Overview
- MIT researchers report a lab-scale device that shakes moisture from sorbent materials using high-frequency ultrasound instead of slow solar heating.
- Controlled tests dried quarter-sized samples in minutes across varied humidity levels, sharply reducing the recovery time from prior designs.
- The team calculates roughly a 45-fold improvement in extraction efficiency compared with heat-based methods using the same sorbent.
- The actuator centers on a vibrating ceramic ring encircled by a nozzle ring that guides shaken-out droplets into collection vessels.
- The study, published November 18, 2025 in Nature Communications, outlines concepts for small-solar-powered, automated soak-and-shake cycles and notes that field-scale validation remains ahead.