Engineers from Australia and China have invented a sponge-like device that captures water from thin air and then releases it in a cup using the sun’s energy, even in low humidity where other technologies such as fog harvesting and radiative cooling have struggled.
Engineers from Australia and China have invented a sponge-like device that captures water from thin air and then releases it in a cup using the sun’s energy, even in low humidity where other technologies such as fog harvesting and radiative cooling have struggled.
The water-from-air device remained effective across a broad range of humidity levels (30 – 90%) and temperatures (5 – 55 degrees Celsius).
Senior researcher Dr Derek Hao, from RMIT University in Melbourne, said the invention relied on refined balsa wood’s naturally spongy structure, modified to absorb water from the atmosphere and release it on demand.
The wood-based composite developed by the team for their research fit snuggly into a cup with a dome lid and anti-pollution tray, a cooling mechanism and an activation system powered by the sun.
Read more at RMIT University
Image: Dr Derek Hao, from RMIT University, holds the team’s spongy wood-based composite material that can absorb water from the atmosphere. Credit: Shu Shu Zheng, RMIT University
