Design and development of hybrid hydrophilic-superhydrophobic surfaces to improve the productivity of atmospheric water harvesting

Date

2022-05

Authors

Almusaied, Zaid Ibrahim

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Abstract

The continuous growth in the human population and climate change exacerbate the problems related to water scarcity. Harvesting atmospheric water can mitigate water scarcity in many regions around the globe. Atmospheric water harvesting includes fog collection, passive condensation, and atmospheric water generation (AWG). Fog collection using hybrid hydrophilic-superhydrophobic surfaces can achieve a higher water collection rate. In this research, new processes and materials are introduced to create hybrid surfaces. The processes include additive manufacturing- to make sheets with holes-, mixing and casting polymeric matrix composite, and a controlled spray coating mechanism. The materials are comprised of hydrophobic coating on top of the acrylic printed sheet and hydrophilic composite. The ratios of the pitches to diameters of the hydrophilic regions varied to obtain the best water generation during the experiments. The water collection rate for the sample with diameters of 583 μm and a pitch of 1,600 μm has achieved 57% more than the untreated hydrophilic sample. The contrast in wettability accomplished by this novel method has the potential to be implemented on a large scale for atmospheric water harvesting. Additionally, the possibility of using thermoacoustic refrigeration for AWG has been explored.

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Keywords

Atmospheric water harvesting, Fog collection, Atmospheric water generator, Superhydrophobic, Hybrid surface, Hydrophilic, Additive manufacturing, Composite, Subtractive manufacturing, Thermoacoustic refrigerator

Citation

Almusaied, Z. I. (2022). <i>Design and development of hybrid hydrophilic-superhydrophobic surfaces to improve the productivity of atmospheric water harvesting</i> (Unpublished dissertation). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

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