New technology extracts water from even the driest air in the desert

Researchers have developed a revolutionary technology that effectively extracts large amounts of water from the air, even in conditions of extremely low humidity. Inspired by the natural processes observed in tree frogs and air plants, this idea uses a hydrogel membrane and can be powered by solar energy. This gives new hope to the inhabitants of arid regions of the planet.

How it works

Turning the air around us into drinkable water has long seemed like a miracle closer to science fiction than reality. We have several technologies capable of extracting small amounts of liquid during the day, but all of them do not demonstrate the desired efficiency that we would like. When it comes to guaranteed obtaining a stable amount of moisture from a dry environment, scientists throw up their hands. However, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) has developed a revolutionary solution, the need for which is dictated by increasingly frequent droughts that affect water supply in various parts of the world, reports Channel 24 with reference to the website of the US National Academy of Sciences.

The head of this innovative project is UNLV mechanical engineering professor Jeremy Cho, who, together with his team, introduced a fundamentally new approach to collecting atmospheric water — conversion of water vapor contained in the air into a usable form. Unlike existing technologies, which produce poor results and begin to lose efficiency below 30% humidity, this new method is designed to work effectively even in extremely dry conditions.

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< p>This article really proves that you can harvest water at a very high rate. We can begin to predict how large a system we will need to produce a certain amount of water. If I have one square meter that's three feet by three feet, we can produce about a gallon of water a day in Las Vegas, and three times that in a humid environment, – says Jeremy Cho.

The development has already been tested outdoors in Las Vegas and is claimed to be effective even at humidity levels below 10%.

The device captures moisture from the air into a liquid salt solution that can be further processed into drinking water or energy production, opening up new opportunities for arid regions.

The key ingredient in the process is a special hydrogel membrane. The inspiration for this material came from nature: tree frogs and air plants use a similar technique to transport water from the surrounding air into a liquid for internal storage.

We took this biological idea and tried to make her own way. So many interesting things happen in nature — you just need to look around, learn and be inspired, – Cho added.

The research also shows that atmospheric water harvesting can be done using solar energy. Due to the abundance of sunlight typical of arid regions, sufficient energy can be provided to reduce the cost of water production.

Commercial Applications

The research has already found practical application. Jeremy Cho, along with several other people, founded the startup WAVR Technologies, which will make devices capable of capturing water vapor from the air. The company will work both with businesses and sell them at retail to individual consumers.