A student at Australia’s Swinburne University this week received the James Dyson Award for a device he says is capable of harvesting moisture from the air for use in
irrigation, even in the world’s driest places. Developed by Edward Linnacre, the Airdrop is a wind- or solar-powered device that sucks air underground through a coiled metal pipe, where the cooler temperature of the surrounding soil slowly causes it to condense. The device ultimately collects the water in an underground tank before it is pumped back to the roots of nearby crops via a sub-surface drip irrigation system. According to Linnacre, a prototype that he developed in his mother’s backyard was able to produce about one liter of water per day. He hopes the technology can be used for agriculture in even the driest conditions. “There are water-harvesting technologies out there, but there’s very few low-tech solutions,” he said. “A low-tech solution is perfect for rural farmers, something that they can install, something that they can maintain themselves.”
New Irrigation Device Pulls Water From the Air in Driest Conditions
More From E360
-
Pollution
As Enforcement Lags, Toxic Coal Ash Keeps Polluting U.S. Water
-
NATIVE LANDS
Lauded as Green Model, Costa Rica Faces Unrest in Its Forests
-
Energy
Averting Crisis, Europe Learns to Live Without Russian Energy
-
Solutions
How Indigenous People Are Restoring Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
-
Oceans
The East Coast Whale Die-Offs: Unraveling the Causes
-
Biodiversity
In Cambodia, a Battered Mekong Defies Doomsday Predictions
-
Solutions
As Millions of Solar Panels Age Out, Recyclers Hope to Cash In
-
WATER
How Weather Forecasts Can Help Dams Supply More Water
-
Biodiversity
As Fatal Fungus Takes Its Toll, Can We Save Frog Species on the Brink?
-
Energy
In Scramble for Clean Energy, Europe Is Turning to North Africa
-
Solutions
From Lab to Market: Bio-Based Products Are Gaining Momentum
-
ARCTIC
How Tensions With Russia Are Jeopardizing Key Arctic Research