A prototype device harvests drinking water from the atmosphere, even in arid places.
Extracting some of that moisture is seen as a potential way to provide clean drinking water to billions of people globally who face chronic shortages.
"Hygroscopic materials intrinsically have affinity to water. They soak up water wherever you go. One of the best examples is the stuff inside diapers," said Rao, who happens to be the father of an infant son."We work with a specific type of hygroscopic material called a metal organic framework." "The water molecules themselves get trapped on the surfaces of our material, and that's a reversible process. And so instead of becoming ingrained into the material itself, it sits on the walls," Ortiz said."What's special about these absorbent materials is they have just an immense amount of internal surface area. There's so many sites for water molecules to get stuck.
Funding for the research came from the DEVCOM Soldier Center, a program run by the Department of Defense to facilitate technology transfer that supports Army modernization. The Army's interest in the project stems from the need to keep soldiers hydrated while operating in remote areas with few water sources.
"As we were designing the system, I think we also had perspective of the broader water problem. It's not just a defense issue, it's very much a civilian issue," Rao said."We think in terms water consumption of a household for drinking water per day. That's about 15 to 20 liters per day." "As it collects water, it's releasing little bits of heat. And then to reverse that, we add heat," Ortiz said."We just put a flame right under here, anything to get this temperature up. And then as we increase the temperature, we rapidly release the water molecules. Once we have a really humid airstream, that makes condensation at ambient temperature much easier."
Thermodynamics Nuclear Energy Materials Science Water Drought Research Pollution Environmental Issues
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