Many areas have problems with water today, yet there is enough . water in the air to quench our thirst, if only we knew how to tap into this ubiquitous source. This report by Mallika Naguran describes solutions, techniques and technologies . that are available and applicable in different scenarios and environments around the world.
From collectors of water in the atmosphere,
desalination of seawater,. compact reverse osmosis and thermionic flow, . innovators have presented us with new . applications to go pure drinking water with a low environmental impact.
1. Introduction
Water is essential for the proper functioning of the human body. Having access to safe and enough water and sanitation is now . recognized as a basic human right.
According to Water & amp; Sanitation for the urban poor,
one billion people around the world . live without clean and safe drinking water,. and two billion live without basic sanitation. The UN Joint Monitoring Program in 2006 reported that. the number of the world’s urban population without access to an. improved source of drinking water will increase from 137 million . (2006) to 296 million (2015). .
Population growth
and rising living standards in many developing . countries are increasing the demand for clean and safe drinking water. Access to water can also be the . fundamental difference in business continuity and adverse situations. An island or remote location . where water infrastructure is not available will work well with a .
mobile machine
supplying water on site. according to the required capacity, without failure, rain or shine. This document presents collectors of water in the . atmosphere as viable alternatives to existing water supply systems.
Collectors of water
in the atmosphere that produce a variable . water capacity can also be consider. as complementary resources and logistical assets for consumers and . industries that have limited access to water.
2. Mist Collection: Old Practices That Still Work
Water treatment systems are seeing changes, from days of conventional filtration . systems to high-end desalination plants with sophisticated membrane systems. They are taking advantage of the various sources of water: rivers, lakes, . springs, mountain streams and where they are not . accessible, it is
collecting sea water
and even humidity in the air. But collecting water from the air is nothing new. Fog fences use a technique called fog harvesting or fog . harvesting or even cloud extraction, to collect water from the moisture in the fog. It can be use in coastal areas where the inland . wind brings fog and high altitude areas (if the water is present in stratocumulus clouds), from 400 m to 1,200 m (UNEP, 1997).
How does it work?
It uses a mesh material hung on the posts, . supported by a gutter to collect droplets, fed into pipes, and then stored in tanks.
According to the non-profit organization
. Fog Quest, mist collectors can collect a variety of amounts of water, . from 200 to 1,000 liters per day, taking into account daily and seasonal variables. Harvesting efficiency is increase with larger mist droplets,. higher wind speeds, and a narrower mesh / collection mesh width.
A mist collection system in eastern .
Remote places in Peru, Ecuador and . Chile depend on this technique to extract much-needed. water for consumption and irrigation. Other areas that can enjoy this technique, . according to the
International Development Research Center (1995),
. include the Atlantic coast of southern Africa (Angola, Namibia), .
South Africa, Cape Verde, China, eastern Yemen, Oman, Mexico. , Kenya, and Sri Lanka. Scientists are still testing and innovating better quality screens and configurations that . will maximize water production under different conditions.
3. Modern atmospheric water harvesting.
But, the artisanal method of fog collection is not always suitable or practical, . especially in dry and arid areas. While AWG can be use anywhere potable water . , it is most applicable in locations with higher humidity. The ideal place for this is the band around the equator (40 ° north latitude to 40 ° south latitude).
AWG devices are specify to generate water at . moderate temperatures but with high relative humidity. They tend to produce more water in places with.
higher temperatures
and . humid climates, and less water in colder or drier regions. No conventional or secondary water source is necessary in an AWG. Electricity powers the device, which can be source. from the main electrical grid or from clean energy sources . such as solar panels, wind turbines, wave converters, and more.
The technology is a decentralized atmospheric .
water harvesting system that had not before been view. as a potable water supply for the masses. It is sustainable, reliable and produces potable water without a massive. and complicated installation.
4. How does the AWG work?
Water vapor in the air condenses by cooling the air below its dew point, . exposing the air to desiccants, or pressurizing the air. The two main techniques in use are cooling and desiccants. The AWG works by distillation. It captures water vapor from the air and channels it to an . evaporation system in a sanitary environment before it liquefies and is expose. to contamination. Figure 1 shows the process behind AirQua products, manufactured by AridTec
. AirQuaAirQua Systematic Purification System
creates a clean air environment. Its technology extracts steam from distilled water and turns. it into crystal clear drinking water. Air is drawn through a two-layer antibacterial air filter and ionized before being “captured” in pure water.
A significant amount of clean water is produce
. before it has been expose to ground pollutants. This differentiates AWGs from other water systems (municipalities, . bottled and filtration water providers) that provide contaminated . water variations that can be remove. by removing or neutralizing the hundreds of chemicals, microorganisms, and particles in groundwater.
The AirQua Sano model
can produce up to 48 liters of pristine drinking water per day,. depending on the humidity, the volume of air passing through the coils, and the size of the machine. These units can operate 24 hours . a day as water generators and also serve as water purifiers, air purifiers, . hot and cold water dispensers,. and dehumidifiers. Depending on local electricity costs, a liter . of water from an AirQua unit can cost between 5 and 15 cents to produce.
5. When touching clean energy sources
Electricity is necessary to run certain . water collectors, and this can present a challenge in areas . where access to the electrical grid is limit or non-existent. Certain water harvesters even consume a lot of energy to produce . large amounts of clean drinking water. A given AWG model uses 480W / h to produce one liter of water per hour with . intermittent heating for the hot water outlet. An inventor has solved this problem by taking . advantage of renewable and clean energy sources.
The patent-pending technology
uses a photovoltaic (photovoltaic) solar panel that . requires full sun exposure at all times to power up the microcontroller,. sensors, valves, etc. A2WH with built-in. filtration can produce up to several thousand liters of water per day,. depending on the size of the machinery involved without the need to extract.
extra energy
from the network and the risk of . contaminating the soil with chemicals or concentrated salt deposits. More than five pounds of carbon per gallon is reduce. in this process compared to electric systems, . which is a significant reduction in carbon emissions over time.
6. Applications of use and probable scenarios.
The AWG has different uses and applications in specific locations,. circumstances and immediate needs. It can be consider a logistics asset due to the nature of its mobility and durability. Its reliability, due to the fact that you only . need two factors to produce potable water: air and electricity, . makes it a worthwhile investment. . Office environments that use bottled water units can cut . plastics when they are replace by AWG. In cases of natural disasters and epidemics, the availability of GTE can be timely to save lives and . improve sanitary conditions. Disaster management organizations specify clean water as a priority for maintaining good health; .
7. Advantages and benefits of AWG
Air water is a responsible, sustainable and. friendly water supply solution in tropical . regions that have a high moisture content in ambient air. AWG machines can be place . anywhere, opening the door to land development that would otherwise be impossible. The places that would enjoy such machines are in developed. sites where the water infrastructure has not yet stabilized. Schools, hospitals, places of worship,. police and fire stations will benefit the most from the deployment of such machines. Applications can also include larger home.
developments,
at a cost, like greenhouse irrigation and light industrial use. The volume of pure water generated can even reach a few thousand liters of water per day. There are several benefits associated with a typical AWG system: . portable, inexpensive, and easy to maintain. No expensive investment in pipeline infrastructure needed Quick flexible deployment. No conventional water source required plug into the electrical. outlet to generate pure , fresh water Convenient, reliable . and safe Gives you full control over your water needs
8. Comparing the AWG with desalination
Due to the rigorous filtration methods employed, some AWG models generate water with . no inorganic minerals (eg sodium and chloride), impurities, and contaminants. The “spray” water is clean, natural and chemical free. AWG comparisons to the. Reverse Osmosis (RO) process documented by AridTec. Desalination is use all over the world, in . particular with the RO process, especially in dry countries, . on sea vessels and small islands. The Middle East continues to be the largest user of seawater desalination and . desalination plants with a capacity of more than 300 ML / d that are being . built there (for example, an Ashkelon plant in Israel).
The desalination
process is . expensive and energy intensive,In the typical water production and. distribution cycles of any water treatment plant, large amounts of . energy to extract, pump, transport,. treat and distribute water to all users.
Desalination
The environmental impacts are significant. With high energy consumption comes high greenhouse gas production. A study conducted by the Sydney Coastal Councils Group in 2005 . suggested that Sydney Water’s desalination plant . producing up to 500 Ml / d through reverse osmosis would need 906 GWh of energy per year.
Threats
According to the study, environmental impacts may include increased turbidity, . reduced oxygen levels and a higher density of discharged wastewater. Concerns cited by the Sydney Coastal Council Group included significant environmental impact . on delicate local ecosystems containing sand dunes, sensitive wetlands, . and heritage listed marine and intertidal protected areas. Other research has suggested that the biggest ecological problem . associated with
desalination plants
that use seawater is that organisms that . live near the desalination plant are absorb by its equipment. Costs associated with desalination include initial construction, sophisticated. equipment and materials, maintenance and operations, . which can range from hundreds of thousands of. dollars to millions. . For smaller plants and less favorable conditions, the cost could be $ 4 per kiloliter or more.
9. Advances in desalination
Due to increasing population and water demands, . there has been exponential growth in desalination plants around the world. with reduced capital and operating costs and. improvements in the energy efficiency of RO systems. “At the current cost of producing desalinated water (around $ 0.45–0.60 per m3). using reverse osmosis, the technique has become profitable for many cities . where
water availability
is a constraint. The cost of treating brackish water has been further reduced: $ 0.20–0.35 per m3, depending on its salt content ”. Professor Biswas concludes that the technological and . management advances achieved are making desalination a viable . alternative to solve the problems of water quantity and quality in. home and industrial uses, especially for coastal areas.
HelioAquaTechcan
provide drinking water through desalination that runs on solar energy. The water source can be from the ground (wells, springs, rivers) or from the sea, . making it suitable for homes, resorts and villages in remote. locations as well as coastal areas. A basic system comprises eight . solar panel modules (3 m² and 17 kg each) and a pump that works according to the evaporation principle. The company claims that a basic system operating at an average temperature of 20ºC . can produce 128 liters of water per day.
According to HelioAquaTech,.
the performance of the system depends on: latitude, hours of sunlight, . solar radiation and the season at the location of the operation.
The company also offers another solution for the treatment of drinking water . through reverse osmosis that is power by solar and / or wind energy. Saltworks Technologies introduced its Thermo-Ionic .
desalination technology
that takes advantage of renewable energy sources (dryness in the atmosphere . and heat from the sun) to reduce the enormous amount of energy used to treat the Water.
Distillation or reverse osmosis
is not used in the treatment. Saltworks launched its first mobile plant in . June 2010 incorporating it into a portable shipping container. It produces 1,000 liters of water a day and is being tested in the Okanagan region of. British Columbia at the company’s solar thermal testing facility. According to the company, the plant has an increased capacity to treat salty . wastewater and will be use for pilot operations at customer sites.
10. Compact Reverse Osmosis Systems
The Everpure MRS-600 HE uses a patent pending . dual head pump that eliminates back pressure from the membrane, . ensuring a constant flow of permeate water production. This improvement by the company and others reverses conventional.
RO waste
by producing one volume of wastewater to four volumes of pure RO water. The system produces up to . 600 gallons of water per day and sells for $ 4,500, excluding the cost of filter and cartridge replacements.
Applied Membrane Systems of California,
USA has a range of systems that produce RO . water from as little as 300 gallons to tens of hundreds of gallons per day, . depending on the concentration of
dissolved solids (TDS)
in the feed water and the. exit requirements. . Even smaller, for home or office use, Takada, . from Singapore / Malaysia, sells its RO water dispenser . online with a shopping cart installation.
The Taiwanese PurePro Bonnie
, winner of a 2007 . Reddot Design Award, is a stylish addition to the office. It has the capacity to produce up to 80 gallons of treated water per day. Water quality testing for contaminants is recommend in conjunction with regular system maintenance.
11. Address bottled water problems
. This has been a key factor in bottled water sales in emerging markets. . Worldwide sales of bottled water . could reach 160 billion liters per year and consumption . will increase from 7% to 10% .
Western Europeans
remain the largest consumers of bottled water, . consuming over a quarter of world production. Only 12 percent of “custom” plastic bottles, . a category dominated by water, were recycle. in 2003, according to industry consultant RW Beck, Inc. That’s 40 million bottles (US). day they were throw away or turned into trash.
Plastics
The use of AWG in the commercial, tourism, . hotel and MICE sectors where the majority of bottled. water is consume will reduce the supply of choking plastic bottles.
Bottled water
. Global sales of bottled water can reach 160 . billion liters per year and consumption increases between 7 and 10% per year. Research shows that people want better flavors and . healthier alternatives to many of the sodas and sports drinks available today. .
Researchers
at the Harvard School of Public Health tracked the . chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in the urine of college students who . drank from polycarbonate bottles. We are Also Provide This King of . Machine Like Atmospheric Water Generator In Pakistan
12. AWG Strengths and Weaknesses
In comparison, atmospheric water harvesting . technology requires little infrastructure as AWG equipment is portable and scalable. Teams can meet great needs by integrating them to produce greater results. An advantage is being able to disarm them according to changes in the situation.
As there is no need to take .
advantage
of any potential existing water infrastructure, the AWG can be consider. as an emergency measure in the construction of large . and large-scale water treatment plants.
AWG’s environmental
Weather plays an important factor in keeping AWG machines running .
13. Conclusion
There are several methods of water treatment to take . advantage of these sources, from artisanal and traditional methods of g. enervating water in the atmosphere to unconventional and modern techniques of desalination. Solar or wind powered water harvesting and treatment .
technologies
are the most friendly way to extract pure quality water from the air or sea at a low cost. The good news is that these technologies are now . available and are scalable based on need and location.
