Capturing aerosol droplets with fibers

Labbé, Romain; Duprat, Camille

doi:10.1039/c9sm01205b

Cited by 47 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…A recent work also characterized the growth and coalescence processes of droplets on an array of vertical fibers. [ 42 ] However, these initial fog harps were scale‐model in size and only tested indoors with an ultrasonic humidifier that produced an unnaturally heavy fog. It would be of obvious interest to compare the water harvesting performance of full‐scale (1 m 2 frame) fog harps and mesh structures, over a variety of natural fog conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harps Enable Water Harvesting under Light Fog Conditions

Shi

Sloot

Hart

et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Fog harvesting is useful for passively collecting fresh water in arid regions, but the efficiency of current mesh‐based harvesters is compromised by their poor drainage. Inspired by the linear needles of redwood trees, “fog harps” are developed whose array of vertical wires enables an unobstructed drainage pathway. A full‐scale (1 m2 frame) fog harp is fabricated by winding a stainless steel wire around a spinning aluminum frame featuring threaded rods. The fog harp is field tested for a full year at a local farm (Blacksburg, VA, USA), alongside the control case of a mesh harvester. Under moderate fog conditions, the fog harp collects anywhere from 2 to 78 times more water compared to the mesh harvesters. Under light fog conditions, the fog harp collects up to several hundred milliliters of water per day while the mesh is unable to collect any water at all. The water harvesting performance of fog harps is therefore unprecedented in two ways: they substantively elevate the performance ceiling when exposed to healthy fog while also enabling, for the first time, appreciable water harvesting under light fog.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harps Enable Water Harvesting under Light Fog Conditions

Shi

Sloot

Hart

et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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“…ontrolling droplet motion on a solid surface is important for a wide range of applications, from droplet microfluidics to water harvesting and self-cleaning surfaces [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Among the various approaches to induce motion, a good passive strategy is to introduce a wetting gradient on the solid surface, as this does not require energy to be provided continuously to the system.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bidirectional motion of droplets on gradient liquid infused surfaces

et al. 2020

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The current paradigm of self-propelled motion of liquid droplets on surfaces with chemical or topographical wetting gradients is always mono-directional. In contrast, here, we demonstrate bidirectional droplet motion, which we realize using liquid infused surfaces with topographical gradients. The deposited droplet can move either toward the denser or the sparser solid fraction area. We rigorously validate the bidirectional phenomenon using various combinations of droplets and lubricants, and different forms of structural/topographical gradients, by employing both lattice Boltzmann simulations and experiments. We also present a simple and physically intuitive analytical theory that explains the origin of the bidirectional motion. The key factor determining the direction of motion is the wettability difference of the droplet on the solid surface and on the lubricant film.

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“…4 B ). The biomimetic system would benefit water collection in a cooling tower and the collection of oil or organic fog ( 37 – 41 ) in a chemical plant, laboratory, or kitchen. In the proof-of-concept experiment, digital light procession 3D printing was used to construct peristome-mimetic substrate with invert structures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid harvesting and transport on multiscaled curvatures

Zhou

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

109

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Various creatures, such as spider silk and cacti, have harnessed their surface structures to collect fog for survival. These surfaces typically stay dry and have a large contact hysteresis enabling them to move a condensed water droplet, resulting in an intermittent transport state and a relatively reduced speed. In contrast to these creatures, here we demonstrate that Nepenthes alata offers a remarkably integrated system on its peristome surface to harvest water continuously in a humid environment. Multicurvature structures are equipped on the peristome to collect and transport water continuously in three steps: nucleation of droplets on the ratchet teeth, self-pumping of water collection that steadily increases by the concavity, and transport of the acquired water to overflow the whole arch channel of the peristome. The water-wetted peristome surface can further enhance the water transport speed by ∼300 times. The biomimetic design expands the application fields in water and organic fogs gathering to the evaporation tower, laboratory, kitchen, and chemical industry.

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Capturing aerosol droplets with fibers

Abstract: Capturing droplets from a stream with a fibrous material is a well-known process, from coalescence filters to fog harvesting. The collection efficiency strongly depends on the drop distribution on the fibers, thus on their wetting properties.

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

Harps Enable Water Harvesting under Light Fog Conditions

Harps Enable Water Harvesting under Light Fog Conditions

Bidirectional motion of droplets on gradient liquid infused surfaces

Liquid harvesting and transport on multiscaled curvatures

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