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Scalene Aquaria sell a machine that collects from moisture from the air.

They describe a nine-stage process - most of it looks like hogwash, but this one made me more curious:

  • The Eighth stage is essential and trace minerals balancing. Balanced amount of minerals required for good health is retained in the water without adding any chemicals.

This suggests that water collected from the atmosphere contains minerals.

Are there minerals in atmospheric water to be “retained”?

mplungjan
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    I think you are misreading the source. They're not saying that minerals are retained from the air, they're (clumsily) saying they're modifying the water by adding minerals (which are, allegedly "not chemicals") to produce a healthy balance of minerals in the water. – Jack Aidley Nov 02 '21 at 16:56

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Yes, atmospheric water does contain small amounts of elements and minerals, and the types and amounts of minerals vary based on location. Unfortunately, since Scalene Aquaria's claim doesn't seem to address which minerals it is balancing or what 'balanced amounts' of those minerals are, so we can't be sure one way or the other whether their claim of 'balanced amounts' of minerals is actually true.

This paper details the chemical composition of rainwater collected in India. They found traces of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, calcium, magnesium, and several other elements and minerals.

This paper details an investigation into elevated lead levels being found in rainwater collection tanks in Australia, and although the lead didn't actually come from atmospheric dust as was at first believed, the fact that the word 'elevated' was used implies some amount of lead in rainwater is expected.

Finally, This paper details attempts at purifying rainwater in China, and that they were testing the removal of lead, zinc, and ammonium nitrogen from the rainwater. If they wanted a process to remove those elements from rainwater, then presumably they are common elements in atmospheric water.

Giter
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  • Do you by any chance know of a working AWG for consumers? All I find are cancelled kickstarter projects turned out to not work or fail to launch :( – mplungjan Apr 20 '18 at 07:25
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    @mplungjan: They're usually failed projects because the idea behind them is to provide clean water to dry areas by collecting water from humid air. The problem is dry areas do not usually have humid air, as explained [by this fine chap](https://youtu.be/0zfYAXWODUs?t=440). Buy a [dehumidifier](https://www.amazon.com/dehumidifiers/b?ie=UTF8&node=267557011) to collect water and one of those [water filter things](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=water+filter&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awater+filter) to clean it, and you now have an AWG. – Giter Apr 20 '18 at 15:22
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    The three papers cited are all based on analysis of rainwater. Raindrops form around microscopic particulates in the air, that likely being the source for mineral content. OTOH, water that is essentially "distilled" from humid air does not form around such particulates and like any other distilled water would be extremely pure and devoid of minerals, which is one reason distilled water is recommended for use in steam irons. – Norm Apr 20 '18 at 17:13
  • @Giter I do not have power where I need the dehumidifier. – mplungjan Apr 20 '18 at 17:32
  • @Norm: If the raindrops form around microscopic particles at some altitude, then at some point those particulates were lifted into the air up to that altitude. Humid air at ground level will have the same chance of having those particulates as humid air at high altitudes. – Giter Apr 20 '18 at 18:22
  • @Nom Which raises the question if the water they pull out of thin air is not possibly *too* pure for consumption ... – Hagen von Eitzen Apr 20 '18 at 20:38
  • @HagenvonEitzen, distilled water tends to taste "flat" because of a lack of dissolved impurities, but other than that, it's perfectly safe to drink. I'm sure we've got a question or two about that, since it's a very common myth that distilled water is unsafe. – Mark Apr 21 '18 at 01:19
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    @giter - your missing the point. "humidity" is not what contains the particles and altitude is irrelevant. Rain formation causes the humidity (which is pure H2O) to condense around the particulates. Distillation is a completely different process, where humidity condenses on a cooled surface - no particulates are involved. – Norm Apr 22 '18 at 20:36
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    @Norm but if the cooled surface is a copper coil then there might be some copper in the water. – phoog Apr 23 '18 at 02:32