Chile just got really good at creating drinking water from fog

[Judi Lynn]

Chile just got really good at creating drinking water from fog
By Holly Richmond

Who’d like a tall glass of fog? Apparently the answer is “people in Chile and 16 other very dry countries.” And so, along with scientists from MIT, Chilean scientists developed a new, super-efficient way to wring air-juice out of the sky. Writes Wired:

A fog-harvesting system that is up to five times more efficient than previous systems at turning airborne water into drinking water has been developed by researchers at MIT in collaboration with colleagues in Chile.

Fog harvesting is not a new technique — it’s already used to pull drinking water out of the air in at least 17 different countries. Systems generally consist of some sort of vertical mesh, a little like a large tennis net. The technique is inspired by specialized plants and insects that survive in some of the world’s driest regions by drawing water from the air in this way.

The research team has managed to optimize the nets by fine-tuning the size of the filaments in the nets, the size of the holes between the filaments, and the coating applied to the filaments.

More:
http://grist.org/list/chile-just-got-really-good-at-creating-drinking-water-from-fog/

[JimDandy]

1. Wow. First I ever heard of this system. n/t

[Downwinder]

2. Wind traps

[OnlinePoker]

3. I've seen these before in previous incarnations

These seem to be a finer mesh so will catch more liquid. My only questions are will it cause changes to the environment (taking moisture that is traditionally used by something else further down the chain) and what happens to airborne pollutants that are a part of the fog (are these collected at the same time)?

[NickB79]

4. Just watch out for the Sand People!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatooine#Moisture_farms

[stuntcat]

5. "and use it to grow crops in underground hydroponic labs."

The upcoming water wars have scared me for so long. I just need Uncle Owen's water farming to save me