Efficient fog collector with superhydrophobic coated surface

Abstract

In this work, we developed a novel harp structure that collects water directly from fog in comparison with conventional Raschel mesh. Polyethylene (PE) monofilament was used as a collector’s element in the harp. The Raschel mesh in its particular design is quite anisotropic, shows elastic behavior breadth-wise while no stiffness is exhibited in transverse direction. A comparison of fog collection yield for the harp signifies that fog harvesting rate is four times higher than Raschel mesh, suggesting some alterations in monofilament diameter and collector element. Therefore, harp technology with cylindrical monofilaments can be deployed commercially to increase the efficiency of fog collectors, where mass and velocity of fog are inappropriate for Raschel mesh. In addition, silane-coated harp showed that surface hydrophobicity further enhances fog collection efficiency. The fog collector element (FCE) after silane coating significantly enhanced fog water collection yield. Samples were characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Hydrophobicity was analyzed by static water contact angle and water collection yield.

Keywords:

• Fog collectors
• Raschel mesh
• PE monofilament
• superhydrophobicity
• fog collector element

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic and the European Union in the transport sector and Information Technology in the frames of the project “Adaptation of 21st century technologies for non-conventional low-emission vehicles based on composite materials”, Reg. No. NFP313010BXF3 by OPII - VA/DP/2021/9.3 - 01. This work was also supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic and the European Union (European Structural and Investment Funds—Operational Programme Research, Development and Education) in the frames of the project “Modular platform for autonomous chassis of specialized electric vehicles for freight and equipment transportation”, Reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007293.