November 1, 2006: In a major logistics breakthrough, a U.S. company, Aqua Sciences, has developed a system that can extract water out of the air, even if the humidity is as low as 14 percent. It does this using salts, and can produce water for less than a dollar a gallon. The system currently available is contained in a twenty foot long tractor trailer unit, and turns out 600 gallons a day. Why is this a major logistics breakthrough? Because in dry climates, about a third of the supply tonnage moved to American troops consists of water. And the movement alone costs up to $40 a gallon, depending on how bad the roads, or security situation, is. So each Aqua Sciences unit would save thousands of dollars a day in logistics costs for units in hard-to-reach areas. There are larger water extraction units, that can be moved by flat bed truck, that are even more efficient, producing much more water, for as low as 30 cents a gallon. Troops in hot climates require over 20 gallons a day per person (for all uses.) In most cases it will still be cheaper to move water by truck, or purify local sources. But in very dry areas, without wells or rivers, the new water extraction gear will solve a major logistics problem.
