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Bicycle Bottle System Condenses Humidity From Air Into Drinkable Water

Diggester writes The weight of water limits how much can be brought on a long bike ride. There isn't always an option to stop and fill up from a clean stream or drinking fountain, but water could be obtained from a different source: the air. Austrian industrial design student Kristof Retezár has created Fontus: a prototype of a water bottle system that condenses humid air into clean, drinkable water. His design made him a finalist for the 2014 James Dyson Award.

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  1. Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So, a small wind turbine (or taking turns on a bike), and any hot humid area where clean drinking water can be scarce is a good fit for this.

    I can see this applying to FAR more than cycling.

    Interesting.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  2. Re:Drinkable? Are you sure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here in Orlando, FL you can just hold up an empty glass and slice moisture out of the air with a butter knife. It'd work well here.

    I think there's actually a great market for something like this if it can be made to be light, compact and durable. Something small and light to take on backcountry camping trips to supplement drinking water.

    Bigger versions of it, if they could be made to be cheap and reliable enough, could be extremely useful for off-grid permanent installations. Case in point, Canaveral National Sea shore is a popular beach park here. The bathrooms on the beach are all dry bathrooms. There's no water to wash your hands with, let alone the possibility of drinking water. A stationary version of this with a small tank would be awesome. Same deal with bathrooms we've had to use in other state/national parks and when on safari in Africa.

    If a bigger stationary installation of this worked well enough, I'd consider having one here for my house for emergency use. It would only need to produce a modest amount of water.

  3. Re:Doesn't distilled water taste horrible though? by 31415926535897 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Pure water does taste a little off, which is why bottled water companies add minerals to their product.

    If this is a big concern for athletes or anyone else using this system, they could easily transport a very small amount of mineral mix to dissolve in the water to fix the problem.

    Personally, I'd be shocked if this was the biggest problem. Athletes require far more fluids than this will be able to provide. I don't see this being practical.