• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • Articles
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Podcast / Pulling Water From The Air

Pulling Water From The Air

October 14, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, we reported on the early development of a device that harvests water from the air that even works in the low humidity environment of a desert.  Since then, the researchers from UC Berkeley have continued to improve the device and it is now 10 times better than it was two years ago.

The harvester is based on a porous water-absorbing material called a metal-organic framework, or MOF.  The latest version can pull more than five cups of water from low-humidity air per day for every kilogram of the improved MOF material and that is more than enough water to sustain a person.  The harvester cycles around the clock and is powered by solar panels and a battery.

Previous techniques for condensing water from air at low humidity required cooling down the air to temperatures below freezing, which is not economically practical.  The MOF-based device does not require any cooling.

The Berkeley researchers have formed a startup company – Water Harvester, Inc. – which is now testing and will soon market a device the size of a microwave oven that can supply 7 to 10 liters of water per day, which is enough drinking and cooking water for two or three adults.

An even larger version of the harvester, which would be the size of a small refrigerator, would provide 200 to 250 liters of water per day, enough for a household to drink, cook, and shower.  The new company envisions a village-scale harvester that would produce 20,000 liters per day, still running off of solar panels and a battery.

Water Harvester believes the water needs for many people can come out of the thin air.

**********

Web Links

Water harvester makes it easy to quench your thirst in the desert

Photo courtesy of Grant Glover (University of South Alabama) via UC Berkeley.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tagged With: air, bathing, battery, Climate Change, cooking, cooling, daily, desert, device, drinking, efficient, environment, harvest, household, low humidity, metal-organic framework, MOF, renewable energy, researchers, solar, solar panels, Technology, testing, uc berkeley, village, water, water harvester inc

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Air and Water
  • Climate Change
  • Economy and Policy
  • Energy
  • Health
  • Invasive Species
  • Our Environment
  • Sustainable Living
  • Technology
  • Wildlife and Habitat

Archives

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)

Copyright © 2021 ·

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • Articles