Researchers from mit and the University of California at Berkeley has developed, and now successfully tested an innovative technology capable of extracting water from the air even in dry arid climate. The extraction of water in the desert is extremely difficult, and the introduction of such technologies could significantly ease the lives of many people. Researchers first told her about the scientific world in the last year, and now tried it in real conditions.
Technology of separation of moisture from air is not new. But all the current ways to do it faced serious limitations. Typically, for effective operation of the devices required humidity above 50%, as well as a large amount of energy. American researchers have managed to create a mechanism for the allocation of water from the air passively, without using energy and at a low humidity level to 10%. Principles of technology was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The essence of the new technology lies in the special metamaterial, which scientists call a metal-organic framework (MOF). It consists of associated molecules, creating corporate the surface of a large area. MOF is able to be very hydrophilic, literally attracting moisture. At night it extracts water from the air and stores it in its pores, and under the influence of sunlight the water leaves the pores and condenseries that allows her to collect. The system is completely passive, it does not need energy or any mechanical parts.
The capabilities of the technology are already very impressive. In fact, using only about a kilogram of MOF, it is possible to collect more than 250 milliliters of water a day, even in the driest desert. Scientists tested the extraction of water in the arid climate of Arizona and were very happy with the results of technology in the field. It is also important that the substance MOF does not add any impurities held in the water, not affecting its quality. At the moment, scientists think how to make the system more efficient, compact and convenient.
At MIT have created a device that can extract water from the air even in the desert
Sergey Grey