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from the like-load-lifters-but-different dept.
A scientist named Dr. Shing-Chung (Josh) Wong has developed "a bio-inspired approach for a novel bead-on-string nanofiber with hydrophobicity/ hydrophilicity simultaneously by electrospinning-enabled technique, that can be used as a high-performance water harvester" to collect potable water from the air, even in desert environments:
To miniaturize water generation and improve the efficiency, Wong and his students at the University of Akron turned to electrospun polymers, a material they had already worked with for more than a decade. Electrospinning uses electrical forces to produce polymer fibers ranging from tens of nanometers up to 1 micrometer—an ideal size to condense and squeeze water droplets out of the air. These nanoscale fiber polymers offer an incredibly high surface-area-to-volume ratio, much larger than that provided by the typical structures and membranes used in water distillers.
By experimenting with different combinations of polymers that were hydrophilic—which attracts water—and hydrophobic—which discharges water, the group concluded that a water harvesting system could indeed be fabricated using nanofiber technology. Wong's group determined that their polymer membrane could harvest 744 mg/cm2/h, which is 91 percent higher than similarly designed membranes without these nanofibers.
Unlike existing methods, Wong's harvester could work in arid desert environments because of the membrane's high surface-area-to-volume ratio. It also would have a minimal energy requirement.
Wong says that the device should be inexpensive to construct, and he's looking for funding to build a prototype.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:20PM (4 children)
Got just enough water? Got a good rainforest going? Kiss all that goodbye, now you've got those bozos in the desert stealing all your rain.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:14PM
that's ok, there's a tiny violin for everyone downstream of those dams that keep getting built, too.
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Wednesday August 22 2018, @10:35PM
It is normally the forest that actually attracts the water.
Following paper was written in 2009
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/59/4/341/346941 [oup.com]
Abstract
A new hypothesis suggests that forest cover plays a much greater role in determining rainfall than previously recognized. It explains how forested regions generate large-scale flows in atmospheric water vapor. Under this hypothesis, high rainfall occurs in continental interiors such as the Amazon and Congo river basins only because of near-continuous forest cover from interior to coast. The underlying mechanism emphasizes the role of evaporation and condensation in generating atmospheric pressure differences, and accounts for several phenomena neglected by existing models. It suggests that even localized forest loss can sometimes flip a wet continent to arid conditions. If it survives scrutiny, this hypothesis will transform how we view forest loss, climate change, hydrology, and environmental services. It offers new lines of investigation in macroecology and landscape ecology, hydrology, forest restoration, and paleoclimates. It also provides a compelling new motivation for forest conservation.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday August 22 2018, @11:06PM
Sigh. Sober me, well rested, right out of bed, screws up "pity da fool". Takes tired me, half drunk, looking forward to bed, to see the problem.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 23 2018, @02:57AM
Probably not, normally the desert is after the forest. First the water carrying air comes over the forest then after the air has lost most of the moisture it will blow over the desert leaving somewhere between little and none of the moisture there.
It's unlikely that you're going to be able to use something like this to kill a rainforest as you'd be only marginally better off than stealing the water from the ocean and piping it inland.