Design and development of a prototype that harvests water from air for food production

Given the increasing population, rising food demand, and limited water resources, it is a matter of national security to explore alternative sources for sustainable food and freshwater production. Agriculture, the largest consumer of freshwater on the planet, is the core of food security aspirations. This is especially important for the State of Qatar, which is striving towards food security and is challenged with access to freshwater and a harsh external climate. Water scarcity is prevalent in Qatar and is subjected to high temperatures and low rainfall. Currently, Qatar relies on the unsustainable utilization of groundwater resources to drive its national food security agenda. As such, for this proposal, we introduce the potential of atmospheric water harvesting as an alternative water source for sustainable agriculture. It has been considered an attractive alternative source of water, despite the obstacles that exist in its collection and seasonality factors related to temperature and humidity throughout the year. The main objectives of this proposal are to develop a novel doped metalorganic framework (MOF) for atmospheric water adsorption and to integrate this material in an agricultural greenhouse. We expect that the main output of this research will form the basis for the future of agriculture in Qatar in designing self-sustaining greenhouses, and exploiting the structure and operation of the greenhouses to collect atmospheric water.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)