A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines a new hydrogel device that uses sunlight to convert air moisture into drinking water. This study was conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and holds the potential to help drought-stricken regions of the world have drinking water in temperatures as low as 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).
Image of the prototype hydrogel device for producing water from air moisture that was the focus of this study. (Credit: The University of Texas at Austin)
“With our new hydrogel, we’re not just pulling water out of thin air, we’re doing it extremely fast and without consuming too much energy,” said Dr. Guihua Yu, who is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin, and a co-author on the study. “What’s really fascinating about our hydrogel is how it releases water. Think about a hot Texas summer—we could just use our temperatures’ natural ups and downs, no need to crank up any heaters.”
The device uses a process known as atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) and has been found to create between 7.7 and 15.4 pounds of water for every 2.2 pounds of gel materials, which is also dependent on humidity, as well. The key component of the device is the use of “microgels”, which allows for faster and more accurate results. With this success, the researchers aspire to make this device commercially available viable and are already working on new designs that are comprised of organic materials, which could lead to cost reductions if the device is mass-produced.
“By transforming the hydrogel into micro-sized particles, we can make the water capture and release ultrafast,” said Weixin Guan, who is a graduate student in Dr. Yu’s lab and lead author of the study. “This offers a new, highly efficient type of sorbents that can significantly enhance the water production by multiple daily cycling.”
Such a device could have an enormous impact on countries whose populations lack access to either clean water or basic water services, including Niger (54%), Papua New Guinea (55%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (54%), Chad (54%), Ethiopia (50%), Eritrea (48%), Somalia (44%), Uganda (44%), Angola (43%), and Mozambique (37%).2
“We developed this device with the ultimate goal to be available to people around the world who need quick and consistent access to clean, drinkable water, particularly in those arid areas,” said Yaxuan Zhao, who is a graduate student in Dr. Yu’s lab and a co-author on the study.
How can AWH and this new hydrogel help combat drought-stricken regions around the world in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, EurekAlert!, UT News, Energy & Environmental Science, World Vision
