By Josh Perry, Editor
[email protected]

Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin utilized solar power and hydrogels, gel-polymer hybrids that can retain large amounts of water, to produce a device that absorbs moisture from the air and turns it into potable water.

The hydrogel at UT Austin can be used to collect as much as 50 liters of moisture per day. (UT Austin/YouTube)

The passive system, according to a report from the university, could be used in disaster scenarios or developing nations that lack clean water infrastructure.

Hydrogels are left outside to collect moisture from the atmosphere, and they retain the water until exposed to sunlight. After five minutes in natural sunlight, the hydrogels will release the water. This is possible because the scientists combined materials that have both hygroscopic qualities and thermal-responsive hydrophilicity.

“The UT team’s technology requires only solar power, is compact and can still produce enough water to meet the daily needs of an average household,” the report explained. “Prototype tests showed daily water production of up to 50 liters per kilogram of hydrogel.”

A patent has been filed for the device and the school is working with researchers to commercialize the product.

The research was recently published in Advanced Materials. The abstract stated:

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH)—producing fresh water via collecting moisture from air—enables sustainable water delivery without geographical and hydrologic limitations. However, the fundamental design principle to prepare materials that can convert the water vapor in the air to collectible liquid water is still mostly unknown.

“Here, a super moisture?absorbent gel, which is composed of hygroscopic polypyrrole chloride penetrating in hydrophilicity?switchable polymeric network of poly N?isopropylacrylamide, is shown. Based on such design, a high?efficiency water production by AWH has been achieved in a broad range of relative humidity.

“The synergistic effect enabled by the molecular level integration of hygroscopic and hydrophilicity?switchable polymers in a network architecture presents controllable interaction between the gel and water molecules, simultaneously realizing efficient vapor capturing, in situ water liquefaction, high?density water storage and fast water releasing under different weather conditions.

“Being an effective method to regulate migration of water molecules, such design represents a novel strategy to improve the AWH, and it is also fundamental to other water management systems for environmental cooling, surficial moisturizing and beyond.”

Learn more about the device in the video below: