Water harvesting from fog using building envelopes: part II

Abstract

Fog harvesting stands out as a simple and inexpensive form to produce drinkable water from alternative sources, when compared to other available techniques. This paper presents results from a set of experiments performed on radiative condensers, deemed as a promising system to be integrated in building envelopes, following a literature review on fog condensers presented in a previous work. An analysis of condensation potential obtained using high emissivity substrates and titanium dioxide nanocoatings is presented, as well as the influence of sample position and orientation, and impact of climatic variables. Finally, the role of nanotechnology in overcoming limitations of radiative systems is discussed as a means to increase harvesting efficiency with functionalized, engineered nano-patterns on collector surface. Based on biomimicry principles, nanocoatings including nanoscale 3D optimal geometries are discussed, and the use of nanoimprint technology (NIL) is proposed to massively produce nano-patterned panels with biomimetic fog capturing features.