Wearable jacket turns air into 900 mL of drinking water daily

Earth's atmosphere contains approximately 12,900 cubic kilometers of water vapor at any given time, enough to fill millions of large reservoirs. However, this moisture is highly dispersed, which is why extracting it is a tricky affair that requires specialized technology and methods. In this regard, engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully developed a wearable jacket that harvests clean drinking water directly from the air.

The innovative technology is intended to give people working in areas without reliable infrastructure—such as hikers, campers, agricultural workers and emergency responders—a portable, on-demand source of water. The jacket utilizes a moisture-collecting textile that channels water to detachable units, which are placed in a foldable collector and heated to release the captured water. Depending on humidity levels, the jacket can produce between 400 and 900 milliliters of water per day.

Researchers are exploring additional applications for the material, including integration into backpacks, tents, emergency shelters and other forms of outdoor gear. The same research team also recently developed a device that extracted a record amount of 1.3 liters of clean drinking water from the air in two contrasting climates: the arid Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico and the more humid environment of Austin. Such tests reveal the real-world potential of atmospheric moisture as a solution to drinking water shortages.