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Co-author Zhao Fei (left) and Yu Guihua (right) of the University of Utah Research Laboratory are examining their newly developed hydrogel samples.
Obtaining clean water is still one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. The engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have made a breakthrough by using solar technology to provide a new solution that can absorb moisture in the air and convert it into clean, usable water.
The latest issue of "Advanced Materials" magazine describes this breakthrough, it can be used in disaster scenarios, water crisis or poor areas and developing countries. This technology relies on hydrogel, a gel-polymer hybrid material designed as a "super sponge" that can retain a lot of moisture.
A research team led by Yu Guihua of the Kekrell School of Engineering combined hydrogels with strong water absorption and heat release. This unique combination has been successfully proven to work in wet and dry weather conditions and is essential for obtaining clean and safe drinking water from the air.
It is estimated that the atmosphere contains 50,000 cubic kilometers of water, and this new system can use these reserves, and it is possible to develop a small, inexpensive, and portable filtration system.
"We have developed a completely passive system, all you need to do is put the hydrogel there and it will collect water," Zhao Fei, a postdoctoral researcher in the research team and co-author of the research report. Say. The collected water will be kept in the hydrogel until you expose it to sunlight. After about five minutes under natural light, the water will be released.
This technology is based on the breakthrough progress made by Yu and Zhao in 2018. They developed an innovative water purification technology that can purify any water source using only hydrogel and solar energy. The team ’s new invention takes advantage of the water already in the atmosphere and takes this step forward. For these two hydrogel-based technologies, Yu and his research team developed a method of combining materials that have both hygroscopic (absorbent) properties and thermally responsive hydrophilicity (ie, after simple heating The ability to release water).
Yu Guihua, associate professor of materials science and mechanical engineering, said that the design of this new material can not only get water from the air, but also produce clean water in the sun, thus avoiding intensive energy consumption.
Getting water from the air is not a completely new concept. Most refrigerators maintain a low temperature through the steam condensation process. However, ordinary refrigerators require a lot of energy to complete this action. The team's technology requires only solar energy and is compact, yet it can still produce enough water to meet the daily needs of ordinary households. Prototype tests show that the daily water production per kilogram of hydrogel is up to 50 liters.
This technology represents a new strategy to improve the current atmospheric water collection technology, and can also replace the core components of existing solar water purification systems or other moisture absorption technologies.
(Originally from: Daily Science China New Energy Network Synthesis)
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