Is It Possible to Create Water from Thin Air?

Water scarcity is an increasingly urgent issue in the developed world, but it’s not a new challenge for less developed nations. For centuries, access to clean drinking water has been difficult for many, especially in poorer countries. In some regions, water may be available, but it's often contaminated, and consuming it can be deadly. In others, there’s simply no reliable water supply.

The World Health Organization reports that over 2 billion people live in water-stressed nations, and this number is projected to rise in some areas due to climate change and population growth. This begs the question: Given the world’s desperate need for clean water, why can’t we just produce it ourselves?

Water consists of two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom. It sounds like basic chemistry, so why don’t we just combine them and fix the world’s water crisis? In theory, it’s possible, but it’s an incredibly dangerous procedure.

To generate water, both oxygen and hydrogen atoms need to be present. Simply mixing them together won’t do the trick; you'll still end up with individual hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The electrons in each atom's orbit must connect, which requires a sudden surge of energy to get these atoms to bond.

Hydrogen is highly flammable, and oxygen fuels combustion, so it doesn’t take much to generate the required force. In fact, all we need is a spark — not even a flame — and voilà, we’ve created water. The electrons in the hydrogen and oxygen atoms will have merged.

However, this process also results in an explosion — and if the reaction is large enough, a deadly one. The infamous Hindenburg disaster on May 6, 1937, involved a blimp filled with hydrogen to keep it airborne. As it neared New Jersey after crossing the Atlantic, static electricity (or possibly sabotage, according to some) triggered the hydrogen to ignite. When mixed with oxygen in the surrounding air, the hydrogen exploded, engulfing the Hindenburg in flames and destroying it in less than 30 seconds.

But in the midst of that explosion, a significant amount of water was also produced.

To generate enough drinking water for the entire global population, an immense and perilous process on an unprecedented scale would be required. A century ago, the concept of an internal combustion engine—based on controlled, repetitive explosions—was considered dangerously unthinkable. However, as water becomes increasingly scarce, the process of combining hydrogen with oxygen might soon become more feasible than it appears today. After all, necessity is the mother of invention.

There are safer methods of creating water from the air, and such projects are already in progress.

Creating Water From Thin Air

Water is all around us, even if we can't always see it. The air we breathe holds varying amounts of water vapor, depending on the weather. On hot and humid days, evaporated water can make up to 6 percent of the air. On cold and dry days, it can be as little as 0.07 percent of the atmosphere's composition.

This water-laden air is part of the Earth's water cycle. To simplify, water evaporates from rivers, lakes, and oceans, rising into the atmosphere, where it gathers in the form of clouds (which are actually collections of water vapor). Once the clouds reach their saturation point, water droplets form and fall as rain. This rain runs off the land and collects in bodies of water, where the cycle starts all over again.

The issue, however, is that the water cycle occasionally goes through dry spells. As a result, some inventors have started to question: Why wait for rain? Why not extract the water vapor directly from the air?

In fact, some have already done just that. Here’s a glimpse into some of the most innovative technologies designed to create water from the air.

Aquaer

Enrique Veiga, an 82-year-old Spanish engineer, created a device that extracts drinking water by using electricity to cool air until it condenses into water. This is the same principle that causes condensation in air conditioning units.

Although he isn't the first to utilize this technology, his company, Aquaer, stands out as the first to operate in temperatures exceeding 104°F (40°C) with humidity levels as low as 10 to 15 percent. Essentially, his machine can generate water in desert environments, where water is most needed.

After perfecting the machine, Aquaer was tasked with providing drinking water to regions in Namibia and a refugee camp in Lebanon. Veiga also founded a nonprofit, Water Inception, with the goal of distributing his water-producing machines to more refugee camps and arid areas around the world.

Whisson's Windmill

Australian inventor Max Whisson has adopted a different method. His Whisson Windmill harnesses wind power to collect water from the atmosphere. In 2018, he shared with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that water vapor in the lower kilometer (around 0.62 miles) of air around the globe amounts to approximately "10,000 billion liters [about 2,600 billion gallons]." Moreover, this water is replenished every few hours as part of the water cycle.

Whisson's windmill uses refrigerant to cool the blades of his mill, which he has named Max Water. The blades are positioned vertically, rather than at an angle, ensuring that even a light breeze is enough to turn them. As the blades cool the air, water vapor condenses back into liquid form. This condensed water is then gathered and stored. Whisson's windmill has the capacity to collect up to 2,600 gallons (9,842 liters) of water from the air each day.

Whisson mentioned that his greatest challenge isn't the engineering of his invention, but securing the venture capital to support it.

Tsunami Products' Atmospheric Water Generator

Tsunami Products, a company based in Washington but operating from California, has designed a device for generating water that works similarly to an air conditioner. It dehumidifies air, extracts water vapor, and filters it to make it suitable for drinking.

According to Tsunami Products, their device functions by drawing air "through a series of condensing coils, where the water vapor is cooled enough to reach the dew point. This turns the vapor into water droplets." The water is then filtered for contaminants such as pathogens and pollen before being collected in a storage tank, ready to be used.

Fog-harvesting Machines

The higher the relative humidity, the greater the amount of water available in the air for capture. Since fog forms when the relative humidity reaches nearly 100 percent, it stands to reason that researchers would attempt to extract water from fog. And indeed, they have.

Fog-harvesting machines have existed for years and, as you would expect, they function best in fog-prone areas such as coastal and mountainous regions. These relatively inexpensive collection systems resemble volleyball nets made of fine mesh, similar to a window screen. When wind blows through the screens, they capture water. However, the water droplets can sometimes clog the screens, blocking airflow and preventing the machine from collecting more water.

To enhance this design, Jonathan Boreyko, who leads the Nature-inspired Fluids and Interfaces Lab at Virginia Tech, drew inspiration from nature. He examined how giant sequoia trees collect water from fog on their needles, which are aligned horizontally. As water accumulates on the needles, it rolls down and drips onto the ground, nourishing the tree's roots.

Drawing on this observation, Boreyko's lab developed small-scale fog-harvesting "harps" with horizontal collection wires, mimicking the needles of a giant sequoia. This approach resulted in a water collection from fog that was three times more efficient than similar-sized systems with vertical wires.

Drinkable Air

Several companies are now selling machines that produce water from air, including the Florida-based Drinkable Air. The company employs "atmospheric water generator technology" to draw air through an electrostatic-antimicrobial filter designed to eliminate airborne particles. A condensation unit then captures the clean, humid air and converts water vapor into liquid. As the water is collected, it "falls into a collection tank where it is ozonated to maintain purity and freshness," according to the company’s website. The machine further chills and filters the water, then adds minerals to increase the pH and enhance the taste.

Drupps

Then there's Drupps, a spin-off from the humidity-control company Airwatergreen. It employs an entirely different water collection method that utilizes a liquid desiccant to absorb moisture from the air. The slurry is subsequently heated, causing the water to evaporate, which is then cooled and captured. While this technique is cost-effective, it does have some limitations. Similar to condenser-based systems, Drupps' technology is energy-intensive, making it less environmentally friendly.

Speaking of the environment, why bother extracting water from the air? Why not simply stimulate more rainfall? It may seem improbable, but this is actually done — sometimes with disastrous outcomes.

Cloud Seeding and the British Disaster

It turns out humans can also play the role of rainmakers, thanks to a technique known as cloud seeding. This method involves introducing condensation nuclei—small particles suspended in the air—that serve as the foundation for water vapor to condense into snowflakes or raindrops, which then fall to Earth.

Cloud seeding can be accomplished by either burning small amounts of silver iodide from ground-based generators or by releasing the substance into the atmosphere via aircraft. On March 15, 2022, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in California used this method to increase snowpack and streamflow along the Upper American River, with the goal of boosting hydroelectric power production.

Cloud seeding has clear advantages, such as boosting mountain snowpack and augmenting the natural water supply. However, it also has more dubious applications, sometimes leading to negative outcomes.

In an effort to prevent rain during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony, China used cloud seeding, firing silver iodide into storm clouds in the days before the event. The Chinese government hoped to 'deplete' the existing clouds and guarantee clear skies for the ceremony.

The country has been practicing cloud seeding for decades with positive results. However, another cloud seeding experiment on the opposite side of the Eurasian landmass did not go as smoothly.

After World War II, the British government, still reeling from the near destruction caused by the Nazis, sought ways to gain an edge over potential enemies. With a newfound appreciation for preparation, the United Kingdom turned its focus to the skies. The Royal Air Force (RAF) began experimenting with cloud seeding. By introducing particles into the clouds to trigger severe thunderstorms, the British believed they could disrupt enemy troop movements and even sabotage their advances. However, the cloud-seeding project did not go as planned.

The problem wasn’t that the cloud seeding didn’t work — it worked all too well.

In 2001, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigated rumors that the RAF had seeded the clouds over England. Their investigation uncovered first-hand accounts from some of the pilots involved in the secret mission 'Operation Cumulus.' In August 1952, RAF pilots flew above the clouds, releasing dry ice, salt, and — like the Chinese do today — silver iodide.

Just half an hour after the experiment began, rain started to fall from the altered clouds. Initially, the RAF pilots — who were called 'rainmakers' by the media — reportedly celebrated their achievement. However, within a few days, the situation escalated. By the end of the month, North Devon, an area in England near the site of the cloud-seeding test, saw rainfall 250 times the usual amount.

On August 15, 1952, when the rain began, around 90 million tons (82 million metric tons) of water poured through the town of Lynmouth in just one day. The storm uprooted entire trees, creating dams that intensified the force of the two rivers running through the town. Boulders were carried by the current, smashing buildings and sweeping people into the sea. The result was tragic: 35 Britons lost their lives. The Ministry of Defense of Britain denies any involvement in cloud seeding experiments prior to the Lynmouth disaster.

China and Britain present two sides of the same story. On one hand, China has established a successful cloud-seeding program, providing irrigation to dry farmlands from the sky. On the other hand, the British disaster serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers that come with manipulating nature's forces.

And yet, the need for water is more pressing than ever. While using explosions to generate water isn't feasible at this point, existing water collection techniques are not being implemented on a large enough scale to meet the increasing demand. Water is a finite resource, and life on Earth cannot do without it.