[klvino]

That was my first thought as well, heavy use within an existing desert environment would likely have negative ecological impact.

When reading through the article, it has potential application in areas where a local water supply may not be clean enough to drink or lacks sufficient water treatment & filtration.

[buu700]

On the flip side, could it potentially be a cost-efficient method of dehumidifying cities/towns/villages for human comfort?

[conductr]

Could even replace desalination since humidity has no salt and it is generally occurring in a similar area/climate.

[sandworm101]

Humidity theoretically doesn't contain salt, but air does. Any technology that is harvesting moisture from air will involve large amounts of air. That air contains dust and sea salt which can contaminate the process. Setup a moisture farm to harvest sea breezes and you will have to address a salt problem.

In many industries this airborne salt can cause corrosion. Talk to anyone with a classic car in LA/SF, both cities with sea breezes. They don't want to leave them outside too much. That's why the aircraft "boneyards" are all in the interior, across the mountains from the sea.

[bushbaba]

And dryer air can absorb more water from the nearby sea...so there might not be a huge impact if placed in the right spot

[Robotbeat]

Would it? The water will eventually evaporate again. It’s not like the water is burned up to nothing in a fusion reactor.

[flockonus]

Could be easily drained down a pipe, the evaporation then is not as relevant even if some of it does, efficiency would most likely be acceptable.