Date:06/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/06/stories/2006050620380200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

And now, a machine to make water from thin air!

Anand Parthasarathy

Army to evaluate 1,000-litre-a-day model based on U.S. technology

BSF already using smaller models

28-litre consumer versions launched in India promise half the cost of bottled water

Bangalore: It sounds too good to be true - but machines can actually make water from thin air! That's because there's always some water vapour in the atmosphere. The challenge is to condense it and convert it into potable water at a cost that makes economical sense.

A Mumbai-based company, Watermaker India, has tied up with the Florida-based AirWater Corporation to use their technology and manufacture a range of such water making machines, from small 28 and 50 litre-a-day units to large industrial versions that can deliver 1000 litres a day.

On Wednesday, AirWater's chief executive, Michael Zwebner, was in Mumbai to hand over a custom-built mobile and rugged 1000-litre version manufactured in Israel, for intensive evaluation by the Indian Army. The unit will be put through its paces around Ajmer and later moved to other punishing environments.

The Border Security Force (BSF) is already using smaller models (120-150 litre), manufactured in India. Speaking to The Hindu , Shailesh Masurekar, general manager, WaterMaker (India), explained that the rated water is delivered in 24 hours in places where the temperature is around 25-32 degrees Celsius and the humidity is 60 to 70 per cent. If the humidity is less or the temperature lower, the system will function but deliver slightly less water.

The parent U.S. company acquired the technology in 2003 and since then has been a global pioneer in converting it into a commercially viable product. It was deployed in large numbers in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami and has been put to use by the Israeli Army and U.S. units in Iraq.

Mr Masurekar added that the small 28-litre version costs around Rs. 38,000. If the cost of electricity to run the unit and the replenishment of the ultra-violet ray filters is factored, the cost of the water will still be less than half of what small offices pay for the 25 and 50 litre bottled water they purchase, he said.