New method can extract water from desert air
Researchers in Saudi Arabia have just found a method that can get water from the air at an extremely cheap and effective cost.
We all know that the Earth is covered with water up to trillions of liters. However, only 2% of it is drinkable by humans. 99.5% is frozen or underground.
How can we exploit the Earth's water resources more efficiently? Especially in arid regions?
Saudi Arabian researchers have found a new, very cheap way to extract water in arid places.
One solution is to “take water from the air”. This method is currently extremely expensive.
However, a solution to the difficult problem has recently been solved by researchers in Saudi Arabia. A device that can suck water from the air and release it when warmed by the heat of the sun has been created.
The key for researchers to think of a very simple method that humans are "temporarily forgetting" is CaCl salt.2This type of salt has a strong ability to absorb moisture.
The researchers then developed a method that could store CaCl2as a hydrogel - a special polymer that can hold large amounts of water while remaining solid. Finally, the Saudi researchers went on to add a carbon nanotube to help drain the water.
The results were surprising, after only 2.5 hours of using sunlight to “heat”, the device produced about 20 grams of water. Providing the minimum water requirement for an adult in a day is also very cheap.
With low cost and high water output, this special water extraction device is currently considered to be a solution for places with low humidity or arid regions. In particular, it does not require electricity.
“Water scarcity is one of the most challenging problems facing humanity. This technology offers a promising solution for producing clean water in the most remote areas of the planet,” the journal Environmental Science and Technology emphasized.
