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Bicycle Bottle System Condenses Humidity From Air Into Drinkable Water

Posted by samzenpus on from the water-water-everywhere dept.

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.

11 of 167 comments (clear)

  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.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, of all the possible places this could be used it seems bizarre he decided to focus on the cyclist market.

    2. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

      LOL, to heck with the drinking water ... of far more importance to Slashdotters is this article which shows up on the side of that page ...

      The Automatic Sperm Sample Extractor.

      This piece of technology comes with a massage pipe that the user can adjust to suit his height. Upon setting the desired amplitude, frequency and temperature on the machine, the user is good to go. A small display on the top is featured for those who like some 'visual' assistance.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Hmmm ... by ikedasquid · · Score: 4, Funny

      The vendor and support market could be huge too. Think of all the protocol droids that will need to be manufactured just to speak their binary language!

    4. Re:Hmmm ... by i+kan+reed · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Point of fact: it's just an air conditioner. The only difference is that it uses mechanical power instead of electrical to run its heat pump.

    5. Re:Hmmm ... by neonKow · · Score: 4, Informative

      The article gives a rate of 1 drop per minute when it "starts to work". This means a standard 1/2 liter bottle would take over 2.5 hours to fill in 68 degree weather at 50% humidity, which doesn't seem that practical.

      In idea conditions, it still take an hour to fill that bottle. 0.5 L is not a lot in 100% humidity, and whatever hot temperature the maker considers ideal.

    6. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yeah well I'm a 400km a week cyclist and I do Ironman. A 5K bike is NOT just about weight. Aero, stiffness, handling, quality of carbon, ride..... they all factor in and THAT means time savings or watt savings.

      Anyone that thinks 5K for a bike is just about weight is a cafe racer. Yeah sure, maybe a 2K sportive is about 10 minutes slower than a S-Works Tarmac over 90 kms but that is huge difference when your ass is on the saddle. The sportive is also wasting watts on frame twist, the S-Works puts every scrap to the wheel. Or how about alloy verses carbon aero wheels? I dont wear 45mm carbon wheels for weight, it's all about aero gains. Or how about a set of 3T aeromax handlebars? Dont have those for weight, those save 20watts at my typical speed. Oh and they remove road hum too.

      And the real reason why I ride expensive bikes? After 200 kms I'm feeling okay enough to turn around and do it again. Cheaper bikes leave you a rattled sore mess.

  2. "Industrial design student" by caffeinated_bunsen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apparently the industrial design curriculum doesn't cover thermodynamics. Condensing water at room temperature requires shedding about 680 watt-hours of energy per liter, and thermoelectric coolers tend to burn off more than twice the energy they pump (depends on a few variables, but practical devices in practical situations usually fall in that ballpark). You'd need somewhere near a constant half-kilowatt to provide for one person's normal water consumption. Much more if they're exercising or in a hot environment.

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    Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
  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.

  4. The numbers vary by Overzeetop · · Score: 3, Informative

    1 drop per minute is at 20C and 50% RH = 3ml/hr (0.05ml/drop). At that temp/RH, there is 0.01 kg moisture per kg of air. But in hot, humid weather (say 35C and 90% RH), there is 4x as much moisture in the air. More importantly, at 20/50% the dew point is 9C, or a delta T of 11C that the (horribly inefficient) peltier cooler must keep just to condense moisture. At 35C, and 90% RH, the dew point is 33C, requiring only a 2C delta T across the cooler, allowing more of the power to be used for the latent heat of condensation.

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    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  5. Re:How much does the device weigh? by geantvert · · Score: 4, Funny

    Normal water is too heavy when travelling by bike so I always bring dehydrated water instead.