Nano-absorbers enable water production in deserts
The solar-powered machine uses a metal-organic framework to extract up to 1.3 liters a day from dry air
The scarcity of clean drinking water is a global problem, especially in hot and dry areas. But our atmosphere contains as much water as all lakes and rivers combined. Now researchers from the University of California in Berkeley have developed a solar-powered water harvester, which uses nanomaterials to turn ambient humidity into potable water.
Professor of chemistry Omar Yaghi and his colleagues used a nanostructure of organic materials and aluminum, a so-called metal-organic framework or MOF. This highly porous material absorbs water even from dry desert air and releases it again when heated.
The newest model of the water harvester uses solar-powered fans to aid in air exchange, so that an absorption cycle can be completed every twenty minutes. This means that the new type produces between 0.2 and 1.3 liters of water a day. This way, even the relatively small prototype the size of a microwave oven can produce a live-saving amount of water.
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