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MAKING WATER FROM THIN AIR
By Audrey Hudson
Wired
October 6, 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/1,71898-0.html
A company that developed technology capable of creating water
out of thin
air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to
nourish U.S.
soldiers serving in Iraq.
The water-harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of
the
Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which
sought ways to
ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops
deployed in arid
regions like Iraq.
"The program focused on creating water from the atmosphere using
low-energy
systems that could reduce the overall logistics burden for
deployed forces
and provide potable water within the reach of the war fighter
any place, any
time," said Darpa spokeswoman Jan Walker.
To achieve this end, Darpa gave millions to research companies
like LexCarb
and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in
the
Mesopotamian desert.
But it was another company, Aqua Sciences <http://www.aquasciences.com/>,
that developed a product on its own and was first to put a
product on the
market that can operate in harsh climates.
"People have been trying to figure out how to do this for years,
and we just
came out of left field in response to Darpa," said Abe Sher,
chief executive
officer of Aqua Sciences. "The atmosphere is a river full of
water, even in
the desert. It won't work absolutely everywhere, but it works
virtually
everywhere."
Sher said he is "not at liberty" to disclose details of the
government
contracts, except that Aqua Sciences won two highly competitive
bids with
"some very sophisticated companies."
He also declined to comment on how the technology actually
works.
"This is our secret sauce," Sher said. "Like Kentucky Fried
Chicken, it
tastes good, but we won't tell you what's in it."
He did, however, provide a hint: Think of rice used in
saltshakers that acts
as a magnet to extract water and keeps salt from clumping.
"We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary
way," Sher
said. "We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to
extract
water and act as a natural decontamination.
"Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because
the salt
dehydrates everything. It's kind of like that."
The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day
without using
or producing toxic materials and byproducts. The machine was
displayed on
Capitol Hill last week where a half-dozen lawmakers and some
staffers
stopped by for a drink.
"It was very interesting to see the technology in action and
learn about its
possible implementation in natural disasters," said Rep. E. Clay
Shaw Jr., a
Republican from Florida whose hurricane-prone district includes
Fort
Lauderdale.
"It was delicious," Shaw said.
Jason Rowe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney, another Florida
Republican,
called the technology "pretty impressive."
"I was pretty blown away by the things it's able to do," Rowe
said. "The
fact that this technology is not tied to humidity like others
are makes it
an attractive alternative for military bases in the Mideast
where humidity
is not really an option.
"It seems like it's a cheaper alternative to trucking in bottled
water,
which has a shelf life," said Rowe, who described himself as a
fiscal hawk.
Once deployed, the machines could reduce the cost of logistical
support for
supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars,
said Stuart
Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences' public affairs
firm.
The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it
to the
troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from
Aqua
Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.
Several systems on the market can create water through
condensation, but the
process requires a high level of humidity.
Aqua Sciences' machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy
said. "That's
why this technology is superior and why they are getting the
contracts."
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Published by David Sunfellow
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