Transform the air around us into drinking water. It seems unlikely. However, researchers have just found a way to achieve it and this could well be a solution to fight against insecurity and inequalities.
Water is a precious resource, a source of insecure and inequality. Worldwide, nearly 2.2 billion people do not have access to drinking water, according to data from theWorld Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization (WHO). But, according to a study published recently in Nature Waterresearchers would have found a solution using an invisible element that surrounds us: air.
Collect water from the atmosphere
L’atmosphereatmosphere Contains a large amount of water vapor that could be captured and then condensed. Scientists have therefore sought to design an atmospheric water collector capable of working without energyenergy. According to researchers, this is a ” advanced to decentralized, practical, scalable, safe and lasting water solutions for regions most subject to water stresswater stress ».
The atmospheric water collector looks like a black vertical panel, the size of a windowwindow. It is made from a hydrogel, a materialmaterial Who ” very well absorbed water from theairair », According to Xuanhe Zhao, Professor Uncas and Helen Whitaker of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (WITH). CET hydrogelhydrogel takes the form of a series of domes and looks like bubble wrap for better capacity of water retentionwater retention.
The hydrogel is covered with two glass plates and a cooling layer. Under the effect of soleilsoleilthe water retained evaporates, condenses on the colder glass and strokes. It is then collected in a tube system.
A system tested in the Death Valley
This system was tested in the death valley in California, one of the driest places in the world. In this geographic configuration, between four mountain chains, the cloudsclouds are forced to rise, which causes the loss of their humidity before they reach the soil.
Even under these conditions, the device produced between 57 and 161.5 milliliters of drinking water per day (that is to say between a third and two thirds of a cup). In climatesclimates More temperate and tropical, water production should increase, in the same way as the humidity of the environment.
« We imagine that one day, we could deploy a set of these panels, and their congestion is very reduced, because they are all vertical, underlines Xuanhe Zhao who plans to test the panels in different regions with limited resources. We could then group several panels, collecting water permanently, at the scale of a home ».
Drinking use
Especially since many aspects could be optimized. “” For example, we could opt for a design with multiple panels. We also work on a new generation of materials in order to further improve its intrinsic properties “Explains Chang Liu, principal author of the study.
With this system, researchers have also solved a long -standing problem concerning the quality of the water collected with hydrogels. Generally, the salts of lithiumlithium Added to the hydrogel infiltrate the water, which makes it unfit for consumption. Here, the researchers added glycerolglycerola stabilizer that reduces salt leak. Thanks to this innovation, water is purer and safe for health risk use.
