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Drought buster: Solar tech extracts 3 liters of water from thin air daily | The design improves material flow and energy use, producing 0.65 L/m²/hr of freshwater under sunlight and 90% humidity.

Researchers developed a passive system that extracts liters of water daily with minimal maintenance, producing 0.65 L/m²/hr in sunlight.

By improving the design to allow better movement of materials and efficient use of energy, the system can consistently produce 0.65 liters of freshwater per square meter per hour under standard sunlight and 90 percent humidity. “Our initial inspiration came from observing natural processes: specifically how plants efficiently transport water from their roots to their leaves through specialized structures,” said Kaijie Yang, a post-doctoral fellow at KAUST and the lead on the study, in a statement. It includes off-grid irrigation.“By optimizing the transport of mass and heat within the system, we enhanced its efficiency and effectiveness,” said Tingting Pan, another post-doctoral fellow at KAUST who worked on the project.

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