Using Soil and Other Accessible Resources for the Remineralization of Water from Sorbent-Based Atmospheric Harvesting Systems

Water scarcity is an escalating global issue, intensified by climate change and persistent inequalities in access to quality in drinking water. Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) has emerged as a promising alternative, especially in regions experiencing water shortages. Among the collection methods, nanoporous sponges (NPS) which are carbon-based materials derived from low-cost precursors, show high efficiency in capturing AWH water. However, water obtained through sorbent-based AWH technologies often lacks essential minerals. According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, minerals like calcium and magnesium are crucial not only for human health but also for improving taste. Although there are conventional mineralization methods such as Calcite, CorosexTM or even mineralizing filters available on the market. This project proposes a low-consumable mineralization strategy that leverages natural material such as local soils, rock, and sands, to enhance the mineral content of AWH water. Of the materials tested, Black Earth soil from Charbonneau Floral (0.03 g/mL) and Red beach sand from Prince Edward Island (0.25 g/mL) showed strong potential for improving hardness, reaching concentrations of 182 mg/L and 265 mg/L CaCO3, respectively. Fast ion release kinetics were observed, with saturation reached within 15 minutes. Overall, this approach contributes to the development of decentralized, low-consumable systems for delivering not only accessible but also quality and mineral, highlighting the value of using readily available materials to address basic human needs and reinforces the feasibility of AWH technologies as a promising solution in water-stressed communities.