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Yamada Y, Oka J, Isobe K, Horibe A. Effect of Droplet-Removal Processes on Fog-Harvesting Performance on Wettability-Controlled Wire Array with Staggered Arrangement. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024. [PMID: 39078231 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c01942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Development of freshwater resources is vital to overcoming severe worldwide water scarcity. Fog harvesting has attracted attention as a candidate technology that can be used to obtain fresh water from a stream of foggy air without energy input. Drainage of captured droplets from fog harvesters is necessary to maintain the permeability of harp-shaped harvesters. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the droplet-removal process on the amount of water harvested using a harvester constructed by wettability-controlled wires with an alternating and staggered arrangement. Droplet transfer from hydrophobic to hydrophilic wires, located upstream and downstream of the fog flow, respectively, was observed with a fog velocity greater than 1.5 m/s. The proportion of harvesting resulting from droplet transfer exceeded 30% of the total, and it reflected more than 20% increase of the harvesting performance compared with that of a harvester with wires of the same wettability: this value varied with the adhesive property of the wires and fog velocity. Scaled-up and multilayered harvesters were developed to enhance harvesting performance. We demonstrated certain enhancements under multilayered conditions and obtained 15.99 g/30 min as the maximum harvested amount, which corresponds to 13.3% of the liquid contained in the fog stream and is enhanced by 10% compared with that without droplet transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutaka Yamada
- Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Junya Oka
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Kazuma Isobe
- Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
| | - Akihiko Horibe
- Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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2
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Mukhopadhyay A, Datta A, Dutta PS, Datta A, Ganguly R. Droplet Morphology-Based Wettability Tuning and Design of Fog Harvesting Mesh to Minimize Mesh-Clogging. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:8094-8107. [PMID: 38567885 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Fog harvesting relies on intercepting atmospheric or industrial fog by placing a porous obstacle, for example, a mesh and collecting the deposited water. In the face of global water scarcity, such fog harvesting has emerged as a viable alternative source of potable water. Typical fog harvesting meshes suffer from poor collection efficiency due to aerodynamic bypassing of the oncoming fog stream and poor collection of the deposited water from the mesh. One pestering challenge in this context is the frequent clogging up of mesh pores by the deposited fog water, which not only yields low drainage efficiency but also generates high aerodynamic resistance to the oncoming fog stream, thereby negatively impacting the fog collection efficiency. Minimizing the clogging is possible by rendering the mesh fibers superhydrophobic, but that entails other detrimental effects like premature dripping and flow-induced re-entrainment of water droplets into the fog stream from the mesh fiber. Herein, we improvise on traditional interweaved metal mesh designs by defining critical parameters, viz., mesh pitch, shade coefficient, and fiber wettability, and deducing their optimal values from numerically and experimentally observed morphology of collected fog water droplets under various operating scenarios. We extend our investigations over a varying range of mesh-wettability, including superhydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers, and go on to find optimal shade coefficients which would theoretically render clog-proof fog harvesting meshes. The aerodynamic, deposition, and overall collection efficiencies are characterized. Hydrophobic meshes with square pores, having fiber diameters smaller than the capillary length scale of water, and an optimal shade coefficient are found to be the most effective design of such clog-proof meshes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arani Mukhopadhyay
- Advanced Materials Research and Applications (AMRA) Laboratory Department of Power Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700106, India
| | - Arkadeep Datta
- Advanced Materials Research and Applications (AMRA) Laboratory Department of Power Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700106, India
| | - Partha Sarathi Dutta
- Advanced Materials Research and Applications (AMRA) Laboratory Department of Power Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700106, India
| | - Amitava Datta
- Advanced Materials Research and Applications (AMRA) Laboratory Department of Power Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700106, India
| | - Ranjan Ganguly
- Advanced Materials Research and Applications (AMRA) Laboratory Department of Power Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700106, India
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Li D, Li C, Zhang M, Xiao M, Li J, Yang Z, Fu Q, Wang P, Yu K, Pan Y. Advanced Fog Harvesting Method by Coupling Plasma and Micro/Nano Materials. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:10984-10995. [PMID: 38364209 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c17348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Harvesting fog is a potential and effective way to alleviate the crisis of water resource shortage. A highly efficient and economical fog harvesting method has always been a global and common goal. Here, a promising fog harvesting method by coupling plasma and micro/nano materials is proposed, which can achieve 93% fog collection efficiency with consuming power of only 0.76 W/0.04 m2. The basic method is to utilize nanoparticles to decorate both the discharge electrode and the collecting electrode of the micro/nano electrostatic fog collector. For the discharge electrode, the nanoparticles can achieve an order of magnitude higher electric field strength and a 28.6% decrease in the operating voltage (14 kV decreases to 10 kV). For the collecting electrode, a novel composite structure of hydrophobic/hydrophilic (HB/HL) is proposed. The core advantage is the directional droplet transport at the junction of HB and HL caused by surface tension can adjust the accumulated droplets on the two sides, which avoids the droplet residue and mesh blockage in the general structure. This technology provides an innovative approach for the collection of microdroplets and a new design idea for the fog collector to deal with the water crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingchen Li
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Chuan Li
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Ming Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Menghan Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jiawei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zhiwen Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Qixiong Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Pengyu Wang
- Digital Grid Research Institute, China Southern Power Grid, Guangzhou 510670, China
| | - Kexun Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yuan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology, School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
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Ahmad M, Nighojkar A, Plappally A. A review of the methods of harvesting atmospheric moisture. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:10395-10416. [PMID: 37924399 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-30727-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Moisture is an inherent constituent of air present across the world. The relative humidity varies with the change in temperature and climate specific to a region. In some regions of the world, there may be a relatively inadequate number of grains of moisture in the air in comparison with other regions. These factors widen the scope for the deployment of decentralized technology to capture water. The effectiveness in capturing moisture gains significance in these regions. Among the numerous forms of moisture, fog and dew are studied in depth. Over time, flora and fauna in different ecosystems have adapted to capture moisture as well as repel excesses of it according to their requirements. Therefore, bio-inspired studies and tailored engineering strategies have been incorporated in this review. Since efficient technologies are required at moisture-scarce locations, active moisture harvesting has also been studied. The use of innovative materials along with different energy sources to capture water is elaborated. The effects of climate change and environmental contamination on harvested moisture are therefore assessed. Community participation and economical use of harvested fog or dew influence the sustainability of moisture-capture projects. Therefore, this article also provides an insight into the services of decentralized water-harvesting projects run by diverse organizations and researchers across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meraj Ahmad
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 342037, India.
| | - Amrita Nighojkar
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 342037, India
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, 411025, India
| | - Anand Plappally
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 342037, India
- Centre for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 342037, India
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Goswami S, Sidhpuria RM, Khandekar S. Effect of Droplet-Laden Fibers on Aerodynamics of Fog Collection on Vertical Fiber Arrays. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:18238-18251. [PMID: 38059749 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Growing population, along with rapid urbanization, has led to severe water scarcity, necessitating development of novel techniques to mitigate this looming problem. Fog contains water in the form of liquid droplets suspended in air, which can be collected on a porous structure placed in the path of the fog flow. We first develop an artificial fog-generating system using the thermodynamic principle of mixing of air streams followed by condensation, which closely mimics the liquid water content and droplet size distribution of natural fog. We then investigate how collected fog droplets growing on fiber surfaces alter the aerodynamics of fog flow across vertical fiber arrays, called harps, thus affecting their fog collection efficiency. As deposited droplets grow on the fiber surface, they increase the area occluded by droplet-laden fibers, thus increasing the effective shade coefficient (SCact), which increases with time from its initial geometric value (SCgeo), eventually reaching a quasi-steady state, as droplet shedding due to gravity and droplet growth due to fog collection balance each other. We find that this difference in the SCgeo and SCact is governed by local fiber geometry and its physico-chemical morphology; the process dynamics is captured by a nondimensional number, SC*, which increases with the length scale corresponding to the critical volume of droplet shedding relative to the fiber diameter, V*. Thus, there is a significantly greater increase in the effective shade coefficient for thin fibers having larger values of V* as compared to fibers with larger diameters which have lower V* values. On hydrophobic fibers, the quasi-steady state is achieved faster, and the time-averaged SCact is lower as compared to hydrophilic fibers due to the lower critical volume of droplet shedding. The shape of droplets growing on harp fibers affects the aerodynamics of fog flow, its inertial capture mechanism, and efficiency, which can guide design considerations for fog harps toward achieving optimal fog collection performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohom Goswami
- Department Of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Ravi M Sidhpuria
- Department Of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Sameer Khandekar
- Department Of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
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Yue H, Zeng Q, Huang J, Guo Z, Liu W. Fog collection behavior of bionic surface and large fog collector: A review. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 300:102583. [PMID: 34954474 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Water shortages are currently becoming more and more serious due to complicated factors such as the development of the economy, environmental pollution, and climate deterioration. And it is the best solution to the problems faced by people in today's world to investigate the bionic structure of nature and explore effective methods for fog collection. Herein, we've illustrated the bionic structures of the Namib desert beetle, cactus spines, and spider silk, and we imitate and further modify the respective bionic structures, as well as construct multifunctional bionic structures to improve fog collection. In addition, we also expound the fog collection behavior of a large fog collector, and an excellent fog capture effect was achieved through studying the mesh structure, the surface modification of the mesh, and the construction of the fog collector. The advantages and limitations of fog collection by a harp fog collector were also explored. We hope that through this review, relevant researchers can have a deeper understanding of this field and thus promote the development of fog collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yue
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Qinghong Zeng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinxia Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhiguang Guo
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China.
| | - Weimin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
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7
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Electrostatic fog collection mechanism and design of an electrostatic fog collector with nearly perfect fog collection efficiency. Chem Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2021.117034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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8
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Chen H, Ran T, Zhang K, Chen D, Gan Y, Wang Z, Jiang L. Highly Efficient Multiscale Fog Collector Inspired by Sarracenia Trichome Hierarchical Structure. GLOBAL CHALLENGES (HOBOKEN, NJ) 2021; 5:2100087. [PMID: 34938576 PMCID: PMC8671618 DOI: 10.1002/gch2.202100087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Fog harvesting through bionic strategies to solve water shortage has drawn considerable attention. Recently, an ultrafast fog harvesting and transport mode was identified in Sarracenia trichome, which is mainly attributed to its superslippery capillary force induced by its unique hierarchical microchannel. However, the underlying effect of hierarchical microchannel-induced ultrafast transport on fog harvesting and the multiscale structural coupling effect on highly efficient fog harvesting are still great challenges. Herein, a bionic Sarracenia trichome (BST) with an on-demand regular hierarchical microchannel is designed using a one-step thermoplastic stretching approach on a glass fiber bundle. The BST is engineered to harbor major channels confined by an inner gear pattern along with junior microchannels that are automatically assembled by the glass fiber monofilaments. The BST shows enhanced capillary condensation and fog harvesting performance, in part due to its coupling effect with a Janus membrane (JM). Hence, a highly efficient multiscale fog collector is developed, in which a gradient high-pressure field is purposely formed to improve by threefold fog harvesting performance compared with a single-scale structure. This easy manufacturing and low-cost fog collector may represent a useful tool for harvesting fog water for production and living and pave the way for further investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huawei Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Tong Ran
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Kaiteng Zhang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Dengke Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Yang Gan
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Zelinlan Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and AutomationBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical EngineeringBeihang UniversityBeijing100191China
| | - Lei Jiang
- Laboratory of Bio‐inspired Smart Interface ScienceTechnical Institute of Physics and ChemistryChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190China
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Kowalski NG, Shi W, Kennedy BS, Boreyko JB. Optimizing Fog Harps. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:38826-38834. [PMID: 34342968 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c08995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
It has recently been demonstrated that harps harvest substantively more fog water than conventional mesh nets, but the optimal design for fog harps remains unknown. Here, we systematically vary key parameters of a scale-model fog harp, the wire material, wire pitch, and wire length, to find the optimal combination. We found stainless steel to not only be the best hydrophilic wire material but also nearly be as effective as Teflon-coated wires. The best choice for the wire pitch was coupled to the wire length, as the smallest pitch collected the most water for short harps but was hampered by tangling for taller harps. Accordingly, we use an elastocapillary wire tangling model to successfully predict the onset of tangling beyond a critical length for any given wire pitch. Combining what we learned, we achieved a water harvesting efficiency of 17% with an optimized stainless-steel harp, over three times higher than that of the current standard of a Raschel mesh. These results suggest that an optimal fog harp should feature high-tension, uncoated wires within a large aspect ratio frame to avoid tangling and promote efficient and reliable fog harvesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas G Kowalski
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Weiwei Shi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Brook S Kennedy
- School of Architecture and Design, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Jonathan B Boreyko
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
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