A New Invention Turns Desert Air into Water by Using Just Sunlight

As major regions around the world gear up for serious water problems (including Pakistan), a solution from MIT promises to extract water from the driest of climates.

Reported in the Nature Communications, the invention uses metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to extract water from the air. MOFs consist of metal ions which form two and three-dimensional structures to harvest water.


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Not only is the water easily usable, it is also perfectly safe to drink, according to the researchers.

It only requires sunlight to work, (which is found aplenty in arid areas) and features no mechanical parts, hence easy repairs. A previous version of the invention stored air throughout the night for use in the morning, when there was enough sunlight to convert it to water.

Works With 10% Humidity

While a competing, conventional solution requires a humidity level of at least 50%, as well as additional investment for coolers, compressors, and pumps used in refrigeration-based systems, or 100% for harvesting, MIT’s invention, can operate just as well in only 10% humidity.


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Even though it has only been tested as a prototype (at the rooftop of the Arizona State University in Tempe), its makers claim that it can be scaled quite easily. According to the researchers,

…if scaled up its output would be equivalent to more than a quarter-liter of water per day per kilogram of MOF.

Future versions may be able to produce almost three times as much.

No timeframe was given as to when you should expect the solution to make it into the market, however, it is clear that it has the potential to solve the quickly-increasing water shortage issue throughout the world. In that, it might be among the most-important inventions we’ve seen this year yet.



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