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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, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday August 22 2018, @03:04PM (2 children)
Stuff like Waterseer pull in millions for a scam that was going to magically pull water from air in arid climates... where there is almost no water vapor.
Or Fontus, the self filling waterbottle, which was so obviously impossible that anyone with a basic understanding of physics could debunk.
Just gotta get a good kickstarter video and some celebrity shills.
Sounds like scam to me.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday August 22 2018, @05:20PM
Perhaps, instead of bilking a large number of not-very-knowledgeable people out of a smaller amount that they can ill afford to lose, they want to seek larger amounts from fewer people who are better informed about the risk? That honestly sounds more ethical (or at least less unethical) to me.
You would think the multiple campaigns under which "I am raising a million dollars for a <cool video game|cool device|amazing invention>!!!" convinces a thousand people to each give a thousand dollars, ending with "Dude, making a <game|device|invention> is totally harder than we thought!!!" would have taught people in general about the risk of funding a black box, but it honestly doesn't appear to be the case. So if you are suggesting crowdfunding because it's a proven way to separate people from their money without regard to how valid your claims, I guess I have to agree with you.
(Score: 2) by unauthorized on Wednesday August 22 2018, @06:38PM
Curiously, I thought that as well, but doing the math proved otherwise, as long as you rely on the wind that is. At air water content of 8g/m^3 (typical for deserts), even a moderate breeze of 5km/h will shift impressive amounts of air for you. The amount of air that a wind trap can capture is roughly equal to CollectionArea*AirVelocity, so a good radial design siphoning the wind into a moisture collector might possibly be able to work, provided it's large enough and it has decent efficiency.