Researchers have created a way to extract water from air deserts
March 27, 2018 | 12:28 |3527
A group of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has done the impossible by creating a device that can extract water from desert air. The earth is facing a growing dearth of drinking water and extracting water from air is a solution which can benefit millions even in the driest places on the planet and solve water crisis issues once and for. The concept of device was proposed last year by lead authors Sameer Rao and Hyunho Kim along with others at MIT and the University of California.Arslan KEMALOV
The extractor was field tested successfully in the very dry city of Tempe, on a rooftop at the Arizona State University. The device was described in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The technology of extracting water out of air has been practiced for a long time. According to researchers, the potential of the new method is much higher in comparison with all previous analogues. Since existing methods of water extraction require much higher humidity levels ranging from 50 to 100 percent moisture, this new model can extract water from air with relative humidity as low as 10 percent!
To capture the water, the extractor uses porous, sponge-like materials with large surface areas known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
The new device is powered solely by sunlight, making it ideal for desert regions. In addition, the system has no moving parts, which is why it will function longer in comparison to systems that need pumps and compressors.
The MIT researchers say the next step is to scale up the system and boost its efficiency to the point where each unit could produce enough water for an entire household. “We hope to have a system that’s able to produce liters of water,” said Evelyn Wang, one of the authors of the project.
