Producing Bottled Water From Thin Air! US Firm Turns Arabian Desert Air Into Bottled Water

Turning Desert Air Into Water

The Arabian Desert is far from being a source of drinking water and it scarcely seems like an ideal place to source drinking water. However, in what may be the first operation of its kind, an Arizona-based technology firm is doing just that. At a plant, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Dubai, the company, Zero Mass Water, will wring moisture from the air to create bottled water instead of drilling wells or purifying seawater. In Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates, many desalination facilities use fossil fuels, but the firm will instead use renewable energy. To produce drinking water in a more sustainable way and also to improve food security through agricultural breakthroughs, the project could offer a model for other parched nations.

The general manager at IBV, an Emirati firm that will buy the water, Samiullah Khan said, “The bottles used are recyclable and the caps are sustainable, as they will be made from bamboo, and the botting plant is run on solar.”

According to Roland Wahlgren, who runs Atmoswater Research, a consulting firm in Vancouver, Zero

Mass’s operation stands out for its size and intention to bottle the water, compared to other water-from-air technology used elsewhere.

Zero Mass will initially only be able to produce up to 2.3 million liters (607,000 gallons) annually — about the volume of a typical Olympic swimming pool and isn’t going to rival bulk water processors any time soon.

When compared with desalination, water-from-air technology is still much more expensive for the same output of water. Thus, Zero Mass’s will be in the same bracket as imported, high-end brands just like Fiji and Evian. Locally, these brands sell for around 10 dirhams ($2.72) a liter.

According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the average resident drank 127 liters last year in UAE, placing it in the top ten globally as the demand for bottled water is high in the UAE.

Khan said the construction of the Zero Mass facility is undergoing in the village of Lehbab. In glass bottles, the water will be sold to hotels and other buyers by IBV, owned by Butti Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s royal family.

Next Frontier

The plan is to have around 10,000 hydro panels in the plant, however, it will start off with 1,250 hydro panels, each of which costs $2,500 and eventually increase. Details on how much the company has invested in the project are not specified by Zero Mass.

The rectangular boxes absorb water vapor and extract it using solar energy and they measure around 2.4 meters (8 feet) by 1.2 meters. According to Cody Friesen, founder of Zero Mass, Dubai’s hot and humid climate makes the emirate a prime location even though they can operate almost anywhere the sun shines.

According to Zero Mass, at desert camps for tourists and in some homes in UAE, hydro panels have been used before, but on a much smaller scale. The panels ensure the water is purified even if the air is polluted as it has dust filters and uses a chemical compound that captures only water molecules.

Considering agriculture, with the coronavirus pandemic disrupting global supply chains, Gulf nations want to reduce their heavy dependence on food imports. In order to boost milk products, the UAE imported 4,500 dairy cows from Uruguay this month. It’s also trying to farm rice locally, and using sustainable amounts of water will play a crucial role in its success.

Friesen, from Arizona State University, said, “To avoid those cash flowing out of the economy to buy food and transportation costs, the next thing is really about producing water for growing tomatoes and other things locally.”

Wahlgren, the consultant, who has not worked for Zero Mass said, “In the right climate, agriculture using water-from-air can be commercially viable, and the UAE is in the right climate zone.”

He added saying that only in enclosed environments such as warehouses, water-from-air is only suitable for farming. In recent years in the UAE, there has been rapid growth in the number of companies growing herbs and vegetables using other indoor-farming methods and hydroponics, which when compared to conventional agriculture, consumes much less water.

Wahlgren said it’s a huge advantage to be using very pure water with hydroponics. If desalinated water is used, it can be harmful to the plants as it still has quite a large salt component.”

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Turning Desert Air Into Water