Even if there isn't a cloud in sight, water is always circulating in the atmosphere.
There is not much H 2 0 up there, only about 0.001 per cent. However, in high humidity areas, even that little moisture can be enough to provide safe drinking waters for one billion people.
Hydration is available for all. We just need to figure out how we can get it.
A new paper suggests that we could create an off-grid device that harvests liquid from the sky using solar power. It would be cost-effective and produce five liters of water (1.3 US gallons) per day in areas without clean water.
It won't work everywhere, unfortunately. Atmosphere water harvesting devices are not able to make a significant return in areas that are too dry, especially those below 30 percent relative humidity.
However, these devices might be able to hydrate millions of people in the tropics. Two-thirds (33%) of the world's population do not have access to safe drinking water, particularly in Africa, South Asia, or Latin America.
Researchers at Google and other small start-ups are already developing prototypes. The Alphabet-owned device measures only one meter squared. It uses a handful of solar photovoltaic cell to produce power and liquify the water taken from the air.
The team produced 150 milliliters per hour of water per square meter when they tested the new technology last year.
The authors have now published a new paper that uses a geospatial tool in order to determine the potential of these devices in light of global patterns of temperature, humidity, and solar radiation.
Although their initial findings will need to be confirmed by further research, the findings suggest that if an off-grid device is possible to design, scale, and operate throughout the day it could be used to hydrate approximately half of the people who lack access to clean water.
Although the water extracted from the air will not be sufficient to water crops, cooking, or cleaning, researchers believe these prototypes could provide enough water for approximately a billion people with technological advances.
Alphabet's most recent prototype for an atmospheric water harvester. (X)
These devices are currently too costly to make this a reality. Researchers at Google's Moonshot Factory believe that prototypes are still affordable.
These devices are simple to make and only have a few moving parts. They can also be made from readily available materials. It is necessary to scale up manufacturing, which will take time and money from investors. However, the authors believe it's worthwhile.
Around 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water access. Particularly vulnerable are inland areas that are separated from the coast. However, even in the tropical Pacific rising seas due to climate change could engulf freshwater resources on many islands.
The invention that allows locals in the area to drink from the skies could save many lives and help keep certain regions of the globe habitable during a global climate crisis.
We would be foolish to not continue exploring the potential of these prototypes, given the uncertain future of clean drinking water.
The ultimate goal is to build an atmospheric water harvester capable of working in both dry and humid areas, producing water at a rate of one cent per liter.
Researchers at Alphabet's company, X are stuck at 10 cents per liter. They have decided to share their blueprints with everyone. They hope that someone will take what they have learned and make it profitable.
Nature published the study.
