Water Outta Thick Air: The Whisson Windmill
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 03.29.07
Yep, it is another one of those wacky inventions that will send droves to the comments section to decree it is doomed to failure. But at least its Australian inventor is optimistic enough to be taking out international patents on the design. Max Whisson’s apparatus draws air [62] in past a fan [10], whose blades are cooled by the overlay of tubes carrying compressed refrigerant [right image]. The blades thus being colder than the ambient air temperature cause water vapour in the surrounding air to condense on the fins [52] beyond the spinning blades. This liquid water is then collected [56]. Max, a retired medical specialist believes a four-metre square (43 sq ft) device could extract an average 7,500 litres (~2,000 gallons) of water a day. According to one news report, he says there are about 10 to 15 litres in every 1000 cubic metres of air, or as he adds: "An average-sized window with a gentle breeze flowing through it will produce a million cubic metres of air every hour.” Max was, apparently, inspired by fog harvesting and the Namib beetle, both of which we’ve covered previously. Via ::The Australian, ABC Online and IOL.
This, of course, is what an air conditioner does.
The amount of condensate is related to the humidity in the air. Dry air would produce much less condensate than wet air.
The energy costs to produce water from the air in this fashion would have to be examined to determine if it made any sense.
My first thought is desalination would be easier and cheaper.
Interesting thought however. I love to see people thinking.
Someday we're going to have legal battles not over diversion of watercourses and intrusion on aquifers, but rather on diversion of air moisture. If I owned a farm behind this turbine, I would be very angry, because I'm gonna be dried out.
I'm looking at my average sized window, 2 square meters, and considering a gentle breeze, let's be generous and say 20km/hour, good sailing but not a small craft advisory. That would be 40,000 cubic meters per hour. Which leads one to wonder... is a hurricane a gentle breeze? are his average sized windows larger than my house?
Technical people that are off by more than an order of magnitude in their field do not inspire confidence in me. I also would have expected the concept of relative humidity to pop up as it has a huge impact on the energy required. I'm still hopeful that there is something to this though. It doesn't need to cool the mass of air, just briefly cool a portion long enough for the water vapor to condense into droplets, it can then allow that air to warm back. There may be an aerodynamic trick at work with those blades, sort of like a stationary contrail.
on a smaller scale, but much better for the common home, is the Hyflux DragonFly air-to-water converter, already on the consumer market. I own one, use it at work, and it sure beats the idea of water bottles and deliveries. They actually add a filter in that deposits mineral for taste, since they don't have to filter out chlorine, et al. Expensive at $1100, but pays off in free drinking water in a few years if you're used to buying bottled water...
See it here:
http://tinyurl.com/28teey
If you suspect some of the "inventions" that you highlight are most likely quackery why bother posting them?
At least take the time to figure out if the new "MEGA WIND TURBINE 5000!!!" is going to life up to its name, or its its just a photoshoped jet engine on a wind tower pole.
A healthy amount of scepticism would go a long way towards making your readers more informed. Not all that glitters is gold, or even metal.
mody that thing draws 535- 625 Watts. If you live in the united states that means you are burning a lot of coal for that "free water"
How high is your electric bill? Do you even make the connection between using that much energy and the pitiful amount of "free" water you get from using that machine? (500 ml /hr)
Do you work for that company?
Using energy to run a condenser coil to get water from the air is possibly the worst idea I have heard of to get fresh water.
So I am not accused of being a negative Nancy check out this wave powered desalination plants (must like the one in Australia). Using natural renewable sources to drive your device is the way to go.
nearly all of the above comments are way off base. this device uses no power - it is a windmill that condenses water from the air in the same manner as an airconditioner. the principle is simple.
it is indeed strange that treehugger would question the credibility ("whacky"???? "doomed"????) of one of the inventions that it is showcasing, and even stranger that the comments should be so negative.
sounds like someone doesn't want water to be free.
JimS owns a HiFlux domestic water-from-air machine. This company seems a well-established thriving international company which surely would not put its name to a faulty product - or concept. Max Whisson's Water from Air machine is possible. I don't doubt it and it draws its working energy from the wind - not the grid. Read more here on my site's page about the Whisson Windmill:: http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/Whisson-windmill.html
Question for JimS: Why does your water from air machine also need a tap, allowing input from scheme water if it can generate free water from air? Is it producing water from air fast? Or a cup an hour or something?
Have a look at the Water Unlimited site at: http://www.waterunlimited.com.au/presentation.html .
It now has a lot more information and the design has been sexed up a LOT.
I also notice they are hanging extra power turbines on it wherever they can find space, which kind of confirms the doubts many of us had about the amount of power needed, as against that available from the wind. On the other hand, I guess that means they are actually doing real work on the machine.
Whissom's latest incarnation of his machine, for average temperate climate summer conditions, requires about 200 times as much energy as obtainable from his inefficient savonius type wind rotor array to cool the air diverted to the refrigerated heat transfer vanes (also of inefficient design) to cool the air entering this section of the apparatus to get to 100% humidity and a further 200 times the energy available to condense the water vapour to liquid, ie remove latent heat of vapourization.
Thus it will not do what is claimed.