The new device was developed by a team of scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology & the University of California. The prototype is able to convert the humidity in the air into drinkable liquid water by the use of a special metal-organic framework that traps air inside it’s miniscule pores.
When the sunlight heats up the device, the water molecules are released and then condensed, producing many litres of water approximately every 12 hours.
“It takes water from the air and it captures it,” said MIT mechanical engineer Evelyn Wang. “It doesn’t have to be this complicated system that requires some kind [of] refrigeration cycle.”
“Now we can get to regions that really are pretty dry, arid regions. We can provide them with a device, and they can use it pretty simply.”
While there are companies such as Water-Gen and EcoloBlue that already have atmospheric water generators that create water from the air, the massive difference between their devices and this new prototype is that this device is able to produce water in low humidity environments without the need of an energy source, potentially providing aid to areas that are very dry and also without proper infrastructure.
If the device proves to be operational and goes into production, it could provide relief to many areas of famine around the world.
