Researchers at the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security (J-WAFS) Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made two breakthroughs in the capture of both water and nitrogen from air.
The J-WAFS laboratory is an initiative co-sponsored by MIT and Abdul Latif Jameel, the distributor of Toyota and Hino vehicles and Komatsu equipment in Saudi Arabia, in but one of the company’s many wide-ranging philanthropic initiatives.
The laboratory was founded in 2014 to coordinate and promote the research of technologies related to water and food safety and security that will have a positive impact onn the development of sustainable communities and cities in our rapidly changing world.
Seven new projects are being supported by J-WAFS this year, including the development of a passive solar-powered technology that uses a metal-organic framework, a specialised porous material to extract clean, fresh water from the air at any given level of humidity.
The second project also involves using a solar-powered device, but this time to convert atmospheric nitrogen, water, and sunlight into ammonia – which can be added to soil to promote plant growth.
Fady Mohammed Jameel, president of Community Jameel International, said: “We firmly believe that MIT-led research can deliver real solutions to help communities transform themselves. MIT is providing an opportunity to tackle some of the most pressing issues related to food and water safety and security in the Middle East and around the world.”
Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – the driest in the world – more than half of the population lives under water stress, where demand for water resources outstrips supply, according to the World Bank.
Commenting on J-WAFS, Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, the chairman and CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel, noted: “Currently, an estimated 1 billion people lack reliable access to water, and the acute problems already before us will only intensify, as the world population is projected to grow from about 7 billion today to 9 billion by 2050.”
Community Jameel, the CSR arm of Abdul Latif Jameel, was formally established in 2003 in honour of the lifetime and tradition of philanthropy begun by the group’s founder, the late Abdul Latif Jameel, in the 1930s.
Further technological developments
Since 2015, J-WAFS has supported a number of other research projects related to food and water safety and security.
Another water-related project resulted in designs for constructed wetlands that can reduce storm water runoff and improve the ecological function of water systems in urban centres.
John Lienhard, the Abdul Latif Jameel professor for water and food at MIT, said: “We must continue to advance innovations and creative ideas for delivering safe and secure food and clean and renewable water supplies.
“Through the innovative technologies and collaborations we are supporting with these projects, J-WAFS is working to secure the future of our communities, the sustainability of our cities in the face of rising population, greater urbanisation, and changing climate.”
In another previous project, environmental modelling was used to understand mercury contamination in rice, which is an emerging pathway to mercury exposure for people living in areas contaminated by coal-fired electricity and other industrial activities.
Ongoing J-WAFS projects include work to engineer cereal grains to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the same way that legumes do to develop high-yield varieties for use in regions across the globe, while reducing the negative effects of the use of chemical fertilisers.
Another project relates to biofuel, and aims to create a new class of multifunctional micro- and nanostructural optical fibers that can more efficiently and effectively transport light and carbon dioxide throughout industrial microalgae cultures.
Microalgae cultures are effective generators of protein-rich biomass that could, if produced on an industrial scale, be used for nutrition or serve as biofuel. However current production methods aren’t economically viable for this scale.
Kolle’s microfibers could transform large-scale industrial microalgae production, making microalgae-produced protein and fuel an economically viable, sustainable, and energy efficient option in the future.
