Stay hydrated any place, any time: Chinese scientists develop a low-cost sponge that can suck water from air
- 1kg of the hi-tech material can yield 2.5kg of water in a day, enough for the needs of an adult
- New hydrogel provides a simple and affordable way of water harvesting in dry areas, according to a member of the research team behind the technology
Scientists from China have developed a simple, low-cost, high-performance material with the potential to provide an endless supply of drinking water.
The spongy material can be used for atmospheric water harvesting almost anywhere at any time.
Using a simple home-made vessel, users can generate around 2.56kg (5.6lbs) of drinkable water with 1kg of the hi-tech material in one day, meeting the daily minimum water requirement of an adult. And 1kg of the LCP hydrogel, which has a spongelike texture with a macroporous surface, costs just US$2.80, according to the researchers’ estimate.
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The work is being led by Tian Ye, an associate professor with Northeastern University in Liaoning. His team’s results were reported in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces this month.
Tian’s team employed a new method to rationally fabricate the macroporous hydrogel.
Lyu Tong, first author of the paper, said the unexpected discovery was made by accident.
“I was trying to replace the calcium chloride (CaCl2) with lithium chloride (LiCl) in preparation of hydrogel to check what happens. It turns out lithium chloride droplets inside the hydrogel stay unfrozen under minus 70 degrees Celsius. When it is put into a vacuum system, bubbles inside the droplets burst and create the macroporous structure,” she said.