…from Filtration and Separation dot com
[ Editor’s Note: Israeli company Watergen has hit its stride with its mobile fresh water atmospheric systems, which it has promoted around the world during disasters where fresh water was need. The units are powered by electricity, and via generators in natural disaster situations.
In countries with modern infrastructure, water can be quickly shipped to larger population areas but for smaller outlying areas, these mobile units could become a permanent emergency equipment staple.
Watergen claims a lower end use cost for their water, but that seems based on comparing it to the cost of electricity use alone, and not figuring the amortization on the equipment or maintenance.
In my quick but broad review of their international marketing, I noticed not a word on the cost of the units. That could indicate high prices, where donors with deeper pockets will be having to pay for them. There is nothing wrong with that for people like the Navajo tribal members who live in an arid region.
There is no word yet as to the comparative cost of bringing the usual water tanks in as they have been doing, to using these machines where there might be no electricity on the reservations, so gas generators or alternate power would have to run them. But Watergen’s claim to be 500% more energy efficient than competitors is a big deal.
Long term, the go to solution will be cutting edge low cost nuclear power for desalinization of sea water on a massive scale. The predicted long term rise in sea levels will make states with ocean borders like California have to plan for its use. And yes, I am talking about a Manhattan style project to get the specs for a cost effective solution while we have time… Jim W. Dean ]
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Watergen: turning air into drinking water
15 April 2020
According to the United Nations, more than two billion people are living in countries experiencing high water stress. However, an Israeli company has developed technology which uses humidity in the air to create clean drinking water, potentially making fresh water accessible worldwide.
Watergen is based just a few miles south of Tel Aviv and since the company was established in 2009, it has become something of a specialist in the development and implementation of water-from-air solutions based on its GENius technology. The company’s efforts to make fresh, pure water available around the globe earned it a place on the World Economic Forum’s list of the world’s top technology pioneers in 2018.
The company began mass manufacturing its atmospheric water generators in 2017 and the first system was installed in New Delhi in India in the same year. Since then, Watergen generators have been used around the world in countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, Uzbekistan, Chile, Costa Rica, China, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Israel and Indonesia.
The mobile units, which require no infrastructure other than an electricity source, have been deployed in cities and remote villages schools and office buildings. They have also saved lives following disasters and humanitarian crises in the US and around the world. Watergen says they are essentially a “self-sustaining source of renewable fresh, clean drinking water.”
The generators
Watergen has three main atmospheric water generators (AWGs) depending on the requirements of the situation. Each unit contains an internal water treatment system and can operate without any special infrastructure, which only require an electricity source except a source of electricity.
The large scale AWG is an industrial scale atmospheric water generator designed for towns, villages, factories, off-grid settlements and rural communities, which can produce up to 5,000 litres of water per day. They can also be installed on rooftops, helping to decentralise the supply of safe-drinking water in municipalities that have insufficient water infrastructure.
The GEN-350 AWG weighs just 780 kg and is a medium scale, highly mobile water generator which can be used in most weather conditions. It is designed for schools, hospitals, commercial and residential buildings. This generates up to 900 litres of water per day depending on the humidity and temperature. It can also be set on a truck or trailer together with a generator and serve as an
emergency response vehicle.
The technology
Watergen’s GENius technology works by drawing air into the atmospheric water generator, where an air filter removes dust and dirt. The cleaned air then undergoes a heat exchange and cooling process which brings the air to the point where condensation occurs, and water is created. The water then passes through a multi-stage cascade of filters which includes chemical and biological filtration and mineralisation.
The water is now ready to drink and is stored in a built-in reservoir where it is continuously circulated to keep it fresh. The company says that due to its proprietary patent GENius technology, the machines are relatively low in energy consumption, generating five times more water per kilowatt per hour than any other technology on the market. It can be operated either by electricity, generators or solar panels.
Economic impact
The Watergen technology is already making a big difference to people and communities around the world, as it is now commercially available and affordable and the company believes it will have a major economic impact on the water industry in general. Other commercially available AWGs use conventional air-conditioning technology to generate water at tested efficiency rates of 650-850 watt-hours per litre.
Watergen’s technology can generate clean, safe drinking water at just 250 watt-hours per litre, which equates to a 300% increase in output. The increase in output means the company can produce four litres of water for every kilowatt of energy, at a cost of two-four cents per litre for a renewable solution that costs less than local purified packaged well water.
Disaster areas
In 2017, Watergen donated one of its large scale AWGs and a GEN-350 AWG to the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Watergen also has an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), which is a customised heavy-duty truck that securely transports Watergen’s units in emergency situations and natural disasters. The company was a first responder during recent floods in Houston, Texas and sent manpower and its GEN-350 unit to the wildfires in California. Its mobile, flexible technology can provide water quickly and easily where there is very little infrastructure.
Severe drought
Recently, Watergen was chosen by World Vision South Africa to launch a mobile water generation project for communities stricken with severe drought in the Eastern Cape. The drought has been caused by many different factors, including an increasing population, inefficient water infrastructure and a dependence on water by the coal industry. The atmospheric water generator chosen for the job was the GEN-350 because of ease of transportation and installation.
Over the next two years, the project will provide fresh, safe-drinking water to 50 early childhood development centres and almost all the 79 schools located in Uitenhage and KwaNobuhle. At least four clinics in an estimated 3,400 households are also expected to benefit.
Water for the future
As it looks to the future, Watergen’s vision is to use its technology to provide a renewable source of high-quality drinking water, extracted from the air and make it available anywhere, on demand and at a reasonable cost. Dr Michael Mirilashvili, president of Watergen, says:
“Access to clean drinking water is an innate human right. No one in the 21st century deserves to live without access to clean drinking water, our mission at Watergen is to provide clean and safe drinking water to all people around the globe.”
Jim W. Dean is VT Editor Emeritus. He was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews. He now writes and posts periodically for VT.
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sovereign nation status means there is no oversight, never trust them ever, they always plot to gas people, blow things up eventually
I agree that new nuclear power is a good idea, Jim.
By burning “waste fuel” in molten salt systems we could pump desalinated water from sources to deserts without damming rivers
there are still a few remote pokets NW of Gallop.. the villages are not very large and english is still a second language..
most of the reservation capms U speak of are west of rosemont or rapid city headed east to sioux city.. U kno it as Pine Ridge and the hollowod version is pretty close to the truth….
as to the phoneix area(nav-hopi-ute) and fort apache tribes.. U hav not bee out here – soo pls put a cork in it… a water or reverse osmosis system is pretty much common venue here in the west…
they dot the mall lots and are a few pennies per gallon – outside and easy to get plenty for the caffine machine..
as to tel-avive comint to rescue the poor ol natives – get a clue ! i spent 20 yrs w IHS and i know it well..
bak in the late 70’s these were dumpy little towns that hav grown into modern villages – including wally worlds & and star bukaroo coffe stands.. just about all of the malls hav a gun store and a law office next door (tribe trained their kids 20 yrs ago)..
the first nations in the west are not destitute ! lot of drugs – booze…
An outdoor air conditioner only for sale to governments ? They mention Harvey, and the checks were conditional upon signing to not support BDS.
The age old human thing about water, upstream good, downstream bad. The Hopi have been dry farming for eons.
I’ve a question, if there is thousands of miles oil pipes in everywhere, why they can’t build a water pipeline from… I don’t know, the Colorado River??
Thanks, Mihail
David Odell You mean cutoff like the Israelis do to Palestinians, right?
David Odell Except, last time I checked Palestinians are not allowed to build Casinos on their land and become wealthy.
All Reservations in the US have had their supply of food and water cut off using multiple techniques. They are still considered Prisoner of War camps.
The Colorado trickles where it once roared.
OIF, I’ve never been to Palestine, but did grow up on the shores of Lake Perfidy.
If a nation is sovereign, the word “Allowing” is not used. The people who cannot handle the guilt, resort to victim blaming. The US is addicted to colonization.
Why is Zionist Israel intentionally restricting and polluting the water, in Palestine, that is earmarked for the Palestinian Natives to be used in agriculture and drinking and for general use? That is a CRIME Against Humanity!
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