Nobel-Winning Scientist's New Invention Turns Air Moisture Into Drinking Water
Atoco, the technology company that Yaghi founded, claims to have developed water harvesting solutions that efficiently harvest clean water out of the atmosphere, even under dry conditions with relative humidity below 20%
Professor Omar Yaghi, the University of California professor who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year for his work in Metal–organic frameworks, has found a way to ‘harvest water from air’ with his latest invention. At a time when water has become the hot topic as lack of access to clean water is reported worldwide, Yaghi’s invention has garnered widespread interest, to say the least.
Atoco, the technology company that Yaghi founded, claims to have developed water harvesting solutions that efficiently harvest clean water out of the atmosphere, even under dry conditions with relative humidity below 20%.
Atmospheric Water Harvesting, or AWH, does not drain rivers, wells, or distant reserves, unlike most other techniques used to solve water shortage in arid regions. AWH merely relies on capturing moisture from the surrounding air and transforming it into potable water, making it an “inexhaustible resource” that could solve the water crisis sustainably.
An Atmospheric Water Generator is used for pulling in air and extracting water using different methods. According to official communication, the air is drawn into the system, where it undergoes either a cooling process, adsorption, or desiccation to separate the moisture. The water extracted from air is exceptionally pure, requiring only filtration, slight purification, and possible mineralization to make it suitable for human consumption or other uses.
