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

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

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Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

In a country where about 75% of the territory is mountainous and little land is left for planting, Japan has turned scarcity into luxury, selling pairs of Yubari melons for amounts that reached nearly US$ 45,000 and cultivating the true wasabi that 90% of the world has never tasted.

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A bi-oceanic railway is expected to connect the Brazilian coast to the Chinese port of Chancay in Peru and cross the South American continent from coast to coast. It is part of the same package of R$ 140 billion in railways that the government is opening to investors later this year.

Japan is about to launch a satellite that captures solar energy in space and sends electricity to Earth in the form of microwaves. The technology promises to generate energy 24 hours a day without relying on clouds, night, or solar panels on the ground.

Program with 630 free spots for female professional qualification expands access to strategic courses in high-demand areas and strengthens inclusion in the job market with practical training, professional certification, and new employment opportunities in different sectors.

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

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Forget common renewable energy: HydroWing prepares a 10 MW project in Indonesia to transform ocean currents into predictable electricity, using turbines installed on the seabed in a region where the funnel effect between islands increases tidal potential.

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In a country where about 75% of the territory is mountainous and little land is left for planting, Japan has turned scarcity into luxury, selling pairs of Yubari melons for amounts that reached nearly US$ 45,000 and cultivating the true wasabi that 90% of the world has never tasted.

Abandoned boars and pigs in Fukushima create fast-breeding hybrids and turn the nuclear area into a natural laboratory

A bi-oceanic railway is expected to connect the Brazilian coast to the Chinese port of Chancay in Peru and cross the South American continent from coast to coast. It is part of the same package of R$ 140 billion in railways that the government is opening to investors later this year.

Japan is about to launch a satellite that captures solar energy in space and sends electricity to Earth in the form of microwaves. The technology promises to generate energy 24 hours a day without relying on clouds, night, or solar panels on the ground.

Program with 630 free spots for female professional qualification expands access to strategic courses in high-demand areas and strengthens inclusion in the job market with practical training, professional certification, and new employment opportunities in different sectors.