There have been many concepts and projects in the past that worked on generating water from air, but most of them confined to catering to the domestic needs. For the first time ever, researchers at Fraunhofer Institute led by Siegfried Egner, head of the department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) in Stuttgart, in conjunction with Logos Innovationen have come up with an idea of setting up large water harvesting plants that would use renewable energy to extract water from humid air.

Working on the principle of low pressure, these plants use saline solution that absorbs water, known as hygroscopic brine. Drawn through a tower or chimney, this moisture-rich solution drains off into an underground tank where solar collectors installed in the roof heat it up. This steamed water is collected and run down a completely filled tube into another tank from where it can be consumed.

However, the project is still in its conceptual stage and would take time to surface. Considering the fact that so far there is no information about how much it would cost and other set up details, let’s hope it really works, as it would surely make a difference.

Via Fraunhofer