Atmospheric Water Generation Technology: A Sustainable Solution to the Global Water Crisis

On today’s program, we’ll explore the fascinating science behind atmospheric water generation technology, which generates clean drinking water from the air, and could be an emerging alternative to tackle the global water crisis.

The Israeli company Watergen has developed an atmospheric drinking water machine that creates water from the air. The company’s device is a great solution to drinking water scarcity and has gained global attention. It brings clean water to any location at any time and also helps to reduce the carbon created by transportation and environmentally harmful plastic waste. “We actually pull it from the air. There’s humidity, there’s water in the atmosphere all around us and we pull it through our machines.”

In the United States, retired veteran Moses West, with his Paladin Water Technology, has worked with the Water Rescue Foundation to bring free clean water to Flint, Michigan, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. His AWG units can produce up to 8,400 liters or 2,200 gallons of clean water a day, thus benefiting thousands of people who have no access to clean drinking water.

Next, we’ll learn how researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a solar-powered device that can pull water straight from the desert air using the Metal-Organic Framework. “In our latest work, we have the next-generation water harvester. This can work out in the desert where there’s no supply of energy aside from sunlight.”

“The key component of this device is this powder. We call it Metal Organic Framework (MOF). It is composed of organic molecules and metals. We leave it overnight because during the night, we have a lot of water content in the atmosphere so the water molecules get inside the framework and stay there.” “We’re going to put the lid on the top of the box to make sure none of the water vapor coming out of the powder can escape from the box. We put the shade on top of the lid to direct the sunlight right on top of the MOF to heat the MOF.” “When this powder heats up, the water molecules come out of the framework, and we can collect them as liquid water.”