Written By Riva Agarwal (Grade 10)
Water in many countries is inaccessible. Four billion people — almost two-thirds of the world’s population — experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year. Unclean drinking water leads to cholera and dysentery amongst other diseases, and 830 000 people die each year because of a lack of safe water.
The impact of water is unscalable and water isn’t distributed to each part of the world equally. The hotter regions of the world are affected the worst, economically richer and poorer countries alike – Qatar, UAE, Lebanon and Eritrea among others.
But it’s not all bad – there’s a solution. Water doesn’t need to be taken from contaminated lakes for the poor to access it. Water filters are expensive, yes. But the natural process of condensation can be used to convert air to water. A new product like this is being developed, where the humidity of the air is used to stimulate the dew point, and even in low humidity water can continuously be made. Naturally, as the humidity of the air increases, water production increases, and vice versa. The minimum daily production capacity, of the basic domestic model, is of 65 litres in a temperature of 30 degrees C and humidity of 35%, enough to satisfy 21 people’s daily recommended water intake. The maximum daily production is 80 litres, and on days with low humidity, the reserve is filled from the previous days, so there is no danger of the water running out. Normal ROs and desalination systems waste around 70% of water as ‘reject’ water, while these filters clean both the air and water, without wasting any at all. It’s a sustainability marvel, created to help every segment of society.
There are different models, and the “mass” model with higher power can be used for villages. For the same temperature and humidity mentioned above, this model can produce up to 440 litres of water a day, enough to quench the thirst of 140 people. While it may be expensive, these water filters bought by the government and installed in every village; big or small, are revolutionary. The water crisis can be solved since water is not being wasted, instead, it is being made from air. The air will go through multiple cleaning processes – a 3-layer filter, then a condenser, from where it’s stored in a tank. The tank works throughout the day to produce large quantities of water. Armies in many countries are already placing huge orders, which shows that governments already trust this technology. The moment villages have access to these filters, water-borne diseases can be curbed, and equality can be achieved.
Featured Image Courtesy – The Jerusalem Post
