Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a device that can produce drinking water from the air without any power or filters. The device could contribute to areas facing water scarcity in the future.
As access to water is a serious global problem, scientists are constantly conducting new studies on the subject. Generating water from air is one of them. We have seen many different methods to date. Now, a groundbreaking study of this kind has come from MIT researchers in the USA.
MIT researchers announced that they have developed a brand-new device capable of producing water from air. The new device has attracted significant attention due to its small size and its ability to directly generate water from the air without needing power or filters. The study findings were recently published in Nature Water.
Even in the driest places, it could produce around 161 ml of drinking water daily.
The team’s passive atmospheric water collector uses a vertical hydrogel panel that can absorb water vapor from the air. Of course, the use of hydrogel is not a first in such devices. We had previously seen similar water-producing devices. However, MIT researchers used different methods in this device, creating a more effective device and overcoming previous problems.
The hydrogel, when it absorbs water, is molded to resemble a nylon sheet with small, dome-like, bubbly designs. This provides a larger surface area and greater water vapor absorption capacity. This material is framed with a glass layer coated with a polymer film. The shape of the device resembles windows.
Tests were conducted in November 2023 in a desert-like area in California where water access is difficult. The results showed that the device could produce between 57 and 161.5 ml of drinking water daily. Its ability to do this in the driest conditions without any filters or power requirements is truly a significant achievement. The researchers’ goal is to develop devices with greater capacity and deploy them in water-scarce regions to help solve the problem of thirst.
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