AQUAIR

A water harvester using a manually powered, low-cost centrifuge to collect and purify fog, providing clean water for rural communities

Water is an essential resource for survival, yet access to it can' be limited in certain regions. AQUAIR ("Acquire Water from the Air") focuses on addressing this challenge in Honduras, targeting specific communities with the potential to collect clean drinking water during the dry season. With consistently high humidity and frequent fog conditions throughout the year, Honduras presents an opportunity to harness this natural resource. AQUAIR utilizes a manually powered, low-cost centrifuge driven by gravity to capture and purify water from fog, providing clean drinking water for rural communities.

Team: Rosalie Lin, Wei-Yee Ong, Shih-Min Chang, Marco Villela

Advisor: Ya-Lin Chen, Ming-Yuan Ma

Skill: User-centric design, problem-solving, 3D CAD, mechanical design,

3D printing (SLA, FDM), soft-hard components interfacing

Motivation

Across the globe, billions of people struggle to fulfill their basic needs, including access to food, water, housing, sanitation, education, and healthcare. One of our group members, Marco, is from Honduras—a country facing similar challenges. As a result, Honduras became our starting point. Our goal is not only to improve the quality of life for its people but also to utilize local resources and technology to minimize costs and adapt to their lifestyle. We hope this project can eventually expand to other regions facing similar challenges.

User journey of daily water collection

We investigated their current methods of water collection, focusing on identifying the users involved, tools used, time and location, and potential concerns. With the help of Marco and his daa, we conducted interviews with three local community members to gather first-hand information. This allowed us to understand their existing water collection practices, identify pain points, and derive insights for potential improvements.

Opportunity: Leveraging local weather condition

We collaborated with the World Vision Organization to gain deeper insights into local communities. These communities, located in mountainous areas at altitudes above 1000 meters, experience consistently high humidity, creating ideal conditions for fog formation.

Field test: Fog collection in the mountain

To test our concept of "collecting fog," we experimented with various methods to simulate fog, including bathroom vapor, liquid nitrogen, and fog machines. However, we couldn't be certain that these simulations accurately replicated natural fog behavior. To validate our idea, we traveled to a mountainous area in Taiwan with weather conditions similar to those in the Honduran community. There, we successfully demonstrated the concept. In our test setup, we compared a static net with a fan-assisted net, measuring the amount of water collected over two hours in 100% humidity. The results showed that active fog collection significantly outperformed the static setup.

Our Solution: AQUAIR

AQUAIR is a fog harvester that uses a gravity-powered, low-cost centrifuge to draw in fog and purify water, providing clean drinking water for rural communities. During rain, it doubles as a rain collector. Designed for installation near homes or within communities, it ensures families have easy access to water without the need to travel to distant sources.

Feature

User workflow

Mechanical design: Gravity as power source

After confirming that a fan could effectively harvest fog, we focused on finding a power source. Since electricity is scarce in our target area, Honduras, we decided to use gravity as a self-sufficient power source. By allowing a weight to fall from a height, we generate potential energy, which can be converted through a gear set to power the fan to the necessary RPM for fog collection. We tested the optimal balance between "falling time," "weight," and "fan speed" by adjusting gear ratios and fan shapes. Throughout the design process, we consulted with professors from Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering.

Supply chain: Local vs imported components

AQUAIR is designed to be easy to build and assemble, allowing local communities to access the parts or create their own versions. We aimed to minimize the need for imported components, ensuring that only essential parts requiring durability and not readily available locally are imported.