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Spanish engineers extract drinking water from thin air
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MrMobodies:
I found this article but in the I newspaper.

Inews by Mariano Valladolid and Jon Nazca in Seville

--- Quote ---"Spanish Engineers have devised a system to extract drinking water from air to supply arid regions where people are in desperate need.

"The goal is to help people," said Enqiue Veiga, the 82-year old engineer who invented the machine during a harsh drought
in southern Spaing in the 1990s. "The goal is to get to places like refugee camps that don't have drinking water."

The devices made by this company. Aquaer, are already by delivering clean, safe water to communities in Namibia and
a Lebanese refugee camp.

"In villages we visited om Nambia. they were astronished, they
didn't understand, asking where the water came from," he said.

The machines use electricity to cool air until it condenses into water,
harnessing the same effect that causes condensation in air conditioning units.

A small machine can produce 50 to 75 litres of water a day.
--- End quote ---

Article with pictures and in attachments:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/spanish-engineers-extract-drinking-water-thin-air-2021-08-04/

--- Quote ---Spanish engineers extract drinking water from thin air
Mariano ValladolidJon Nazca

SEVILLE, Spain, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A Spanish company has devised a system to extract drinking water from thin air to supply arid regions where people are in desperate need.

"The goal is to help people," said Enrique Veiga, the 82-year-old engineer who invented the machine during a harsh drought in southern Spain in the 1990s. "The goal is to get to places like refugee camps that don't have drinking water."

The devices made by his company, Aquaer, are already delivering clean, safe water to communities in Namibia and a Lebanese refugee camp. "In the villages we visited in Namibia, they were astonished, they didn't understand, asking where the water came from," he said. The machines use electricity to cool air until it condenses into water, harnessing the same effect that causes condensation in air-conditioning units.


Spanish Aquaer company engineer and inventor, Enrique Veiga, 82, (L) and his son Juan (C), Aquaer CEO, check a machine which extracts drinking water from thin air before its first start-up, in Carrion de los Cespedes, near Seville, Spain, July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Spanish Aquaer company engineer and inventor, Enrique Veiga, 82, checks the first start-up of a machine which he invented to extract drinking water from thin air, in Carrion de los Cespedes, near Seville, Spain July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Spanish Aquaer company engineer and inventor, Enrique Veiga (bottom), 82, checks a machine which he invented to extract drinking water from thin air ahead of its first start-up, in Carrion de los Cespedes, near Seville, Spain July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca


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Spanish Aquaer company engineer and inventor, Enrique Veiga, 82, checks the first start-up of a machine which he invented to extract drinking water from thin air, in Carrion de los Cespedes, near Seville, Spain July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

While other water generators based on similar technology require high ambient humidity and low temperatures to function effectively, Veiga's machines work in temperatures of up to 40 Celsius (104F) and can handle humidity of between 10% and 15%. A small machine can produce 50-75 litres a day, and be easily carried on a trolley, but bigger versions can produce up to 5,000 litres a day. "Our idea is not only to make a device that is effective, but also to make it useful for people who have to walk for miles to fetch water or make wells," Veiga explained. Switzerland-based Vietnamese refugee Nhat Vuong joined the cause after meeting Veiga and visiting a refugee camp near Tripoli in Lebanon in 2017. He founded a non-profit organisation, Water Inception, which brought a 500-litre a day machine to the camp. "It's working beautifully, I'm really happy," said Nhat, who is now raising funds to install solar panels to bring down electricity costs and reduce the environmental impact of the project.
Writing by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Nathan Allen and Giles Elgood
--- End quote ---

http://aquaer.com/en/press


--- Quote ---Invent machine that can generate water even in the wilderness
desierto

It is estimated that worldwide 750 million people without access to drinking water live. Enrique Veiga, a Galician frigorista who lives in Seville, has created a machine that can condense moisture from the air and produce up to 3,000 liters of water per day. This machine can operate even in areas where humidity is low, as in the desert. The company responsible for the manufacture of the machine, has been commissioned to produce 1,500 units for the government of Namibia, a country suffering from water shortages.

The machine achieves extract water from the environment in areas with temperature 30ºC and a relative humidity of 17%. The inventor of the machine indicates that the limit of its creation is to deal with environments with temperature 45 ° C and 8% relative humidity.

Juan Veiga, representative of Aquaer Generators, company in charge of the manufacture of the machine indicates that in the first phase the company will send to Namibia 500 machines.
--- End quote ---

So this has been around for 30 years I never heard of it and I still can't find much more details about it other than it uses electricity and the effect is similar to a dehumidifier and some pictures.

It just looks like a massive dehumidifier to me.

I was going to put this under dodgy technology but I am not sure (if the facts are real) but please do move it if you think it is dodgy and they turn out to be false.

In Spain with a lot of sun maybe solar panels are involved and pay for the electricity consumption of this thing.

What do you think?
Gyro:

--- Quote from: MrMobodies on August 05, 2021, 07:55:14 pm ---It just looks like a massive dehumidifier to me.

--- End quote ---

Me too. Unfortunately its output is going to be heavily dependent on atmospheric humidity level. That's got to be a significant issue in arid areas.

P.S. I've no idea how the efficiency of a heat-pump compares to a desalination plant - I know those are quite power hungry.
SiliconWizard:
Nothing new: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_water_generator
And, we've seen a few startups the last few years trying to do just that. Dunno if any of them still exists.
fourfathom:

--- Quote from: Gyro on August 05, 2021, 08:15:15 pm ---P.S. I've no idea how the efficiency of a heat-pump compares to a desalination plant - I know those are quite power hungry.
--- End quote ---

The Spectra marine reverse-osmosis watermaker I have on my sailboat uses 15 Wh to deliver 1 gallon of fresh water (18A @ 12V, 14 GPH).  It uses a "Clark" high-pressure pump which is highly efficient.   I'm pretty sure that a heat-pump dehumidifier won't deliver nearly the water per Watt-hour, but of course for reverse-osmosis you do need a source of water.
daqq:
Didn't we do this one already? Waterseer anyone?

Doable, but a power and resource hog, with a host of issues.
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