Thirsty? Have a Glass of Sweat

A machine developed by the folks over at UNICEF Sweden can take sweat from people’s clothes, filter it and turn it into purified drinking water.

The machine was unveiled as part of UNICEF’s safe drinking water campaign in an effort to raise awareness about the lack of clean water in the world, with the main purpose of raising money for water purification tablets for children. Participants and visitors of Gothia Cup, an international youth soccer tournament held in Sweden, have been challenged to contribute with their sweaty clothes – and dared to drink a glass of sweat.

“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, in a statement. 


Image via Robaid

The sweat machine, developed by engineer Andreas Hammar, relies on the water extraction component that comes from HVR Water Purification AB, which has been developed in collaboration with The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fans watching the Gothia Cup will get to see the machine at work during the game. Players Tobias Hysén and Mohammed Ali Khan have promised to drink a glass of water extracted from their own sweat, according to UNICEF. Anybody else interested in getting a taste can try, too.

The idea is not new, of course. The International Space Station is equipped with refrigerator-sized racks packed with a distiller and an assortment of filters designed to process astronauts’ urine and sweat into clean drinking water.

The new "Water Recovery System" was launched several years ago aboard NASA’s space shuttle Endeavor to make sure all liquids doesn’t go to waste, an ability that could be critical to future human space travel.

It allows the capability of being more self sufficient and not requiring as many supplies to be sent up to the space station.