A new high-tech jacket pulls drinking water from thin air. The huge advance in fabric technology can collect up to one-and-a-half pints of drinkable water a day, say American scientists. Engineers at the University of Texas developed the designer threads that harvest water directly from the air.
How it Works
They say the groundbreaking technology could benefit anyone who spends much time in areas without easy access to drinking water — such as hikers, campers, runners, agricultural workers and soldiers. Research co-leader Dr. Guihua Yu said: “Water harvesting from air is usually imagined as a stationary device such as a box, a panel or a large sorbent bed. We wanted to rethink the form of the technology. If the fabric itself can collect water from air, it opens a new direction for personal and portable water access.”
The jacket produced between 400 and 900 milliliters (0.7 to 1.5 pints) of drinkable water per day — depending on humidity levels, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances. Compared with conventional water-harvesting materials, the textile showed a three- to 10-fold improvement at scale.
Future Applications
The researchers are now eyeing applications beyond clothing — including backpacks, tents, emergency shelters and other outdoor gear, allowing items people carry every day to help collect water from the air. They also plan to look at applying the technology to outdoor activities, remote field operations, disaster response, and water access in arid or infrastructure-limited regions.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
