Mechanical engineering professor H. Jeremy Cho’s research has led to WAVR Technologies, Inc., a UNLV startup focused on solutions for water sustainability. The company is working with industry to provide atmospherically sourced water to supplement their conventional water demands.
(Jeff Scheid for UNLV)
In the face of growing water scarcity, particularly in arid regions like the Southwest, innovative solutions are desperately needed. UNLV researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking technology that can extract significant amounts of water from the air, even in low-humidity environments. This revolutionary approach, detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on October 22, could provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution to water shortages.
UNLV mechanical engineering professor H. Jeremy Cho leads a team of researchers with a radically different approach to atmospheric water harvesting, or transforming water vapor in the air around us into a usable form. Existing atmospheric water harvesting approaches have low yields and diminishing returns at humidities below 30%.
“This paper really establishes that you can capture water at a very fast rate,” said Cho. “We can start to forecast how big of a system we would need to produce a set amount of water. If I have one square meter, which is around three feet by three feet, we can generate about a gallon of water per day in Las Vegas, and up to three times more in humid environments.”
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UNLV’s pioneering technology has been field-tested in the harsh climate of Las Vegas, proving its ability to extract water from air with as little as 10% humidity. The process involves capturing water directly into a liquid salt solution, which can be subsequently refined into drinking water or harnessed for energy production. This revolutionary approach offers immense potential for regions grappling with water scarcity.
The technology’s core component, a hydrogel membrane “skin,” draws inspiration from nature’s own water-harvesting mechanisms, such as those employed by tree frogs and air plants. These organisms use a similar technique to absorb moisture from the air and store it internally.
“We took that biological idea and tried to do it in our own way,” he said. “There are so many cool things happening in nature – you just have to look around, learn, and be inspired.”
Additionally, the research demonstrates that atmospheric water harvesting can be solar-powered. Thanks to the frequent sunlight experienced in places such as the Las Vegas Valley – which averages 300 sunny days a year sunlight can provide enough energy to reduce the theoretical and eventual cost for generating water.
“Our water resources are depleting and our planet’s climate is changing,” said Cho. “To reach sustainability, we have to change our habits. This whole idea seemed like science fiction, but this is possible, and we’re actually doing it.”
