About this Research Topic
Of the different water purification technologies put forward, one presents a promising strategy that is spatially or temporally non-restricted—atmospheric water generation (AWG). This is an invitation to contribute to a Special Issue of ‘Frontiers in Materials’ aiming at the latest advancements in the design, implementation, and optimization of sorbent materials for AWG technologies. This special issue covers both organic and inorganic sorbent desiccant materials. Some include, but are not limited to, MOFs, gels, halide salts, ionic liquids, nanosorbents, sustainable materials, and advanced composite materials.
Global water scarcity is becoming a prominent issue as condensed water sources are being diminished. AWG is a technology that can avoid the need for condensed water sources, as water is harvested directly from air at the point of need. However, recent literature identifies that water vapor sorbents with high water uptake capacity and especially fast vapor sorption/desorption kinetics have become the bottleneck to desirable water productivity in AWG. Moreover, the energy requirement for regeneration of desiccant materials has been the biggest pain point, especially when AWG units are operated at an industrial scale. Recent advances regarding desiccant modifications, performance measurements, and system design optimizations to overcome lingering barriers to sorbent design and implementation are invited.
We call for the submission of experimental, computational, and theoretical studies, focusing on atmospheric water generation. We aim to publish high-quality research articles, communications, and review manuscripts that highlight innovative sorbent materials for AWG technologies, powered by active and passive energy.
• Novel designs or fabrication of hygroscopic desiccant materials for sustainable AWG
• Advanced nanomaterials-based sorbents for improved sorption/desorption kinetics.
• System level design configurations for reduced energy footprint
• Super moisture-absorbent gels for all-weather AWG
• Hygroscopic polymer composite materials including gels, films, fluids with improved water harvesting cycles.
• Thermodynamic modeling on performance of AWG sorbent materials
• Advanced sorbent materials for simultaneous capture of water and CO2
• Techno-economic analysis on scalable AWG units
Global water scarcity is becoming a prominent issue as condensed water sources are being diminished. AWG is a technology that can avoid the need for condensed water sources, as water is harvested directly from air at the point of need. However, recent literature identifies that water vapor sorbents with high water uptake capacity and especially fast vapor sorption/desorption kinetics have become the bottleneck to desirable water productivity in AWG. Moreover, the energy requirement for regeneration of desiccant materials has been the biggest pain point, especially when AWG units are operated at an industrial scale. Recent advances regarding desiccant modifications, performance measurements, and system design optimizations to overcome lingering barriers to sorbent design and implementation are invited.
We call for the submission of experimental, computational, and theoretical studies, focusing on atmospheric water generation. We aim to publish high-quality research articles, communications, and review manuscripts that highlight innovative sorbent materials for AWG technologies, powered by active and passive energy.
• Novel designs or fabrication of hygroscopic desiccant materials for sustainable AWG
• Advanced nanomaterials-based sorbents for improved sorption/desorption kinetics.
• System level design configurations for reduced energy footprint
• Super moisture-absorbent gels for all-weather AWG
• Hygroscopic polymer composite materials including gels, films, fluids with improved water harvesting cycles.
• Thermodynamic modeling on performance of AWG sorbent materials
• Advanced sorbent materials for simultaneous capture of water and CO2
• Techno-economic analysis on scalable AWG units
Keywords: atmospheric water generation, absorption, adsorption, thermophysical properties, process design, materials design, adsorption on surfaces, novel materials, phase equilibrium, surface functionalization, sustainable water
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
