While you read these lines, someone walks with a bucket on their head or containers on their shoulders to collect water from a remote place. At the same time, food producers and institutions are being battered by droughts with increasing frequency. We need water, and believe it or not, one of the most interesting sources is the atmosphere. Now, obtaining moisture from the air is nothing new, but the people at Zero Mass Water achieve it in a very particular way: using hydropanels that get energy from the Sun and apply it to converting vapor into potable water. The question is… how well does it work? Or rather, does it really work?
Dehumidifiers. Extracting water from the air. The concept has been around for decades. We've even read and seen science fiction with them (remember Luke on Tatooine?). The question is inevitable: If they work, why aren't they more popular? The answer comes (as on so many other occasions) through thermodynamics. Converting liquid water into gas requires an enormous amount of energy, and the same happens if we try to go in the other direction.
The people at Zero Mass Water say they have solved the energy factor with photovoltaic technology. In general terms, the official page explains that its Source hydropanels use solar energy to introduce air into a hygroscopic material, and recover the moisture trapped in it. The next step handles mineralizing the water, and sending it to its reservoir. Finally, the system monitors water quality, and warns when it's time to maintain the hydropanels.
That's right: The Source hydropanels are not as Plug and Play as they seem. The official PDF reveals that they need an air filter and a water filter per year (or every 3,650 liters processed), and a mineral cartridge every five years or 9,125 liters. The standard warranty for a panel is twelve months, the extended option takes it to five years, and its durability is fifteen.
The company decided to double down (in the middle of CES 2020) with its new Rexi hydropanels. More compact and lighter than the Source, the plan is for them to maintain the same performance, that is, between 4 and 10 liters of water per day using two hydropanels under optimal conditions. And of course, there's the key: Everything depends on the humidity in the air and the available sunlight.
To that we must add the price: Each Rexi can be purchased for $2,500 (only as a reservation in the United States). If they recommend two to get ten liters per day (in the best case) and we still need to add the installation cost... I think it's very clear the type of client they are trying to seduce with this.
Official site: Click here
https://old.neoteo.com/the-climate-trail-videojuego-cambio-climatico/
