How Sweat Was Turned Into Drinking Water

A machine that takes sweat-laden clothes and turns the moisture into drinking water is in use in Sweden.

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. Since its Monday launch, its creators say
more than 1,000 people have "drunk other's
sweat" in Gothenburg. They add the liquid is
cleaner than local tap 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. Moist cyclists The machine was designed and built by
engineer Andreas Hammar, known locally for
his appearances on TV tech show. 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. "It uses a technique called membrane
distillation," he told 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. "They have something similar on the
[International] Space Station to treat
astronaut's urine – but our machine was
cheaper to build. "The amount of water it produces depends
on how sweaty the person is – but one
person's T-shirt typically produces 10ml
[0.3oz], roughly a mouthful." The kit has been put on show at the Gothia
Cup – the world's largest international youth
football tournament. Mattias Ronge, chief executive of Stockholm-
based advertising agency Deportivo – which
organised the stunt – said the machine had
helped raise awareness for Unicef, but in
reality had its limitations. "People haven't produced as much sweat as
we hoped – right now the weather in
Gothenburg is lousy," he said. "So we've installed exercise bikes alongside
the machine and volunteers are cycling like
crazy. "Even so, the demand for sweat is greater
than the supply. And the machine will never
be mass produced – there are better
solutions out there such as water purifying
pills."  Gastin