“In the 60’s I remember grass in Qatar was so tall that when a camel sits you only see its head. There were more rains then, but now it has changed because of climate change which has led to flooding and desertification.”
By Raynald C Rivera
A Qatari engineer may have found the solution to the looming water crisis with his revolutionary invention called Agri-Green, an environment-friendly machine capable of producing water from humidity.
It took two years and nine months for Engineer Adnan Fahad Al Ramzani Al Naimi to successfully come up with his invention which to him could be an answer to water scarcity in the region and the looming global water crisis.
“Even though it took more than two years to complete the machine, the idea came to my mind many years ago. I told a friend if he knew of someone who had figured out how to produce water from air, but he just laughed saying it would take a genius and a lot of time to accomplish that,” relates Al Naimi.
But that did not discourage the Qatari engineer from pursuing his ambitious project. He was driven by a desire to contribute to looking for alternative solutions to the region’s water crisis which could worsen in the near future because of climate change.
“In the 60s I remember grass in Qatar was so tall that when a camel sits you only see its head. There were more rains then, but now it has changed because of climate change which has led to flooding and desertification,” he recalls.
The lack of groundwater in Qatar and the diminishing groundwater level, while salinity level of seawater increases, and other related issues made the Qatari inventor to reflect and decide to take the road to painstaking years of research finally leading to the completion of the device.
“I felt I had to do something to help overcome these problems. I did two years of studies and nine uninterrupted months of construction and experiment,” he said.
Unlike other machines, Agri-Green does not only boast of being environment-friendly and sustainable but has many other uses aside from water production.
“This invention produces water from humidity which is inexhaustible since it is part of the water cycle. This invention is three in one and ideal in desert environment: it produces water and cold air and runs by itself not requiring fossil fuel or electricity,” he explained.
If properly utilised, Agri-Green could have many more benefits, according to Al Naimi, such as in agriculture and dairy farms and even greenhouse and in cooling stadiums.
Compared to other methods of producing potable water like desalination, Agri-Green is environment friendly and does not produce by-products that could adversely affect nature.
“Desalination affects marine life. We in the Gulf are very lucky as God gave us many things like air, wind and oil and in addition he gave us something that is not found anywhere in the world which is the Gulf itself. Its very structure allows water to be replaced frequently. Otherwise we would have had a second Dead Sea because all GCC countries are using desalination units which are affecting marine life.”
“Many years ago we used to catch abundant fish in the sea but now you have to go very far to catch them because water temperature has become hotter and seawater has become harder and harder close to the coast.”
He noted more importantly the machine does not emit any of the six harmful gases to the atmosphere.
After its official launch several days ago, Agri-Green has generated much interest from many individuals and a number of companies.
“A few big companies have already expressed interest in my invention. I have received a lot of calls and I told them I would sit with them after I come back from Germany where I would be presenting my invention.”
Al Naimi would travel to Nuremberg, Germany for the iENA International Trade Show 2012 from November 1 to 4 under the support of the GCC Patent Office.
“I will be attending the international trade fair in Germany, financed by GCC patent office in Riyadh. My invention, along with other five from the GCC will be showcased in Germany where around 800 inventions will be shown.”
Asked in which other countries he would market his invention, he said he never thought of other countries than Qatar.
“I have never thought of any country before Qatar to market the product. I also never thought of it as a business opportunity when I started the project, even presenting it to another country, but going to Germany could be a chance to open up to international companies and benefit more people.”
After six months finishing the manual and necessary procedures, he said he plans to put up a factory here where the machine would be manufactured.
“In fact I have already started a small factory which is now nearly completed; we are only in the process of licensing which will be finished before the month-end.”
He has also sent request to participate in the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 18) here in Doha.
“Many countries are attending COP 18 and as a host, this could be a good opportunity for Qatar to tell the world what Qatar is doing with regard to the issue that’s why I really want to participate in the event.”
The Peninsula
