Sustainable Technology for Atmospheric Water Harvesting (WaterSustTech)

水资源短缺是一个世界性的问题，影响着世界上三分之一的人口。该项目将侧重于缓解缺水地区的缺水问题，如撒哈拉以南非洲地区，特别是代表非洲大陆两种典型气候的埃塞俄比亚和苏丹。在这两个国家，无法获得清洁水的总人数约为7400万，超过1亿人无法获得改善的卫生设施。气候变化在已经经历长期干旱的地区造成不稳定的降雨模式，加剧了这种情况。来自StormSaver有限公司的Michael Farnsworth将领导这个联盟，对一种新的可持续大气水收集技术“WaterSustTech”进行可行性研究，这是一种简单但非常有效的系统，可以利用夜间和白天空气温度的差异从空气中收集饮用水。技术带头人是诺丁汉大学的萨法·里法特教授。他和他的团队开发了这个概念和技术，利用相变材料来创建一个简单的系统，这将是撒哈拉以南非洲和世界上许多干旱地区的理想选择。英国团队与许多非洲国家在研究和慈善项目上有长期合作，解决与粮食安全、能源和供水有关的问题，因此他们深刻地意识到影响非洲社区的问题。通过建立的网络，来自两国的两个确定的非洲伙伴提供了当地的研究专业知识和商业能力，因此非常适合加入这个项目。

Water scarcity is a worldwide issue that affects 1/3 of the world's population. This project will focus on alleviating water shortage issues in regions where there is a lack of access to water such as Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly in Ethiopia and Sudan, which represent two typical climates on the African continent. In both countries, the total number of people lacking access to clean water is about 74 million, and over 100 million lack access to improved sanitation. The situation is exacerbated by climate change causing erratic rainfall patterns in areas already experiencing prolonged drought.Michael Farnsworth of StormSaver Ltd will lead the consortium in a feasibility study of a novel Sustainable Technology for Atmospheric Water Harvesting 'WaterSustTech', a simple yet very effective system for collecting drinking water from the air, using the difference between night and daytime air temperatures. The technical lead is Prof Saffa Riffat, University of Nottingham. He and his team developed the concept and technology that utilizes phase change materials to create a simple system that will be ideal for Sub-Saharan Africa and many arid regions of the world.The UK team has longstanding collaborations with many African countries on research and charitable projects addressing issues related to food security, energy and water supply and therefore are deeply aware of issues that affect African communities. Through the established network, two identified African partners from both countries offer local research expertise and commercial capacity and therefore are highly suitable for joining this project.