The Water Crisis: Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Solutions

Monday - May 1 2023, 06:32 UTC - 1 year ago

Fresh water is increasingly becoming scarce in many parts of the world, making innovative water-harvesting technologies increasingly in demand. Recently, Interesting Engineering reported on one such initiative where organic crystals collect water from humidity in the air, including mist and fog. In the follow-up study, researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi observed the process of water spontaneously condensing from its vapor to liquid form and moving across the surface of a slowly subliming organic crystal. Through the use of high-resolution microscopes and a combination of physical processes, this study showed a new and more efficient way to harvest water from air that can be applied to other dynamic surfaces.

Fresh water is one of the most precious resources on our planet, and it's a fundamental need for all living things. However, the reality is that fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world.

According to the UN, more than 2 billion people live without safely managed drinking water services, and by 2050, it's estimated that up to two-thirds of the world's population could be living in areas where water is scarce for at least one month of the year. With the growing global population and the increasing impact of climate change, the demand for freshwater is expected to continue rising while the supply remains limited.Subsequently, also in demand are innovative technologies offering a sustainable means to address the water crisis. Recently, Interesting Engineering (IE) reported on one such initiative whereby organic crystals collect water from humidity in the air, including mist and fog.

In the study, Research Scientist Patrick Commins and Postdoctoral Associate Marieh B. Al-Handawi at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) observed for the first time the process of water spontaneously condensing from its vapor to liquid form and moving across the surface of a slowly subliming organic crystal.

Sublimation is the process of a substance changing directly from a solid phase to a gas phase, without first becoming a liquid.

To gain a deeper insight into what their findings could mean for future water-harvesting technologies, IE interviewed the duo, along with the nominated corresponding author on the paper, Panče Naumov — a leader of the Smart Materials Lab and Director of the Center for Smart Engineering Materials at NYUAD.

The following Q&A session has been edited slightly for flow.

IE: In your own words, could you outline how this process works? .

Commins: In this work, we discovered a new mechanism by which humidity from air can be collected on the surface of an organic crystal, and the resulting water can move across that surface due to a combination of physical processes.

We studied the principles of this water transport, which are general and would — in principle — apply to other surfaces that are dynamic in nature; the concept. Therefore, it is not specific to the material used in this work.

The mechanism requires the surface to have very thin channels and change their width over time. In our case, this is due to a slow sublimation process where the crystal's surface slowly transitions from the solid to the gas phase.

This changes the width of the channels, and as a result, we found that the water can move along the channels. This motion causes the water to carry dust and other solid particles along its way.

IE: Please could you tell us about the technology that aided your discovery? .

Commins: We were initially using a combination of techniques to study the mechanical properties of this material, which is known to be bendable. We performed careful observation of the surface of the material to be able to understand the mechanism of that deformation.

In the experiments, we used a combination of two high-resolution microscopes, a curiosity with which we approach all our experiments, and some luck.

While we were observing the surface of the crystals overnight, we noticed an unusual phenomenon — bits of dust were running along the surface fo the material. After we did this several times, we realized what was actually happening.