Tech

UNICEF's Sweat Machine Converts Sweat into Drinking Water!

Benita Matilda
First Posted: Jul 20, 2013 08:34 AM EDT

Ever thought of quenching your thirst with your sweat? It definitely sounds disgusting and gross but a new Swedish machine will help you do just that. It  turns sweat into pure drinking water.

The world's first sweat machine developed by UNICEF in collaboration with an international kid's soccer tournament Gothia CUP, extracts sweat from clothes and purifies it and converts it into drinking water.  This machine is capable of helping people residing in parched environments to have easy access to drinking water.  

The main aim of this sweat machine was to raise awareness about the lack of clean water in the world.

"We wanted to raise this subject in a new, playful and engaging way. Our Sweat Machine is a reminder that we all share the same water. We all drink and sweat in the same way, regardless of how we look or what language we speak. Water is everyone's responsibility and concern," said Per Westberg, Deputy Executive Director at UNICEF, Sweden.

The world's first sweat machine uses new HVR Water Purification AB technology that has been developed at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It works on the technique known as membrane distillation.

The first ones to drink a glass of sweat were the famous soccer players Tobias Hysen and Mohammed Ali Khan.

"There are many different techniques to extract and purify water. The technical challenge was to build the sweat machine like in the space travel industry, where every filthy water drop whether it's cooling water, urine or just sweat, is invaluable. It is hard to believe, but the water extracted from the machine is actually cleaner than ordinary swedish tap water," the creator of the machine Andreas Hammar said in a press statement.

The interesting machine is on show at the Gothia Cup and participants  and visitors are urged to hand over their sweaty clothes and drink some sweat in order to support the clean water campaign. 

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