New Solar Energy Technology Can Extract Water From Air Even in Dry Climates

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 06/11/2020 at 10:24

Painel de energia solar reduzido

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Meet The New Device That Uses Solar Energy to Extract Drinking Water Even From The Driest Air

A new solar-powered device developed by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can extract and condense clean water from dry air, without relying on electricity.

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The solar-powered device works by using temperature differences to transfer water molecules to adsorbent materials, where water is condensed using the sun’s heat before being moved back into a container.

When there is no sunlight to heat the thermal plates that condense the water, the molecules can be collected on the materials before being harvested the next day.

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MIT Tries to Overcome Water Scarcity Situations Using The Power of Technology

According to IFL Science, this is not the first time a solution involving solar energy technology like this has been proposed, but the device from the MIT team seems to be the most effective attempt to use this process so far.

While previous versions were seen as very limited in their use, this time the researchers added a second adsorption-desorption stage to increase capacity and also shifted from specialized materials to use more widely available options – likely cheaper solar panels.

The scientists working on this new solar technology believe it could work in locations where humidity is as low as 20%, while similar devices currently in use in some desert regions require air with at least 50% humidity to produce water.

At the moment, the solar technology has the capacity to produce 0.8 liters of water per day. This is quite impressive, but considering that the human body requires about 2.5 liters per day to survive, it is likely that researchers will need to increase the device’s output before it can be deployed as a realistic solution to water crises.

New Solar Energy Technology Can Extract Water From Air Even in Dry Climates

Meet The New Device That Uses Solar Energy to Extract Drinking Water Even From The Driest Air

Read Also

MIT Tries to Overcome Water Scarcity Situations Using The Power of Technology

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New Solar Energy Technology Can Extract Water From Air Even in Dry Climates

Meet The New Device That Uses Solar Energy to Extract Drinking Water Even From The Driest Air

Read Also

MIT Tries to Overcome Water Scarcity Situations Using The Power of Technology

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Workers were opening a new road connection near the Marginal Tietê when they found, in the underground of the construction site, remnants of locomotives, wagons, and boilers from the 19th century linked to the forgotten history of Lapa.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

Greek island offers free housing for volunteers, but there’s a condition: you need to take care of rescued cats.

China has deployed snake-shaped robots to slide along power lines, where they have already inspected over 130 kilometers of cables using cameras and sensors to detect damaged wires, worn-out parts, and overheating.

Toyota launches “family hybrid van” with 7 or 8 seats, 1.8 hybrid engine, fuel consumption of up to 23.8 km/l, and a price equivalent to about R$ 104,000 without taxes, below the Tiggo 8 Pro Plug-in Hybrid sold in Brazil: meet the Noah Hybrid 2026 in Japan.

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Why the letter password marked ATMs in Brazil: technology seemed complicated, became an extra layer of security, and is now losing ground to biometrics

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