Portable 3D-printed device can produce enough drinking water from thin air for a family of four every day - Water from Air project can capture 1.6 gallons of drinking water per day

Two university graduates have designed a 3D printed vessel that can produce around six liters (~1.6 gallons) of drinking water a day, from nothing more than thin air. The aptly named ‘Water from Air’ project condenses water from air using 3D printing, advanced materials, and a phenomenon known as atmospheric water generation (AWG). Moreover, they aimed to achieve their goal with a portable and affordable device.

If you have easy access to water, you might not think about it very often, but Water from Air designers Louisa Graupe and Julika Schwarz, were inspired to tackle a problem after becoming aware of the billions of humans worldwide living without water security. We can see World Economic Forum figures confirm that “About 72% of the world's population faces water security issues, with 8% facing critical water insecurity.” Solutions are usually far beyond what an individual could address, “Existing systems for harvesting water from the atmosphere are often large, expensive, and technically demanding,” underlines the 3D Printing Industry blog.

The same blog indicates that the Water from Air device uses 3D printing, fused deposition modeling with transparent Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) material, and the opaque lid made using stereolithography (SLA).

Looking at the diagrams and texts, it isn’t entirely clear what non-3D printed parts of the vessel need sourcing separately. For example, we read that the Water from Air device is centered around “metal-organic frameworks, porous materials that act like microscopic sponges.” Is this 3D printable? This is a key component that draws in water molecules when the top is open. The water condenses and drips down to a separate section of the vessel when the top is closed.

In practice, the Water from Air device, as shown, is claimed to be able to achieve 12 condensation cycles a day. It can be tapped every two hours for 500 ml (~17 fluid ounces) of drinking water, according to the documents and diagrams we see. That’s how we get to the six liters (~1.6 gallons) of drinking water per day figure.

The Water from Air device is claimed to deliver enough clean water to supply a family of four, assuming a single person needs 1.5 liters to maintain hydration. That would also depend on the size of the person, their daily activity, and their living environment.

3D printing shaped the project due to its well-known rapid prototyping benefits and flexibility. It is also modular for cleaning and repair. Moreover, the graduates reckon 3D printing and also democratize and spread the design worldwide.

Despite what sounds like great progress to a pressing solution, the Water from Air designers acknowledge their design is still a prototype. But they hope one day for devices like this that “could grow to serve entire communities.”

This is not the first research into addressing water insecurity with 3D printing technology. The 3D Printing Industry blog reminds us of prior research that saw 3D printed plastic slabs filtering water and using sunlight to neutralize microbes. Other researchers have applied 3D printing technology to reverse osmosis – a very widely used technique for water desalination and purification.

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