Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed an innovative method to extract drinkable water from the air using everyday biomass, such as food scraps, branches and shells. These “molecularly functional biomass hydrogels” can convert a variety of natural materials into sorbents that absorb moisture from the air.
By combining these sorbents with gentle heat, the team was able to harvest 14,19 liters of clean water per kilogram of sorbent per day, even in dry conditions. This exceeds the capacity of existing sorbents, which produce between 1 and 5 liters per kilogram per day.
Professor Guihua Yu, leader of the research, emphasizes that this breakthrough provides a universal molecular strategy to convert various natural materials into efficient water collectors. Unlike synthetic sorbents, which often use petrochemicals and require a lot of energy, this biomass-based hydrogel is biodegradable, scalable and energy efficient. The process involves a two-step molecular processing that adds hygroscopic properties and thermoresponsive behavior to biomass-based polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch or chitosan.
The research, which was recently published in the scientific journal Advanced materials, is now focused on scaling up production and designing practical systems for commercial applications, such as portable water collectors and self-sufficient irrigation systems.
This development offers a promising solution for communities without access to clean drinking water and can make an important contribution to sustainable water extraction worldwide.
Source: eurekalert.org
