Start-up Harvests Water from Thin Air

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Start-up Harvests Water from Thin Air

PHOG Water Developed a Net, Based on Ancient Technology, that Catches Water from Fog

With ongoing climate change and contaminated groundwater causing major rifts in water sustainability, nations are beginning to look into alternative water solutions. One startup, PHOG Water, has prototyped a net, based on ancient technology first crafted by the Incas, that harvests water from fog.

When Michael, Andrea, and Jeremy told the locals inSaint Vincent and the Grenadinesthat they were climbing to the top of the volcanoLaSoufrière, located on the island of Saint Vincent, they were met with incredulity and the idea was basically dismissed as crazy. The peak of La Soufrièretops off at 4,049 ft. And then they told them they were actually doing it twice in one week; all for the pursuit of fog.

Michael Thomas, Jeremy Blair, and AndreaBühler, the team now known asPhog Water, are on a mission to harvest clean drinking water from thin air. And as it turns out, La Soufrièrehas the perfect conditions: heavy winds, high elevation, and low-lying clouds.Harvesting water from fog requires low-tech nets that essentially capture the water. Suspended water droplets in the air come into contact with the net, coalesce into larger droplets, and then run into a collection trough. The water can then be collected or piped back into town.

It isn't a new technique. Similar techniques date back to the Incas.But it wasn't until 1987 that researchers began to look into ways to tweak the technology and make it effective in different, slightly nuanced environments.FogQuest, a Canadian based charity, paved the way for PHOG Water, and today the charity maintains nets in Morocco, Nepal, Chile, Ethiopia and Guatemala. Still, even despite the fact that the technology is nearly self-sustainable and requires very little energy and upfront investment (compared to harvesting ground water), there are still foggy peaks around the world, waiting to be tapped into.

Source: The CS Monitore

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