Drinking Water Sucked from the Dusty Desert Air

Published on by in Technology

Drinking Water Sucked from the Dusty Desert Air

KAUST researchers have created an inexpensive hydrogel-based material that efficiently captures moisture even from low-humidity air and then releases it on demand.

A simple device that can capture its own weight in water from fresh air, then release that water when warmed by sunlight, could provide a secure new source of drinking water in remote arid regions. Globally, the Earth’s air contains almost 13 billion tons of water, a vast renewable reservoir of clean drinking water. But although many materials and devices have been tested to tap this water source, each one has been either too inefficient, too expensive or too complex for practical use. A prototype device developed by Peng Wang from the Water Desalination and Reuse Center and his team could finally change that.

Source: KAUST Video

 

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