Study describes a novel portable zonne--steaming collection system with polymer origami which can collect and purify water tegen zeer lage kosten
Er is een toenemende wereldwijde vraag naar schoon water owing to population growth, industrialization and contamination and depletion of our planeet natuurlijke bronnen. Zonne-steaming is a technique in which zonne energie can be used to purify water by evaporating contaminated water, re condensing it and producing fresh clean water. This technique is a clean, renewable and sustainable green technology which has the potential to address global scarcity of clean water by utilizing the abundance of zonne- energy. The strength and efficiency of a zonne--steaming system depends on its design and choice of photothermal materials. Current zonne--steaming technologies use expensive, bulky materials and have low efficiency and limited output. It has remained a challenge to enhance performance and lower costs in order to design a light weight and portable zonne--steaming system which can be directly used by individuals.
In een nieuwe studie gepubliceerd op 28 mei in Geavanceerde materialen researchers describe a novel method for zonne- steaming by designing a low cost portable low-pressure controlled zonne- steaming collection system which can collect and purify water using energy from sunlight. They chose a photothermal polymer material called Polypyrrole (PPy) which is conductive in nature, is well-known for its photothermal properties and exhibits high efficiency in converting solar light into thermal heat. Inspired from the flower rose, the unique design of this solar steaming system is made of 3D origami PPy-paper composites. A ‘PPy rose’ which constitutes of layered black sheets shaped as petals was created via origami folding and chemical polymerization of PPy. This origami structure is attached to a stem-like cotton infused tube which collects raw/untreated water from a water source and feeds it to the PPy rose structure placed on the top. Cotton infused tube and Polystyrene foam were used to prevent direct contact between PPy material and bulk water.
Once untreated water reached the petals, PPy material in the flower structure turns water into steam and impurities naturally separate from the water. Subsequently, the water vapor needs to be condensed and then clean water needs to collected for use. Researchers used a low-pressure condition by using a portable vacuum pump. This was seen to significantly enhance the rates of both water evaporation and water collection. Once water is condensed, the compact and sturdy collecting glass jar securely stores clean water.
The 3D origamis provided significantly higher absorption of light and enhanced surface areas for water evaporation in comparison to a conventional 2D planar design. The water evaporation and collection rate is enhanced by 52 percent due to lowering of chamber pressure. PPy origami improved water evaporation by 71 percent and higher steam collection rates were also seen. The overall efficiency of the system increased by 91.5 percent under one light source. The system was tested on a sample from Colorado river in Texas, USA. The system removed contamination of water in the form of heavy metals, bacteria, salt and alleviates alkalinity producing clean water of drinking standards as set by WHO.
De huidige studie beschrijft een nieuw rationeel ontwerp van een draagbaar, goedkoop zonne-stoomverzamelsysteem met 3D-origami fotothermische materialen die verbeterde waterverdamping en stoomverzameling biedt. De kosten van elke bloemachtige structuur zijn minder dan 2 cent en het kan met succes 2 liter schoon water per uur per vierkante meter produceren. Dit ontwerp kan een inspiratie zijn om unieke modellen van zonne-stomen te fabriceren voor de productie van schoon water.
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Bron (nen)
Li, W. et al. 2019. Draagbare lagedruk zonne-stomen, collectie Unisystem met polypyrrole origamis. Geavanceerde materialen. http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201900720
