Portuguese 
Spanish 
2 min of reading 
Swiss Researchers Design Device Capable of Condensing Drinking Water 24 Hours a Day Without the Need for Energy
Global warming has harmed the supply of freshwater around the planet. Coastal cities are opting for desalination plants, and the option to extract water from the air is growing worldwide. However, these options are expensive and consume a lot of energy, which means they are used only in certain places. However, researchers from ETH Zurich aim to help communities around the globe generate drinking water 24 hours a day, at low cost and without using energy.
The Swiss device consists of a coated glass panel that promises to reflect the sun’s reaction and also radiates its heat directly into space. Thus, the condensation equipment can stay up to 15 degrees below the ambient temperature. At the bottom of the equipment, the water vapor in the air condenses and generates drinking water.
The specialists coated the glass with a special polymer designed specifically for this purpose, capable of capturing drinking water 24 hours a day without using energy. The coating makes the glass emit infrared radiation in a window. The project also features a radiation shield shaped like a cone to deflect heat radiation.
-
Advancement in renewable energy: A R$ 150 million project launched by Petrobras and Finep aims to create state-of-the-art electrolyzers for green hydrogen, strengthening national research and preparing Brazil to compete in a billion-dollar energy market.
-
Illiterate or semi-literate grandmothers were trained to repair solar systems, open rural workshops, and light up homes that still depended on kerosene.
-
The world has bet on green hydrogen as the fuel of the future, but now faces the side effect: producing 1 kilogram requires about 9 liters of ultrapure water, and the largest projects on the planet are precisely in the driest regions of the Earth, where water is already scarce for people.
-
Africa has about 500,000 cell towers and most still burn diesel to operate, while companies rush to cover antennas with solar energy and avoid signal blackouts.
Ability to Capture Drinking Water Without Energy
The project has the capacity to operate without any energy input. The device can produce up to 0.6 deciliters of water per hour per square meter of panel under optimal conditions: “This is close to the theoretical maximum value of 2.03 ounces (0.6 deciliters) per hour, which is physically impossible to exceed,” highlights Iwan Hanchler, a student at ETH Zurich.
The unique aspect of this project compared to others is that the condensed water needs to be removed from a surface, an action that requires energy. The researchers then applied a hydrophobic coating, allowing the water to drip and be collected.
The idea of the project is to invest in a device that can be used in countries with significant water scarcity, as well as in developing and emerging countries.
Be the first to react!