Water From Wind

[Hatchet]

There was an article in the Australian newspaper about a device which supposedly can extract water from the air via a "secret" configuration of wind turbines. There isn't much to go on in the article, but it smells fishy to me.

Sorry I have to munge the URL because it's my first post.

www(dot)theaustraliannews(dot)com(dot)au/story/0,20867,21123007-12272,00.html

Anyone got any insights?

[The Don]

It doesn't smell right but......

I'm wondering whether any difference in pressure reulting from the air encountering an aerofoil would be significant enough to lower the dewpoint by any appreciable margin. After all, if this were the case then all desk fans would be surrounded by pools of water.

If it were to work then it would work much better in areas of high humidity. Making the air drier by extracting the moisture contained within it may have undesirable side effects

Link to story: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21123007-12272,00.html

Link to website: http://www.airwater.com.au/home.htm

[Zep]

It's an Israeli company moving into Australia. I think I might look into this...

[fuelair]

Sounds similar to that stuff we call rain in the U.S.

[luchog]

I'm wondering whether any difference in pressure reulting from the air encountering an aerofoil would be significant enough to lower the dewpoint by any appreciable margin. After all, if this were the case then all desk fans would be surrounded by pools of water.

Hardly. If the theory is valid, then the effect would be greatly dependent upon the degree. A small propeller turning at about the speed of a ceiling fan is going to generate lift, but not enough to lift you off the ground. Increase the size and rotation speed, and it will. So there could very well be an effect noted on a large scale that wouldn't be present on a small scale.

That is, again, if the science behind it is valid, which has yet to be determined. Not holding my breath on this one.

If it were to work then it would work much better in areas of high humidity. Making the air drier by extracting the moisture contained within it may have undesirable side effects

A very valid concern. At the very least, it's likely to increase evaporation locally, or "rob" moisture from another, nearby, region. Ultimately, I can't see this as being a particular useful technology if it does work.

[casebro]

There is a simple, no-moving-parts device wherein you put compressed air in one port, hot air comes out another, and cold air out the third. I suppose you could do the same thing with turbins, the cold side would want to lose water?

Have you ever seen the pic of an F-14 doing aerobatics, and the fog that appears above the wing? That is condensed water... I've seen the same thing at the front corners of semi-trailers. So it is possible, maybe...

[Gilmar]

It seems to work well for this guy.
http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/larsmoisturefarm/

[Zep]

Waiting for THAT one... :rolleyes:

[rjh01]

The Australian normally is reliable. Its main audience is well educated people. I would not expect them to publish rubbish.

I did see a TV program where they harvest water in a very dry area. They were close to the sea and it gets cold in the morning. Result - dew on the nets.

[EvilBiker]

I did see a TV program where they harvest water in a very dry area. They were close to the sea and it gets cold in the morning. Result - dew on the nets.

Just humans copying nature again :)

http://www.physorg.com/news69602541.html
http://www.pbs.org/edens/namib/dawn.htm

[Johnny Pneumatic]

Waiting for THAT one... :rolleyes:

Why wait? All a "moisture vaporator" would need to work would be something with large surface area that gets cold enough to condense water out of the air. Even the driest deserts have some humidity. Run that puppy on solar power and you're in buisness.

[Lynx2174]

Step 1: Build wind turbine with heat pump instead of generator
Step 2: Build water collectors under the cold end of the heat pump
Step 3: ????
Step 4: profit.

[kleinjahr]

Casebro, what you described is a vortex tube, been in use for years. Not particularly efficient as you have to have a sufficient and reliable air supply. In other words an air compressor. Apparently, in the latter stages of WW II the Nazis were using them for heating and cooling. My copy of Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning has a nice little chapter on them.

As for these machines for extracting water from air, well, any air compressor can and does do it. Which is why air receivers have blowoffs and air driers to get the water out of the system. you can also use cooling coils to condense the water out. Or you can use fine mesh nets (cloud catchers) at altitude, such as are being experimented with in the Andes.

[tsg]

Step 1: Build wind turbine with heat pump instead of generator
Step 2: Build water collectors under the cold end of the heat pump
Step 3: ????
Step 4: profit.

That's what I thought. The website is scarce on details, but it could very easily be a refrigeration unit that is solar/wind powered.

A couple of things make my BS meter jump, though: new innovation looking for investors, can't release details until the patents clear (except that the website say they are already patented), and a "OMIGOD WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF WATER WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE" vibe on the website. It doesn't pin it mind you like, I don't know, the TimeCube website does, but it's pretty high in the yellow. Of course, it could be completely legitimate.

[casebro]

A wind powered de-humidifier. Big Wow. It leaves a funny taste in my mouth.

[Hatchet]

The Australian normally is reliable. Its main audience is well educated people. I would not expect them to publish rubbish.

I agree, but this is an opinion piece and it's possible that Phillip Adams has been taken in by a scam. I'd put $100 on there never being a production model of this device. Any takers :)