It would be more correct to give our planet the name "Water", since most of its surface is occupied by oceans. But only 2% of the world's reserves are potable. Environmental disaster and climate change threaten to leave humanity without drinking water, and then its days will be numbered. Everyone is counting on a miracle and new technologies. Indeed, there was hope: this is what was invented for the extraction of water in the desert.
Water from air
The main source of fresh water suitable for drinking is lakes, rivers and rains, melting ice. Due to pollution, drying up of sources, water deficit begins to be felt in those places where there was enough before.
In many countries, water is already being obtained from seawater desalination. But another 13 trillion tons are in the open air around us.
But until now it was not known how to extract water from the air on an industrial scale. Researchers from Saudi Arabia announced that they have a solution to this issue. They invented a simple device that can collect and store water.
The invention uses the properties of cheap, environmentally friendly and non-toxic calcium chloride. The sorbent made of salt absorbs water so quickly that it dissolves before our eyes literally in minutes if left in the fresh air. It can absorb 6 times its own weight in water.
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The difficulty lay in the subsequent separation of water from salt; this would require expensive installations.
All ingenious is simple
To the great joy of scientists, the problem was solved by developing a method for storing calcium chloride in combination with a hydrogel. It can now draw large amounts of water while remaining firm. Then tiny carbon nanotubes are added to it, under the sunlight, water is freed from the gel almost 100%!
Practical application of the invention
Water flows even at low air humidity. The soluble salt hydrogel can be reused without noticeable loss of quality. From 35 g of dry hydrogel outdoors in the desert, 20 g of fresh water was obtained in 2.5 hours. It is estimated that the cost of the device providing the minimum daily water consumption (about 3 liters) will be 3.5 dollars. Fantastic. Wherever you are, even where there is no electricity, you can secure yourself a supply of drinking water. This is especially important for arid regions, where there are no rivers and outlets to the sea, but the sun always shines.
Cheap water extraction from air will change life on the planet
During the dry season in Africa, thousands of people die of thirst. Every year in the world more than 3.5 million people die from diseases associated with the use of poor-quality water, of which 84% are children. Every eighth inhabitant of the planet does not have access to safe water. Hundreds of thousands of women and children spend several hours every day fetching water from distant sources.
They and the people traveling in the desert will not need to dig wells and look for oases. At night, the hydrogel is saturated with water from the air, and with the advent of the sun, it will be released and quench your thirst.
Is salvation so close?
Author: Vasilik Svetlana