Plucking water from the air
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) recently developed an innovative solar-driven water harvester that continuously extracts water from the air without requiring maintenance. This technology, called a solar-driven atmospheric water extractor (SAWE) , uses a unique system of mass transport bridges filled with a salt solution to absorb atmospheric moisture. Once the salt solution is saturated, the water is heated by solar energy, condensed, and collected as freshwater. This system has been shown to produce up to 2-3 liters of water per square meter per day , depending on humidity levels, making it especially valuable in humid regions without fresh water sources .
This technology not only provides drinking water but also has potential applications for off-grid irrigation in arid areas, as tested with Chinese cabbage and desert trees in Saudi Arabia. The device’s simplicity and affordability make it promising for use in remote or low-income areas.
Attached link
https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/24593/k2071_plucking-water-from-the-airTaxonomy
- Water from Air