Ford Sees A/C Condensate As a Clean Drinking-Water Source
Yes, bottled water really does cost more than gasoline. So does nearly any common liquid consumers can buy, actually. But there’s an unfortunate reality check in this musing: While choosing Aquafina or Perrier over good, clean, cheap tap water is a choice many Americans make, quite a few places elsewhere aren’t fortunate enough to have the latter as an option.
In this bizarre economic reality that holds true around much of the globe, safe drinking water is indeed a precious resource and gasoline is easier to come by. It’s getting worse, too; UN figures anticipate that 47 percent of the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress in 2030.
Inspired by a project in Lima, Peru, that condensed water from humid air to produce 2500 gallons of clean H2O in a three-month period, a Ford powertrain controls engineer, Doug Martin, sought to do the same on an automotive scale.