Continuous and multicyclic sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting with heat recovery in arid climate

Nowadays, two-thirds of the global population are grappling with water scarcity. Sorption-based water harvesting (SAWH), which does not depend on conventional water sources and provides decentralized clean water, is steadily gaining popularity. However, the contradiction between the low daily water production in arid climates and the high energy consumption of large-scale devices has become a pivotal limitation for efficient water harvesting. Here, we report a multicyclic SAWH device with heat recovery equipped with 3 sorbent beds that alternatively desorb in automatic switching mode to achieve all-day continuous water harvesting. Furthermore, based on the rapid sorption and desorption kinetics of the adsorbent in the initial stages, employing a rapid-cycling operation strategy contributes to realize an outstanding water productivity of 8.07 kg day⁻¹ and 0.21 kg kgsorbent⁻¹ day⁻¹ under practical arid conditions (15 °C/25 % RH). Besides, the apparatus equipped with heat regenerator showed a significant decrease in energy consumption from 12.17 kWh to 10.65 kWh during a desorption cycle (4 h). Moreover, a hybrid desorption mode driven by a combination of solar collector and electric heater is demonstrated in an island. This SAWH system is anticipated to provide a promising approach for large-scale efficient water harvesting in all-day arid regions (RH<35 %).