Mangifera indica Leaf (MIL) as a Novel Material in Atmospheric Water Collection

Abstract

Here, Mangifera indica leaves (MILs) have been used to collect atmospheric water for the first time. This novel material has been viewed by mankind as environmental waste and is mostly discarded or incinerated, causing environmental pollution. By turning waste into wealth, MILs have proven resourceful and can help ameliorate the water crisis, especially in tropical countries. The unprecedented water collection result is enough to describe MILs as an ideal material for atmospheric water collection when compared to other natural plants. Both the physical and chemical surface morphologies were extensively characterized. This comparative study shows that MIL surface droplet termination and hydrophilic nature differ from those of other materials, with the apex playing a key role in the roll-off of the droplet. The surface wettability and its interaction with the droplet are of keen interest in this study.

Efficient Water Collection from Biodesigned and Natural Inclined Surfaces: Influence of Inclination Angle on Atmospheric Water Collection

“…Figure bii displays a ridge valley-like surface, which aided the pinning of droplets. The detailed surface morphology of MIL is given in one of our previous papers . Under constant moisture generation conditions, the microgrooves will be filled first before extruding to connect other droplets for collection.…”

“…The suction behavior of tiny droplets set the stage for a new circle, thereby impeding the formation of large droplets. In our previous work, 41 it was found that it took a total of 6.47 s for a water film to be formed on the MIL surface when compared to the BM surface with 5.90 s. Due to the natural composition of the MIL surface, a liquid bridge was achieved with the continued generation of moisture, thereby eventually covering the microgrooves for collection. Some novel and intriguing departure behaviors of droplets on the functional surfaces were observed and compared during the collection at respective orientation angles (30, 45, and 60°).…”

“…The detailed surface morphology of MIL is given in one of our previous papers. 41 Under constant moisture generation conditions, the microgrooves will be filled first before extruding to connect other droplets for collection. At this point, the force of gravity overcomes the retention force at the respective orientation angles (30, 45, and 60°).…”

“…To that end, we horizontally placed the samples at the respective orientation angle for 30 min for each inclination angle (30, 45, and 60°). From the previous literature, 41 the atmospheric water collection process consists of three stages: droplet capturing on the surface, droplet coalescence, and transportation to its terminal point of collection. For this work, we assumed that there is enough supply of moisture on the surface for 90 min with a 30 min cycle time for each orientation angle.…”

Biotemplate Replication of Novel Mangifera indica Leaf (MIL) for Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Intrinsic Surface Wettability and Collection Efficiency

“…Even though MIL cannot be grown or found throughout the world but it can be used as a template to replicate water harvesting structures. In one of our recent works [ 28 ], we studied the wettability and droplet collection dynamics of MIL; it was understood that the combination of microgrooves, curvature, apex, and veins aided the coalescence and transportation of water droplets. The secret to such droplet movement lies in the unique structural feature of the surface as shown in Figure 1 b,c.…”