Observer photo by Nikki Schwab
Aqua Sciences CEO Abe Sher fills a container with the water extracted from air by his company’s new water harvesting machine.

Story by Nikki Schwab

WASHINGTON – A new machine that produces water from thin air could provide gallons of drinking water for devastated regions worldwide.

This week, Florida-based Aqua Sciences Inc. introduced a water-harvesting machine that extracts drinkable water from the atmosphere.

“Our goal is to keep pure water pure,” said Abe Sher, chief executive officer of Aqua Sciences.

The machine could be taken to disaster sites or isolated areas where drinking water is scarce. It can produce up to 1,080 gallons of water per day.

Two 40-foot trucks were sold to the Florida division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $500,000 each.

Scott Morris, director of the FEMA office in Florida, said the machines were purchased to help with disaster relief in the state.

Whenever a hurricane hit Florida, trucks used to haul bottles of water and bags of ice to the disaster site. This made water very expensive after the storm, Morris said.

With the water-harvesting machines, however, Morris said that post-hurricane drinking water would go from $15 a gallon to 20 cents a gallon.

“We are saving the taxpayers a tremendous amount of money with these kinds of machines,” he said.

The Red Cross, as part of its water and sanitation guidelines, suggests harvesting rainwater and digging wells in communities affected by disasters. A Red Cross pamphlet doesn’t mention using machinery that produces its own drinking water.

Salvation Army trucks transported to disaster sites bottled water often donated by corporations such as Anheuser-Busch.

Aqua Sciences also has a contract with the U.S. Army, but Sher couldn’t say what the military intended to use the water machine for.

The machine works by pushing air through a liquid salt solution of lithium chloride. This compound is hydroscopic in nature, meaning it attracts water from its surroundings. Because the compound used in the machine attracts water molecules, it allows water to be harvested from arid regions, not just humid regions.

The machine then extracts water from the salt solution and filters it through table salt, which acts as a natural disinfectant. This process is less hazardous than adding chlorine.

Finally, water is filtered through a carbon filter to add taste.

Water is put into bags with spigots resembling those in boxed wine and used because they block sunlight and resist bacteria growth.

They also don’t break, Sher said, as he tossed a silver water-filled bag off the back of the 20-foot water-harvesting machine that resembles a tractor-trailer.

The water can be hot or cold. It’s similar to distilled water with a “heavy” taste like mineral water.

Aqua Sciences’ harvesting machine differs from previous technology because it uses the salt solution. Most water-harvesting machines are large dehumidifiers that cannot produce water in low humidity. The company’s patent for the technology is pending.

“We have no competition if the requirement is to produce water from air everywhere,” Sher said.

The machine comes in four sizes. The smallest fits into the back of a pickup truck. The largest, a 40-foot tractor-trailer, includes generators that produce water for a week without an external electricity source.