Guest_Jim_* Posted April 14, 2017 Posted April 14, 2017 Water is a compound necessary for human life but is not always accessible. To help with that, researchers at MIT have created a device using a metal-organic framework originally invented at Berkeley Lab that can collect moisture from even dry air and use sunlight to then release it. A metal-organic framework (MOF) is exactly what it sounds like as it combines metal with organic molecules to create porous, rigid structures. These structures can be used to hold gases and liquids. In this case zirconium metal is used with adipic acid and the result is a MOF that loves water and can pull it out of air as dry as a desert, just 20-30% humidity. The solar-powered harvester that was built uses just one kilogram of the MOF, but is able to generate 2.8 liters of water from that arid air after just 12 hours. Obviously this invention is very significant as it can bring water to so many people who need it, but we may see something even better coming in the future. This particular MOF is only able to absorb 20% of its weight in water, but there are others that may be able to reach 40%, and it should also be possible to tune the material for specific humidities. Source: Berkeley Lab Back to original news post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 14, 2017 Posted April 14, 2017 Great, now Uncle Owen can finally get those vaporators to harvest water from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted April 16, 2017 Posted April 16, 2017 It's pulling moisture from humid air. Dry air, by definition, does not contain moisture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest_Jim_* Posted April 16, 2017 Posted April 16, 2017 It's pulling moisture from humid air. Dry air, by definition, does not contain moisture. Well, considering the first sentence of Berkeley Lab's item contains, "breakthrough technology capable of generating water out of dry air." One of the significant points of this work is that it is pulling moisture from air with only 20-30% humidity, which is as arid as a desert. Dry is not just a term of absolute measurement but a relative term, so air (or anything) with little water would be dry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted April 16, 2017 Posted April 16, 2017 Relatively dry, sure, but many people seem to think it means it's creating water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IIxNullxII Posted April 17, 2017 Posted April 17, 2017 Now Luke can finally go waste time with his friends at Tosche Station. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braegnok Posted April 17, 2017 Posted April 17, 2017 I wonder if they have thought about other uses for this new technology,.. "holds gases and liquids" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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