UT Austin team develops natural hydrogels harvesting water at 60°C
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have come up with a clever way to collect water straight from the atmosphere using hydrogels made from natural stuff like cellulose and starch.
These gels soak up moisture and release it with just a bit of heat, think around 60 degrees Celsius, making water harvesting both simple and sustainable.
Hydrogels yield up to 14.19kg/kg/day
In tests, these hydrogels produced up to 14.19kg of water per kilogram of sorbent per day, far outpacing older methods that manage only about one to five liters per kilogram per day.
Since they're biodegradable and can be made from things like food scraps or twigs, they're super eco-friendly.
The team hopes this tech could help power portable water harvesters or support communities where clean water is tough to find.