Self-filling Fontus bottle converts air into drinkable water
PRODUCING water out of thin air used to sound like magic, but thanks to modern technology, this ‘spell’ is becoming available to everyone. Fontus, a $100 solarpowered device can pull moisture from the air and condense it into potable water.
Fontus is the brainchild of Vienna-based designer Kristof Retezár. It works on the simple principle of condensation, just like the droplets of water that collect on the sides of a cold soda can when you take it out of the fridge.
But the Fontus can collect a lot more water than that, because it uses thermoelectric cooling. A condensator in the device is connected to a series of hydrophobic surfaces that repel water. So when it takes in air, these surfaces get cold, leaving behind condensation.
“Because they’re hydrophobic, they immediately repel the condensed water that they created, so you get a drop f low [into the bottle],” Retezár explains.
“This is simply condensation of the humidity that is contained in the air,” he added. “You always have a certain percentage of humidity in the air, it doesn’t matter where you are – even in the desert.
That means you would always potentially be able to extract that humidity from the air. Basically, you are taking air in a vapor state and condensing it into a liquid state.”
So exactly how long does it take for the Fontus to produce a decent amount of water to drink? Well, turns out not too long.
It can create half a liter of water in an hour, but only if the weather conditions are “really good” – between 86 and 104 degrees F, and between 80 and 90 percent humidity. It actually took Retezár 30 attempts to be able to calibrate the Fontus to a steady output of one drop condensed per minute.
The water will be clean thanks to the filter at the top of the device which keeps dust and bugs away, but there’s no way to actually decontaminate the water for now.
“The water you get is clean, unless the air is really contaminated,” Retezár said.
“We’re thinking about making a bottle that also has a carbon filter, and this one would be for cities or areas where you might think the air is contaminated.