Atmospheric Water Harvesting Applications

 

Combat Desertification: Desertification is the process by which vegetation in drylands (arid and semi-arid lands) decreases and eventually disappears. Desertification leads to loss of biodiversity, food insecurity due to crop failure and reduced yields. Atoco’s AWH technology provides sustainable water generation and supply solution to regenerate vegetation in arid and semi-arid regions suffering from desertification. Download our White Paper on Desertification.

 

Desert Farming: Desert farming is the practice of developing agriculture in deserts. As agriculture depends on irrigation and water supply, farming in arid regions where water shortage is a common issue presents a significant challenge. Atoco’s AWH solutions not only secure water supply by providing a decentralized and resilient water production system to farmers but also ensure the delivery of high-quality water.

 

Arid Land Greenery: In dry and arid lands, it can be costly and difficult to maintain greenery, for instance along highways or railways cutting through remote locations. Rather than relying on expensive water transport, which generates a significant carbon footprint, water can be decentralized and harvested onsite.

 

Vertical Farming & Greenhouse: In arid lands, enabling food security can be challenging. Vertical farming and greenhouses can mitigate the challenge, but water scarcity and stress can result in unsustainable depletion of scarce water resources. Atoco’s AWH solutions can tap into the humidity in the air to offset the water consumption. Moreover, the AWH solutions can also reduce the loss of water through evaporation by reclaiming the water from the humidity inside the greenhouse.

 

Digital Infrastructure: The rapid expansion of digital infrastructure, including hyperscale data centers, requires significant water usage for cooling and heat management. Atoco’s AWH systems offer solutions to address this challenge while enhancing system efficiency and water resilience while reducing environmental impact.

 

Industrial Cooling and Boiler: Atoco’s AWH technology can generate clean water on-site, ensuring a reliable supply for cooling towers, boilers and other industrial processes. This reduces dependency on freshwater sources, minimizing environmental impact of water-intensive operations. Additionally, Atoco’s off-grid capability provides crucial advantage in remote or arid locations, where infrastructure development may be challenging. The integration of Atoco’s technology into industrial cooling and boiler systems enhances operational resilience while advancing water conservation and sustainability goals.

 

Pharmaceutical, Medical & Laboratory: Pharmaceutical and medical industries, and various analytical laboratories require consistent access to ultra-pure to purified water for disinfection and hygienic purposes. Atoco’s AWH solutions, relying on nano-engineered reticular materials, harvest nothing but H2O molecules from the air that pollutants and impurities cannot be retained.

 

Cleaning & Maintenance: Various cleaning and maintenance activities are extremely water intensive, from vehicle washing solutions for personal vehicles to PV solar panel cleaning at photovoltaic power plants. Atoco’s AWH solutions can offset the water consumption, thereby making such cleaning and maintenance practices more sustainable and economical.

 

Travel & Hospitality: The growing number of domestic and international travelers directly and indirectly increases water consumption. To address the lack of reliable natural water sources, permanent and self-regulated water stations can be established to harvest water from air without using electricity.

 

Handheld Devices: Hikers, rescue workers and military personnel depend on reliable access to drinking water, especially in arid regions where water can be scarce and often contaminated. Relying on natural reserves can be dangerous and potentially life threatening. Atoco’s AWH solutions can be adopted into portable and handheld devices that fit in a backpack and operate without electricity, which can support the daily water needs of individuals.

 

Emergency Response & Refugee Camps: Severe weather events (tropical storms, hurricanes, tornados etc.) often lead to acute water shortages, putting lives at risk within days. Surface reservoirs may become contaminated or infiltrated by seawater, while waterborne diseases pose a serious threat to vulnerable populations. Atoco’s advanced portable AWH units can be rapidly deployed to areas lacking critical infrastructure, including refugee camps and emergency shelters, providing immediate relief and access to safe drinking water until more permanent solutions are established.

 

Military Camp: Supplying water (or fuel) to remote locations can be challenging and resource intensive. By producing water onsite, it will reduce the complexity of these supply chains, even if the water generated is supported by diesel generators. Atoco’s active portable AWH units can be deployed within at speed to areas lacking critical infrastructure.

 

Recreational On-Board Water: From private on-board applications, such as RVs or Mobile Homes, to public on-board applications like trains, yachts and cruise ships, Atoco’s AWH technology will enable sufficient water supply for consumption even in remote regions for an extended period. Atoco’s on-board solution can replace or supplement existing water sources, making the supply more sustainable and cost-effective.

 

Food and Beverage: Food and beverage industry like restaurants, bars and breweries require large amounts of water daily for processes such as raw material preparation, cooking, brewing and mixing. Atoco’s AWH provides a sustainable and efficient water source, enabling establishments from independent restaurants to large-scale franchise to lower dependence on local water infrastructure and to optimize water usage.

 

Livestock & Wildlife Water Stations: In arid regions, cattle migrate in search of fertile grasslands and water sources. Maintaining an adequate water supply during warmer months can be both challenging and costly. Atoco’s solutions eliminate the need for water transport and have potential to operate using natural ambient energy on-site, reducing costs and minimizing carbon footprint.

 

Islands and Island States: Islands and island states often lack ground water, and therefore suffer from water scarcity and stress, especially in peak tourist seasons. Water is typically transported to the island or produced via desalination which are very energy intensive practices and have negative impacts on the environment. Utility scale AWH solutions can increase water independence, enabling a much more resilient water system, even in case of severe weather conditions. Download our White Paper on Building Water Resilience for Islands.

 

Remote Community: Small communities in remote regions of arid lands are vulnerable in terms of access to water, relying typically on transport of water via trucks or pipelines, at least in periods of the year, when aquifers are depleted. The smaller the community, the higher the unit cost of water delivered. Atoco’s utility-scale systems generate water from air, enabling large degree of water independence for such communities.