設備僅利用重力從空氣中提取水

由 KAUST 教授 Qiaoqiang Gan 領導的國際研究小組設計了一種裝置，可以在沒有電力的情況下運行，僅依靠重力從空氣中提取水。

Water is perhaps Earth's most valuable resource. Despite covering 70% of our planet, freshwater, the water we use to drink, bathe, or irrigate our farmlands, is scarce. Only 3% of the world's water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that 3% dwells in frozen glaciers or is otherwise unavailable for use.

水也許是地球上最珍貴的資源。儘管淡水覆蓋了地球 70% 的面積，但我們用來飲用、洗澡或灌溉農田的水卻很稀缺。世界上只有 3% 的水是淡水，而這 3% 的水有三分之二居住在冰凍的冰川中或無法使用。

The result of water scarcity is a problem that is reflected all over the world. Close to 1.1 billion people lack access to water on a global scale. A total of 2.7 billion people in the world suffer from the scarcity of water for at least one month of the year.

水資源短缺的結果是全世界都反映出來的問題。全球有近 11 億人無法獲得水。全球共有27億人一年中至少有一個月遭受缺水之苦。

Water shortage also leads to many other problems, such as inadequate sanitation, a problem for 2.4 billion people who get vulnerable and exposed to diseases like cholera and typhoid, and many other fatal diarrheal diseases.

水資源短缺也導致許多其他問題，例如衛生設施不足，這是 24 億人面臨的問題，他們容易受到霍亂和傷寒等疾病的影響，以及許多其他致命的腹瀉疾病。

The growing population and the ever-expanding demand for water have always been at loggerheads. The more populated our planet has become, the more stressed its water systems have become.

不斷增長的人口和不斷擴大的水需求一直是矛盾的。我們的星球人口越多，水系統的壓力就越大。

Rising pollution levels have taken a toll on the planet's rivers, lakes, and aquifers. What appears even more distressing is that over half of the world's wetlands have disappeared.

不斷上升的污染水平對地球上的河流、湖泊和含水層造成了損害。更令人痛苦的是，全世界一半以上的濕地已經消失。

If the scientific community fails to evolve with time and offer solutions to combat the menace of disappearing water, our agriculture systems won't have enough water soon, leading to food insecurity and much more.

如果科學界無法隨著時間的推移而發展並提供解決方案來應對水資源消失的威脅，我們的農業系統很快就會沒有足夠的水，從而導致糧食不安全等問題。

Fortunately, the scientific community is up to the challenge worldwide. Today, we shall discuss one such breakthrough solution in the coming segment and then delve deeper.

幸運的是，科學界正在迎接全世界的挑戰。今天，我們將在接下來的部分討論一個這樣的突破性解決方案，然後進行更深入的研究。

Device Extracts Water from the Air Using Nothing More than Gravity

設備僅利用重力從空氣中提取水

A team of international researchers, led by KAUST Professor Qiaoqiang Gan, has designed a device that can potentially run with no electricity and extract water from the air with the help of nothing but gravity. The device, already free from the need for a costly energy supply, can be made with cheap and readily available materials.

由 KAUST 教授 Qiaoqiang Gan 領導的國際研究小組設計了一種裝置，可以在沒有電力的情況下運行，僅依靠重力從空氣中提取水。該設備已經不需要昂貴的能源供應，可以用廉價且容易取得的材料製成。

The experiment paper, titled ‘Lubricated Surface in a Vertical Double-Sided Architecture for Radiative Cooling and Atmospheric Water Harvesting', seeks to make atmospheric water harvesting more efficient.

這份實驗論文題為“用於輻射冷卻和大氣水收集的垂直雙面架構中的潤滑表面”，旨在提高大氣水收集的效率。

The water harvesting process improves significantly in radiative cooling. Radiative cooling works by significantly lowering condenser temperatures below ambient levels and making atmospheric water harvesting possible without additional energy.

集水過程在輻射冷卻方面得到顯著改善。輻射冷卻的工作原理是將冷凝器溫度顯著降低到環境水平以下，並且無需額外能源即可收集大氣水。

One issue that radiative cooling systems face is the challenge of traditional sky-facing condensers having low cooling power density, and water droplets remaining pinned on the surface, requiring active condensate collection.

輻射冷卻系統面臨的問題之一是傳統面向天空的冷凝器的冷卻功率密度低，且水滴仍固定在表面上，需要主動收集冷凝水。

The research has proposed a solution to this problem: a lubricated surface (LS) coating—consisting of highly scalable polydimethylsiloxane elastomer lubricated with silicone oil applied on the condenser side in a vertical double-sided architecture.

研究提出了解決這個問題的方法：潤滑表面（LS）塗層－由高度可擴展的聚二甲基矽氧烷彈性體組成，用矽油潤滑，塗在垂直雙面結構的冷凝器側。

The benefits of the design are several. For one, it effectively doubles the local cooling power.

該設計的好處有很多。其一，它有效地使局部冷卻能力加倍。

Secondly, it eliminates contact-line pinning, enabling passive, gravity-driven collection of water. The result is pumped up AWH capacity from a 0 × 30 cm2 sample in outdoor environments, which was under no artificial flow of humidified air.

其次，它消除了接觸線釘扎，從而實現被動、重力驅動的集水。結果是在室外環境中從 0 × 30 cm2 樣品中抽出 AWH 容量，該樣品沒有人工加濕空氣流。

The passive water collection rate of the lubricated surface (LS) coating reached 21 g m−2 h−1, double that on a superhydrophobic surface, 10 g m−2 h−1. The performance was even better in an indoor setting, where the system could achieve a condensation rate of up to 87% of the theoretical limit with up to 90% of the total condensate passively collected.

潤滑表面 (LS) 塗層的被動水收集率達到 21 gm−2 h−1，是超疏水錶面 10 gm−2 h−1 的兩倍。在室內環境中，性能甚至更好，系統可以實現高達理論極限 87% 的冷凝率，並且被動收集的冷凝水總量高達 90%。

Benefits of Atmospheric Water Harvesting Done Correctly

正確進行大氣水收集的好處

The atmosphere has six times more water than all the earth's rivers' freshwater combined. According to Professor Gan:

大氣中的水量是地球上所有河流淡水總和的六倍。據甘教授介紹：

“This water can be collected by atmospheric water harvesting technologies.”

“這些水可以透過大氣集水技術來收集。”

And when the process is done efficiently with the solution mentioned above, it becomes all the more profitable for its adopters. While elaborating on the benefits of the system, Professor Dan Daniel, one of the post-doctorates in Professor Gan's research group, had the following to say,

當使用上述解決方案有效地完成該過程時，它的採用者會變得更加有利可圖。在詳細闡述該系統的好處時，甘教授研究小組的博士後之一丹·丹尼爾教授說：

“The system doesn't consume any electricity, leading to energy savings. Moreover, it doesn't rely on any mechanical parts like compressors or fans, reducing the maintenance over traditional systems, leading to further savings.”

「該系統不消耗任何電力，從而節省能源。此外，它不依賴壓縮機或風扇等任何機械部件，減少了傳統系統的維護，從而進一步節省成本。

To Dan Daniel's observations, another post-doctorate of the team, Shakeel Ahmad, added:

根據 Dan Daniel 的觀察，該團隊的另一位博士後 Shakeel Ahmad 補充道：

“Our coating effectively eliminated pinning, enabling true passive water collection driven by water.”

“我們的塗層有效地消除了釘扎，實現了真正由水驅動的被動集水。”

Altogether, the system enhances the quality of atmospheric water harvesting by a significant margin, making AWH a true blue solution in this world of increasingly scarce water resources.

總而言之，該系統顯著提高了大氣集水的質量，使 AWH 成為這個水資源日益稀缺的世界中真正的藍色解決方案。

Click here to learn how solar energy could do more than just provide clean energy.

按此了解太陽能除了提供清潔能源之外還有什麼其他用途。

Advances in Atmospheric Water Harvesting Systems

大氣集水系統的進展

In October 2023, an article published in the scientific journal named Energy conducted a comprehensive review of techniques, performance, renewable energy solutions, and feasibility relating to the method of AWH. The review highlighted Atmospheric Water Harvesting as something that could be

2023年10月，《能源》雜誌上發表的一篇文章對AWH方法的技術、性能、再生能源解決方案和可行性進行了全面綜述。這篇評論強調大氣水收集是可以