According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 785 million people still do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Various projects are springing up around the world, such as solar-powered water desalination, etc., to solve this problem.
Now the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to install “water generators” that convert the humidity in the air into drinking water for public consumption. The new technology will extract clean water from the atmosphere in commercial volumes and will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using clean energy.
The innovative pilot project will be carried out by the American water technology company AQUOVUM, in association with Masdar and Khalifa University of Science and Technology, under a tripartite research and development agreement. The technology, which produces commercial volumes of an uninterrupted supply of water from a sustainable source, making it carbon-free, is being tested in a pilot project in October. If successful, the project will be implemented in Masdar, a futuristic “sustainable city” currently under construction next to Abu Dhabi airport.
The “hyper dehumidifier” is powered by green solar energy and provides an abundant, uninterrupted supply of water from the humid air of the United Arab Emirates. A modified shipping box will be the world’s first carbon-neutral water generator when it is installed in a futuristic eco-city at Abu Dhabi’s main airport in October.
A bank of 20 dehumidifier-hyperhumidifiers can produce 6,700 liters of fresh water per day when local conditions are 78°F (26°C) and 60% humidity or higher if conditions permit.
The town of Masdar is powered by an impressive 22-hectare (54-acre) field of 87,777 solar panels, plus additional panels on the roofs of its buildings. These solar panels help power the generator’s huge fans, which suck in moist air from the surrounding environment. Pipes filled with this air are circulated with a liquid refrigerant to cool the air until it reaches the dew point when the water vapor condenses into liquid water. The water is then collected and purified for drinking.
If the pilot goes well, the water generators will be installed on the solar platform of the Masdar Institute of Khalifa University in Masdar City, which is still partially completed.
“The project will positively contribute to regional and global water security in line with the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, and as the only planned and approved R&D group in Abu Dhabi, we are committed to facilitate R&D projects that bring innovative new technologies to the world and help build a more sustainable future for all.Masdar City is already home to more than 900 companies, committed to developing innovative technologies in the renewable energy, energy storage and energy, water, artificial intelligence, health, space and mobility,” said Abdulla Balalaa, CEO of Real Estate in the city of Masdar.