Imagine creating water from nothing.
Pure science fiction? A fable from religious scripture? Nope, it’s happening now. Scientists have done the improbable and created technology that can do just that: pull water directly out of the atmosphere. It can then be processed into clean, drinking water (via simple means such as boiling) or used for energy production. That would already be impressive enough. But the team is even able to use the technology to grab the resource from areas where humidity is very low, such as the Las Vegas Desert.
It’s known as atmospheric water harvesting — and you have frogs and air plants to thank.
Nature-Powered Technology
“There are so many cool things happening in nature — you just have to look around, learn, and be inspired,” said UNLV mechanical engineering professor and team leader H. Jeremy Cho. Indeed the team found their inspiration in tree frogs and tillandsia genus plants. They created an artificial hydrogel membrane skin, which essentially mimics the techniques they use to turn water from air into a liquid for internal storage.
The team can reportedly leverage their new apparatus to pull up to a full gallon of water a day from the dry, 10% humidity desert air while using just three square feet of space. Given that deserts are notoriously famous for being just about the last place you would want to be thirsty, this is a remarkable amount – especially given that previous versions of water harvesting have yielded poor arid results.
The team explained how in higher humidity areas (where water is still scarce) atmospheric water harvesting could produce up to three times more water per day. There is no need for complex infrastructure to use the technology itself either. The system leverages solar power to power its operation.
The research team originally began researching and testing the new method in an attempt to combat the mega-drought happening in the Southwest of the US. Since then, it has become abundantly clear that the technology and its potentially life-saving positive effects could well become a global solution.
A Water Quality Dilemma
The problem? Not enough good water to go around. Given that water covers 70% of our planet, you would be forgiven for thinking that we have enough to spare. However, freshwater — the type that keeps us alive — actually only amounts to a meager 3% of our total supply. This means that over 1/8th of the population lacks access to it. Add to the fact that there are three times more people on the planet than there were 100 years ago. Now factor in that climate change is simultaneously reducing the amount of drinkable water we have. It becomes clear that this precious life resource is not as free-flowing as it should be.
Indeed, the UN reports that if we don’t start doing something drastic then the above number lacking access to water could increase exponentially until 2050, where more than three-quarters of the entire world will be affected by serious droughts. Now, we’re not in Mad Max territory just yet. But it’s clear that something major needs to happen to fix the issue and make water freely available to all.
This new breakthrough could be just the ticket.
A Plan for Availability
But what does this mean for those who need it most? After all, the technology is certainly revolutionary. The Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences referred to it as “a significant step toward providing new resources and possibilities in water-scarce regions.” But it’s essentially just a cool study unless atmospheric water harvesting can be used.
Thankfully, Cho is also the co-founder of WAVR Technologies Inc. His startup company develops the portable devices used to capture the water. The team hopes to make them available for both commercial and private customer usage in the near future. (The same research company that discovered the process owns both the technology and the methods to distribute it – good news for those who fear corporate interference). It may not be too much to say that this research team may have just solved one of the most devastating problems of the modern age.
Now we just have to make sure that Nestlé doesn’t get their hands on it.
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