Changing Sweat into Drinkable Water

Have you having in mind that the sweat dripping from the pores that can be useful for you? Normally, what we do is wipe the sweat with a towel and then wash it off.

The sweat-extraction machine was 
developed to promote a campaign 
by Unicef in Sweden. (Picture from: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/)

However, an engineer from Sweden and known locally for his appearances on TV tech show Mekatronik, Andreas Hammar has an uncommon idea that is can be considered unique. He racked his brain to invent a machine that can turn the sweat into drinkable fresh water.

The device was built for the United Nation's child-focused charity Unicef to promote a campaign highlighting the fact that 780 million people in the world lack access to clean water.

And the kit has been put on show at the Gothia Cup - the world's largest international youth football tournament.

The device spins and heats the material to remove the sweat, and then passes the vapour through a special membrane designed to only let water molecules get through. Interestingly, the resulting water was claimed to be cleaner than the local tap water. The particular machine works by rotating and heating clothes soaked with sweat. Then the sweat evaporates at a special membrane that aims to filter the water molecules only.

Volunteers have been sampling 
the treated sweat since the start 
of the week in Gothenburg. 
(Picture from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/)

He said the critical part of the sweat machine was a new water purification component developed by a company named HVR in collaboration with Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology.

"The machine uses a technique called membrane distillation," Hammar said as quoted by the BBC. "We use a substance that's a bit like Goretex that only lets steam through but keeps bacteria, salts, clothing fibres and other substances out," he said.

How much amount of water produced by the machine? Hammar explains, it depends on how sweaty the person is. As an illustration, for the sweat contained in a T-shirt, usually produce 10 ml (0.3 oz) of water. "It was about a mouthful of it," he explained further. An extraordinary device and deserves to be developed further. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BBC | RIF | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 01082013]
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