With the World Environment Day going on with this year’s slogan, “Don’t Desert Drylands!” researchers at MIT have developed printable surfaces. These are no simple surfaces, but are characterized by being both superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic. This innovative technology will help harvest water from desert air.
Andrew Parker, Oxford University zoologist in England, explained that these new surfaces are more efficient than the currently, methods used to collect water from the air using nets.
The new technology improves on nature with the help of glass nano-particles, mimicking the desert beetles’ way of extracting water from air. Named Stenocara, the beetle lives in Africa’s Namib Desert, which is considered as one of the hottest environment on Earth’s lands.
Parker explained how the beetle work to extract water from desert air —
in the foggy dawn, the beetle tilts itself forward into the wind to capture water droplets on its back. These roll down into the beetle’s mouth, providing it a fresh morning drink.Parker feels that if such a water harvesting material can be on roofs of countries with negligible rainfalls, experiencing desert fogs, it could really benefit, if can be produced cheaply.
Via: physorg
