| Wind Turbines to Suck Water from Air |
| Written by Philip Proefrock | ||
| Friday, 24 August 2007 | ||
 We showed an extremely simple, low-tech method for getting water with the
article about the
Watercone earlier this month. But while this may be suitable for
small, personal uses, getting enough water for a community or for crops in
a dry location is more difficult. The pump windmill was a ubiquitous
sight on American farms throughout the west in the last century. And an
Australian inventor's device looks to update the idea, but draws the water
from the air, rather than from in the ground.
The Max Water uses the power of incoming wind to cool the air and then collects the water that condenses. In theory, a small 4 meter square (43.1 sq. ft.) unit could provide an average of 6,300 liters (1,664 gallons) per day. And the inventor hopes that larger units could be used for irrigation purposes in places where rainfall is insufficient. "At 30 degrees C with relative humidity of 60% air contains approximately 18 grams per cubic meter of water. If the air can be cooled to 5 degrees C, at which temperature the air can only contain approximately 8 grams per cubic meter, about 10 grams of water will condense out of the air as fog or droplets."
Even in arid regions, there is moisture in the air. Using wind turbines
to provide the power for the system seems an elegant approach to providing
the power needed to run the refrigeration systems to make this work.
There is some
question as to whether or not this system will realistically be able to
extract as much water from the air as its inventor claims. If the
implementation bears out the theory, this could be a benefit for dry
regions across the globe.
Comments
(7)
Neat idea
written by disdaniel , August 24, 2007
Australia and Canada : at the forefront
written by jacoby , August 24, 2007
In this field, not only Australians but also Canadians are really active. I noticed a canadian company WATAIRE INDUSTRIES (or WATAIRE ECOSAFE TECHNOLOGIES?)
In Europe, we have not the same interest towards this type of innovative technology.Although, our climate is really suitable for that.
sustaining humidity levels in arid areas
written by Benjamin Taheny , August 28, 2007
While this is a great invention, I suggest that the reason deserts form is due, in large part, to the fact that the winds have already dropped most of the moisture they were carrying before reaching these desert regions.
In that respect, I feel it would be advisable to build lakes or other large bodies of water in a series leading towards desert regions - providing more evaporative capacity to be dropped and reducing the areas of deserts.
Energy balance doesn't figure
written by Dan Rhys , September 13, 2007
So this is basically a wind turbine connected to a dehumidifier (without the inefficiencies of electricity conversion).
Back of the envelope calculation using state of the art OTS (off the shelf) technology: 4.9 m2 wind turbine = 1000 watts http://www.ecofirst.net/wind-turbines.asp dehumidifier based water extraction unit 1000 watts = 1 litre per hour http://www.gadgetgrid.com/2007...-thin-air/ = 24 litres per day which is a lot less than 6,300 litres per day! This guy is crazy, he expects to dehumidify 1.44 million m3 of air per day - ridiculous! 
Yeah I agree
written by mario , March 19, 2008
Yeah I agree , and any moisture that is extracted will evaporate since the air that is brought in warmer, and even if you could cool this air you would need a lot of energy, the air would have to be at least 4 or 5 degrees cooler than air being inducted. Imagine the amount of energy needed to cool your house even 1 degree, you could run your a/c all day and you wouldn't be able to cool your house 5 degrees, and thats stagnanent air; Not continous air that is found in the desert.
...
written by NikonFreak , April 17, 2008
It's just like the moisture farmers from Star Wars.
Consolations, Dear Sweetheart
written by Uncle B , September 27, 2008
Tender spot hurting a lot? Other side too? bruises on your face and body throbbing? Is that blood running out your nose, skirt above your head in the wind, panties torn and soiled, titties swelling and turning blue by the minute, lost on the roadside, hoping not to die? Did you recognize the tail lights of the limo that threw you off? Was it the same limo that picked you up at election time, promising a good decent clean ride? Will you ever learn? Last time these guys did this to you, your babies were killed in Iraq and your retirement fund spent to do it, your taxes went up, you did not get destroyed by the weapons of mass destruction, they were never found. Poor little American peasant. Our heart-felt prayers from Canada go out to you!
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After clicking through to the Max Water website, I have to wonder if they are wise to pitch this to arid countries...arid countries by definition have low humidity which means relative humidity is also low. Still the arid countries need water the most.