 degrees of latitude from the equator.
Since nature is constantly replenishing water in the air, devices that produce valuable liquid from the air cannot harm the environment in any way (even if there are a lot of them installed in a particular place). It turns out that the process can go on indefinitely and the operation of the devices is limited only by their service life.
Let's talk about how atmospheric water generators (AWG - Atmospheric water generator) work. The first systems that supply water from air were developed back in the 1990s.
In fact, they were similar to the system that is used to dehydrate the air in refrigerators (you can also remember the rain from under the air conditioners in a modern metropolis). The compressor forces the refrigerant through the intricacies of tubes, while the fan drives air over the tubes. If the temperature of the cooling coils is just below the dew point, about 40% of the liquid from the air will condense on them, flowing into a special container. If the tubes are too cold, then ice will form on their surface (which, of course, will affect the functionality of the device).
But that is in the refrigerator, and in the generators of water from the atmosphere there are also special air filters, ultraviolet sterilizers and carbon filters for the collected water, devices that enrich it with oxygen, water level sensors in the container.
The optimal operating parameters of the installations are: temperature above 15.5°C and relative humidity (RH) above 40%, as well as not too high an altitude (no higher than 1200 meters). Although most instructions say about 20-40 ° C and RH 60-100%.
It is clear that the installation of such generators requires the presence of air entry from outside the premises. There is a whole bunch of factors here: surprisingly, the atmospheric air is much cleaner than “home” air, and “office” air is already dried by air conditioners. Yes, and it is harmful to collect moisture from the room: people already suffer from its low humidity. Although the smallest installations, with good ventilation, can be placed in the kitchen or in the bathroom.
Where can a dehydrator come in handy? We started in the desert - where it will be useful to residents of remote settlements for which the supply of bottled water is expensive or impossible, the military, conducting military operations far from water sources, and representatives of humanitarian and rescue missions (including doctors).
AWGs can be used in domestic and agricultural applications, offices, schools, hotels, cruise ships, sports centers and other public places. For commercial purposes, some manufacturers even offer the option of bottling water from air into bottles!
And now let's try to talk about the main products offered on the market for extracting water from air.
element four
Element four's flagship product is called the WaterMill.
It collects up to 12 liters of water per day for various household needs and at the same time has a pleasant design. Owners do not have to worry about the presence of toxins and bacteria in the collected liquid. Special systems ensure that the device consumes as little energy as possible (and soon the installation will be able to be connected to alternative energy sources). A special screen displays information about temperature, relative humidity and the amount of moisture received.
Prices for WaterMill will be announced in early 2009. It all started in 2004 when Jonathan Ritchie and Rick Howard decided to create their own water generator from thin air. At first they worked for the Canadian research company Freedom Water, but in 2008 they rebranded, and now Element Four released its first product.
Air Water Corporation
The company was formed in February 2003 following a corporate decision by Universal Communication Systems (UCSY) to start high-tech work to extract water from the air. However, she conducted various scientific studies for more than 13 years, during which she patented many of her technological solutions.
AirWater Corporation specializes in installations supplying water from 100 to 5000 liters per day. True, the dimensions of these devices are appropriate. There are even special mobile installations that supply army units with drinking water in the field.
In the arsenal of this company there are mobile devices and those that simultaneously make ice. Air Water Corporation already has solutions for irrigation and remote areas where their product can be powered by solar panels (by the way, this company also makes them).
Larger (and comparable) atmospheric water generators are also made by White Buffalo Nation and Aqua Sciences.
Devices developed by Air2Water provide from 3 to 38 liters of water per day, that is, they are not so big.
The principle of operation of these machines corresponds to all others, although there are some differences: at first, the air passes through electrostatic filters, which trap about 93% of suspended particles. The condensed water is illuminated with an ultraviolet lamp for 30 minutes (99.9% of microbes and bacteria die at this stage), then the precipitate is separated, about 99.9% of harmful volatile organic substances are retained on carbon filters, and the microporous membrane separates viruses. But that's not all - every hour the water in the container is again treated with ultraviolet light. The main production of devices is concentrated in China and Singapore, although delivery is carried out worldwide.
Aquair
Aquair is an American subsidiary of RG Global Lifestyles, which was born in 2004. Its strong point, perhaps, is that in addition to simply sucking moisture out of the air, it also specializes in drinking water treatment systems. The result is a five-stage filter (installation diagram shown on the previous page).
By the way, on the company's website you can find a calculator that allows you to roughly calculate the water consumption for various needs throughout the year.
Other companies
The Australian company AirtoH2O also makes water from the air and is proud to have collected more than 360 thousand liters of life-giving moisture (which is openly reported on its website). Its products are almost no different from other such small manufacturers: the Chinese Water Master and the Texas-based Aqua Maker.
We add that it is difficult to talk about the price of a liter of water received by any of the installations. However, all manufacturers claim that they have low energy costs, and the cost of a liter is estimated at 1 to 15 US dollars. cents.
In general, the calculation of such values is a difficult matter, because the cost of a liter of precious liquid depends on the capacity of the generator (annual output of water), as well as on the humidity and temperature of the air outside.
Note also that there are alternative methods for obtaining water from the air. Thus, one of the methods is based on the intensive absorption of atmospheric moisture by liquid lithium chloride. The resulting mixture then passes through several semi-permeable membranes due to the effect of reverse osmosis, whereby water is separated from the lithium salt.
The main conclusions are as follows: this direction is definitely promising and almost harmless to the environment. However, it is unlikely that any of the existing companies will be able to solve the global problem of lack of clean drinking water. Partly due to the fact that the producers of water from the air are not yet large enough. In addition, it is not so easy to teach citizens of developed countries to appreciate natural resources, and poor countries can hardly afford to provide all their inhabitants with a convenient and fairly simple source of water in the form of the described generators. published
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The problem of obtaining water was faced by many who happened to get into extreme conditions. Travelers often find themselves in situations where there is neither a river nor even the tiniest spring nearby. Meanwhile, water is more important for the human body than food, and if it is not obtained, then a traveler in trouble may not wait for help. Water can be obtained from the air. It tends to condense, and if you build a special device, then in a few hours you will be able to get the amount of moisture sufficient to maintain the vital activity of the body. The items necessary for the construction of a condensing device are usually taken by extreme sports enthusiasts with them on a hike.
You will need:
- shovel;
- a piece of polyethylene or other plastic;
- dropper tube;
- several stones.
Instruction
1. Solar heat must be used to condense water. If you put a piece of polyethylene on the ground, the air under it will begin to warm up. There is always some amount of moisture in the air, even if it has not rained for a long time. We just need to get this water. The air caught between the ground and the polyethylene will heat up until it is saturated with moisture so that it can no longer hold it. In any case, polyethylene will be colder than the air below it, and, accordingly, droplets will begin to settle on polyethylene. If there are a lot of them, they will begin to break down and may even flow in small streams. Therefore, it is necessary to build a trap for them.
2. Dig a hole about 1 m in diameter and about 0.5 m deep. Place a bucket at the bottom of the hole. This will be the "trap" for water. Insert the tube from the dropper into the bucket and bring it up. The tube may also be rubber. The main thing is that it be long enough, not less than the distance between the edge of the pit and the bucket. If you insert the tube right away, then you need to fix it with something - for example, put a stone on the edge of the pit and tie the tube to it. But it can be inserted later, when everything is ready.
3. Spread a piece of polyethylene over the pit. It should not only completely cover the pit, but also thoroughly sag, so a piece is needed 1.5-2 m long. Press its short edges with stones. Put a stone in the middle of the polyethylene too. The load should be directly above the bucket.
Note!
The water will not condense immediately. You need to wait about a day before you get 0.5 liters. But after all, you can make several such devices if there is polyethylene or other plastic. At the same time, water will condense faster at night than during the day, since polyethylene cools very quickly, and the soil cools much more slowly.
Generator of water from the air on a personal plot. March 9th, 2009
Egypt at their summer cottage
The problem of water in a personal plot, in a country house, in a cooperative is not uncommon. Laying a water pipe or drilling a well cannot always be afforded even by a cooperative. Digging a well is hardly cheaper and more expedient.
Is there a way out of this situation?
There is also a fairly simple and reliable one. . .
.
A pyramid of crushed stone is poured on a concrete base. During the day in the warm season, the gravel is heated by direct sunlight and warm air currents. At night, the water vapor contained in the atmosphere condenses on the cooled gravel and the water flows into the deepening of the foundation and further along the drain pipe to the collection point.
On Fig. 1 shows a section of the foundation.
The height of the pyramid is chosen according to the need for water.
Approximately, at a height of 2.5 m per day, such a design can provide, depending on air humidity and daily temperature changes, from 150 to 350 liters of water, which will practically provide any backyard or summer cottage.
For filling the pyramid, it is better to take large gravel (gravel) 5-7 cm in size. then the whole structure will be freely blown with warm air.
Granite crushed stone can be considered the ultimate dream.
For pouring crushed stone on a pyramid-shaped base, a metal frame is used, which is installed on the foundation and the edges are aligned along it.
After molding is completed, a galvanized metal mesh can be stretched from above to prevent crushed stone from slipping.
The height of the foundation is chosen according to the desire and material capabilities of the owner. However, it must be strong enough to support the weight of the rubble.
In order not to make the foundation high for water flow, it is best to build a pyramid on a hillock, if there is one on the site or nearby.
The pyramid oriented along the edges of the world, in addition to water condensation, will heal and normalize the entire surrounding space.
If there are biopathogenic zones, they will be neutralized;
the water obtained in the pyramid will be healing for humans, and for plants, and for animals;
If the water from this condenser will be used for drinking and cooking, which is highly desirable, then before filling the pyramid, the base of the foundation and all the rubble should be washed well with water, and the resulting water should be passed through a mechanical filter.
In order for this design to bring maximum benefit, it should be built in compliance with all the proportions that are given in Table 1 for the most likely dimensions of the pyramid.
Table 1
If someone has the desire and opportunity to build a pool next to the pyramid, where water will flow, then it will be almost impossible to overestimate such a complex.
A morning bath taken in water saturated with the energy of the pyramid will replace all doctors and medicines for life.
As a pool, you can use an ordinary bathtub installed on the north side of the pyramid.
It is highly desirable to build the pyramid itself on the south side in relation to the house or country house.
In order to save money, materials, construction time and area, the pyramid can be built one for several sites.
To prevent rainwater from entering the structure, it is advisable to make a canopy over it from a transparent material (fiberglass, film, glass)
island
Scientists have created a machine that extracts water from the air
The "Water Mill" can be used to produce clean drinking water almost anywhere there is electricity. To produce water, the device needs only electricity consumed by three electric lamps.
Getting water suitable for drinking goes through several stages. First, the device draws in air through special filters, cleaning it from dust and litter, then the air is cooled to a temperature at which moisture appears. The condensed water passes through the tank, where possible infections are destroyed with the help of ultraviolet radiation. As a result, the water is purified, and then it enters the refrigerator or kitchen faucet through pipes. Made of white plastic, the device looks like a giant golf ball split in half.
The developers claim that now there is no urgent need for the Watermill. However, already today people do not want to depend on water systems that cannot be relied upon.
The device should primarily be of interest to supporters of the "green" lifestyle. The fact is that the production and consumption of water in plastic bottles has long turned into an environmental disaster. US residents alone consume about 30 billion liters of bottled water a year. 30 million bottles end up in landfills every day. Not surprisingly, a whole island of garbage was discovered in the Pacific Ocean a few years ago, a significant part of which is plastic bottles.
There are only two drawbacks to the "Water Mill". First, the price is $1200. According to the developers, in a crisis, the car may be inaccessible to the mass consumer. However, the purchase of WaterMill will pay for itself in a couple of years, because its owner will no longer buy water in plastic bottles.
Secondly, the device may not work everywhere. For example, in Arizona, it is not uncommon for relative humidity levels to drop below 30%, preventing water from being drawn from the air. However, scientists have found a way out of this situation: the computer built into the device allows you to increase the productivity of water at dawn, when the humidity level is highest.
The material was prepared by the editors of rian.ru based on information from open sources