Science and technology reporter Ma Aiping.
In the vast atmosphere, it is possible to "catch" clear water droplets. The agrometeorological disaster prevention and control team from the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has revealed the potential and advantages of the emerging atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) technology, which will provide new solutions for severe water scarcity around the world. The research results were recently published in the international journal Water Research.
The research team pointed out that fog collection, condensation, adsorption and other technologies can be used to effectively "capture" water molecules in the atmosphere. Although the traditional fog collection technology has been relatively mature, there is still room for further improvement in terms of efficiency. Traditional active condensing technology requires more external forces to achieve, while passive condensing technology has more stringent requirements for ambient humidity. Emerging bio-inspired fog collection and adsorption technologies have brought new hope and vitality to the field of atmospheric water harvesting.
Liu Enke, a member of the team and a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that the team put forward the idea of the joint use of integrated hybrid systems, taking the relationship between water and energy as the entry point, and the future development strategy of atmospheric water harvesting technology in energy drive and conversion, which pointed out the direction for the long-term development of this field. "In the future, we may be able to 'capture' enough water from the atmosphere with a relative humidity above 30% to meet the growing demand for drinking water and agricultural irrigation in a more efficient way. Liu Enke said.
Previously, under the guidance of Mei Xurong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the team's "evapotranspiration water utilization integrated technology" based on atmospheric water harvesting technology won the overall championship of the FAO "Transformative Research Challenge".
Mei Xurong believes that the development of atmospheric water harvesting technology must be aimed at enhancing efficiency and reducing costs, and from the perspective of mechanism analysis, technical product research and development, and regional testing, a wide range of regional tests and experimental studies should be carried out in different regions, climates, soil types and crop conditions. Continuously summarize experience and obtain reliable data for promotion and application, so as to promote the multi-field and large-scale application of atmospheric water harvesting technology.
Courtesy of the Institute of Agricultural Environment and Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences).