Solar-Powered System that Extracts Water from Air
Engineers at MIT have taken a significant step forward in making a solar-powered system that extracts drinkable water from the air more practical and scalable. This breakthrough aims to provide a viable water source for dry regions with limited access to water and electricity.
Building on a design initially developed three years ago, the improved system utilizes heat from the sun or other sources to enhance its efficiency. The researchers have succeeded in increasing the system’s output, moving it closer to becoming a feasible solution for remote areas.
The updated design, detailed in the journal *Joule*, involves a temperature-driven process where an adsorbent material captures moisture from the air at night and releases it when heated by sunlight the next day. The difference in temperature between the heated top and the shaded underside of the device causes the adsorbent material to release the collected water, which then condenses on a collection plate.
This advancement, described by Professor Evelyn Wang, head of MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, graduate student Alina LaPotin, and their colleagues from MIT, Korea, and Utah, represents a major leap towards harnessing air moisture for drinkable water, even in arid conditions.
