Novel water harvesting technology developed by IIT-Guwahati Scientists
Water scarcity is a looming problem that threatens to affect us all in the future. One of the solutions is water harvesting. Many scientists worldwide are working towards innovative ideas that allow the sustainability of resources. The researchers of our country are among these dedicated scholars.
A team of IIT-Guwahati scientists has used the property of hydrophobicity to devise a technology that harvests water from the air.
Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati’s Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr.Uttam Manna, has developed this innovation with Manideepa Dhar, Avijit Das, and Kousik Maji, research scholars at the institute. The Royal Society of Chemistry has published this novel idea in their journal.
Hydrophobicity is the water-repellent property of some substances. Professor Manna explained that this concept was used for water harvesting. He gave the example of a lotus leaf to explain hydrophobicity.
Chemically patterned SLIPS
To achieve this novel water harvesting technology from moist air, the researchers used chemically patterned Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS). This technology is derived from the slipper pitcher plant and has gained prominence as a coating for medical and industrial surfaces.
An A4 sheet was sprayed with a polymeric material with
sponge-like porosity. This generated a patterned SLIP that was hydrophilic. Chemically altered water-repelling spots were linked on this SLIP coating, and 2 different oils were used to lubricate this.The press release by IIT-Guwahati said that foggy or water vapor-loaded air could be used to harvest the water. This doesn’t require any cooling apparatus.
The release said that the researchers had sought solutions for increasing water problems in nature itself. This is a non-traditional method of water harvesting.
Professor Manna confirmed that this novel water harvesting technology from the air is highly efficient. Their SLIPS materials have been inspired by the pitcher plant, joining the league of bio-inspired innovations. The water harvesting efficiency of their idea is found to be much better than others among these ideas.
Author : Deepthi Prakash
