A group of nine scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley and King Abdulaziz City Science and Technology have designed a water harvester that can harvest water from the air even if the humidity is just 20%.
Chemist Omar Yagchi of UC Berkeley said that they wanted to demonstrate that anyone cut off somewhere in the desert could survive because of their device.
Yagchi invented the compounds known as metal-organic frameworks or MOFs 20 years ago. Now, they are using MOF crystals to harvest water even in dry places. Around 2 pounds of tiny MOF crystals are compressed between a solar absorber and condenser plate to collect around 0.7 gallons of water within 12 hours.
It may seem too little, but it’s plenty for a human trapped in the desert to survive.
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Solar Trust Centre Team
