Army tests pump to make water from exhaust - Alog News

Army Logistician,  Jan-Feb, 2004  

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Soldiers soon may be able to recover drinking water from their vehicles' exhaust. The Army is testing a system that will recover the water that is present in fuel by combining oxygen and hydrogen in vehicle exhaust to produce water.

The water recovery system consists of regenerative heat exchangers, evaporative coolers, filters, and pumps. To produce water, the vehicle exhaust passes through the heat exchangers and coolers that cool it to the condensation point. A purification process then makes the water drinkable. The system will produce about 1 gallon of water for every 2 gallons of fuel consumed by the vehicle. It will take about an hour to produce a gallon of water.

The system is designed to be set up on each side of the vehicle, with the condensation taking place on one side and the water treatment on the other. A sensor inside the vehicle will indicate when the water purification filters need replacing. The filters are expected to produce 150 gallons of water before they need replacing.

The system will cost approximately $25,000 per vehicle. The first units likely to have the system on their vehicles are those that need to stay self-sufficient, such as Special Forces units. A prototype of the system is being built for the Future Combat Systems.

Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona will be field-testing the system this year.

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