We are proud to announce that we won the eCybermission Stem-In-Action grant! We will continue working on refining our solution over the next year, using this grant, after which we will report on our progress at eCybermission in Maryland, next summer.
Our Grant Plan
Today, many members of our community have decreasing access to water as it becomes more scarce due to an ongoing megadrought. How can we create an affordable solution that allows our community to have access to water? Our solution was to design a Star Wars-inspired moisture harvester that can collect water from the air year-round and help members of our community and communities around the world, in places such as Africa and the Middle East, have better access to clean water.
We began by researching ways to collect moisture and discovered the most efficient water-adsorber at the low humidity of the desert, MOF-801. Our design uses this material along with a condensing system to allow multiple absorption/desorption cycles per day in theory making our device more efficient than similar products/devices. We tested our design with a combination of modeling and prototyping. Since we were unable to obtain this material due to the constraints of this project, we ran a computer model which showed the material would work well in our desert environment. We also ran a number of tests on a physical prototype of the condensing system. This revealed several necessary enhancements, and we used what we learned from the results to build and test a revised design. Using these results, we were able to create a design for a future, even more efficient water harvester. Widespread deployment of our creation in the future could save lives and make our community, and the world, a better, healthier place for everyone.
Our STEM-in-Action proposal will address community outreach, and design improvement. We will maintain a website providing information about our research and links to conservation resources. We will also attempt to schedule presentations and/or write editorials or educational pieces whenever we have access. This will be an ongoing activity for the life of the grant. At the end of our final construction we saw a number of necessary modifications in our condensing and collecting system, which will be completed by the third quarter.
Finding a cheaper and more accessible supply of MOF-801 than is available in our current situation would help cut costs and improve availability. We will attempt to get hold of a sample to validate our modeling. This will be completed in the final quarter.
If you or someone you know has access to MOF-801, let us know!
We have already identified advisors who will work with us to address questions and issues. We may run into problems with our design or materials, in which case we will conduct more and more research into the possible causes.