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Cal Berkeley chemist creates device that pulls water vapor from desert air
Posted on 4/14/17 at 1:56 pm
Posted on 4/14/17 at 1:56 pm
quote:
You can’t squeeze blood from a stone, but wringing water from the desert sky is now possible, thanks to a new spongelike device that uses sunlight to suck water vapor from air, even in low humidity. The device can produce nearly 3 liters of water per day for every kilogram of spongelike absorber it contains, and researchers say future versions will be even better. That means homes in the driest parts of the world could soon have a solar-powered appliance capable of delivering all the water they need, offering relief to billions of people.
The new water harvester is made of metal organic framework crystals pressed into a thin sheet of copper metal and placed between a solar absorber (above) and a condenser plate (below).
There are an estimated 13 trillion liters of water floating in the atmosphere at any one time, equivalent to 10% of all of the freshwater in our planet’s lakes and rivers. Over the years, researchers have developed ways to grab a few trickles, such as using fine nets to wick water from fog banks, or power-hungry dehumidifiers to condense it out of the air. But both approaches require either very humid air or far too much electricity to be broadly useful.
To find an all-purpose solution, researchers led by Omar Yaghi, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, turned to a family of crystalline powders called metal organic frameworks, or MOFs. Yaghi developed the first MOFs—porous crystals that form continuous 3D networks—more than 20 years ago. The networks assemble in a Tinkertoy-like fashion from metal atoms that act as the hubs and sticklike organic compounds that link the hubs together. By choosing different metals and organics, chemists can dial in the properties of each MOF, controlling what gases bind to them, and how strongly they hold on.
Pretty cool, and could allow more people to cheaply live in deserts without tapping underground aquifers. It seem this isn't a new device so much as a drastic improvement on previous ones. I am curious what sort of relative humidity actually puts out almost 3 liters, though.
LINK
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:00 pm to NYNolaguy1
The Gulf coast could provide California with enough water every summer.(At a price)
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:17 pm to NYNolaguy1
Pretty sweet
Ah nevermind
quote:
Cal Berkeley
Ah nevermind
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:26 pm to NYNolaguy1
The inside of my tent in Boy Scouts was doing this three decades ago.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:32 pm to NYNolaguy1
quote:Jordanian Murkin
Omar Yaghi
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:35 pm to NYNolaguy1
I'm pretty sure this is the same device that was used in Batman Begins to vaporize Gotham's water supply.
This post was edited on 4/14/17 at 3:17 pm
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:57 pm to NYNolaguy1
But will I have any need for a protocol droid?
Posted on 4/14/17 at 2:57 pm to SEClint
There's water vapor in the martian atmosphere too...so, yeah, dual application.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:01 pm to HempHead
What am i looking at? It looks like a COD map.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:05 pm to Vlad
The desert planet of Tatooine you ignorant swine
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:11 pm to Cracker
quote:
Desalination
That's actually a really good point. I imagine this thing really pumps up effluent once the relative humidity gets up there, and this seems way cheaper than what's used now for desalination.
Farmers could also use this to irrigate crops rather than using groundwater.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:13 pm to weedGOKU666
quote:Guess how I know you are still a virgin?
The desert planet of Tatooine you ignorant swine
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:15 pm to Vlad
quote:
Guess how I know you are still a virgin?
Nah, my wife knew what it was from too.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:16 pm to NYNolaguy1
This won't screw with rain cycles at all.
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:17 pm to Vlad
quote:
Guess how I know you are still a virgin?
GUYS IM SO COOL I DONT EVEN KNOW ABOUT STAR WARS
Posted on 4/14/17 at 3:18 pm to NYNolaguy1
George Lucas had this figured out decades ago
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