Breakthrough Materials for Atmospheric Water Harvesting – A Success by Assist. Prof. Primož Poredoš
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The shortage of drinking water is one of the greatest global challenges of the modern world. While surface freshwater resources are rapidly declining, the atmosphere contains as much as six times more water vapor than all the water in the world’s river systems combined. This remarkable yet still underutilized natural resource opens the way to new, sustainable solutions for supplying drinking water. It is precisely in this field that an important scientific milestone has been achieved by Assist. Prof. Primož Poredoš from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering UL.
Together with researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the National University of Singapore, he developed a theoretical framework that, for the first time, comprehensively connects the structure, thermodynamics, and energy efficiency of composite hygroscopic materials—special materials that passively bind water vapor from the air at high humidity and, through moisture release at elevated temperatures, convert it into fresh water in the field of Atmospheric Water Harvesting.
The focus of the research is on key parameters such as the type and proportion of hygroscopic salt, porosity, and the load-bearing capacity of the matrix, as these decisively influence the material’s water-binding ability. The new methodology provides clear criteria for designing adsorption capacity—that is, the amount of water a material can bind per unit of its mass, which determines its efficiency in moisture capture. It also defines the enthalpy of desorption, which represents the amount of energy required to release the bound water from the material again in the form of vapor. Understanding these two properties is crucial for developing materials that can both efficiently absorb moisture and release it with the lowest possible energy input, enabling sustainable and cyclic use.
An important contribution of the research is also the consideration of energy strategies to improve the efficiency of the entire process. Among other things, the researchers proposed the use of daytime radiative cooling, a natural phenomenon that enables heat dissipation into space without energy consumption. If the outer layer of the material is appropriately designed, this approach can enable passive and fully sustainable release of harvested water. This opens new pathways for the use of renewable energy sources in water harvesting from air.
The new findings are highly significant for the future. They will accelerate the development of sustainable technologies for Atmospheric Water Harvesting, which is particularly valuable for arid and hard-to-reach regions. The achievement of Assist. Prof. Primož Poredoš and his international collaborators thus represents not only a scientific innovation but also an important step toward solving one of the key civilizational challenges—ensuring safe and reliable access to drinking water.
The research was published in the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Materials, one of the most respected scientific journals in the field of materials science. This represents an exceptional international recognition and an important milestone in the researcher’s career, as the journal publishes only the most impactful advances in global science. With this achievement, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana once again confirms its role as a top-level research institution that contributes to sustainable development and a better life for future generations through innovative solutions.