2012-05-01

Water from Thin Air

Wind turbine creates water from thin air - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Wind turbines have long produced renewable energy but a French engineering firm has discovered another eco-purpose for the towering structures.

Eole Water claims to have successfully modified the traditional wind turbine design to create the WMS1000, an appliance that can manufacture drinking water from humid air.
The company aims to start rolling out the giant products for sale later in 2012, initially focusing on remote communities in arid countries where water resources are scarce.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Makers of a wind turbine claim it can generate power and water from humid air
  • Developers hope the device will bring water to rural communities in arid countries
  • The technology could be adapted to meet the needs of small cities in the future, say manufacturers


Eole Water - Give us wind, we give you water | Range




The WMS1000 Wind Turbine

For nearly 15 years, Eole Water team has been mobilized around the development of the WMS1000 wind turbine. This technology was designed around three major pillars:

Giving a sustainable access to safe drinking water

Unlike wells or boreholes, water will always be present in the air. The constraint was to design a reliable technology that can create and collect the water. Thanks to its technical expertise and its high quality components, the WMS1000 wind turbine allows anyone installed in remote areas to get to access to safe water for a period of twenty years. The device is capable of producing up to 1200 liters of water per day.

Operating in a full autonomy

The WMS1000 Wind Turbine was designed to produce water without any external power source. Wind is the only engine. With an installed capacity of 30kW and using air as a source of water, the WMS1000 Wind Turbine is perfectly adapted to supply remote areas completely devoid of existing infrastructures.

Preserving environment

Eole Water had to offer an innovative technology in line with current requirements related to sustainable development. Wind power is the only source of energy needed to run the water production turbines. There are no CO2 rejections, not pumping in groundwater or surface water sources. The environmental impact is practically nil.



A turbine that makes water from the desert air | SmartPlanet


How it works
Wind enters through intake vents around the nose cone of the mid-sized turbine and is then heated by a generator to become steam. The steam is compressed, which causes moisture to collect. It’s then condensed and the water is sent through pipes inside the turbine tower and into stainless steel tanks for filtration and purification. The hot air is blown out of the nacelle by a heat exchanger and air extractor.



Labels: , ,