Study describes a novel portable saulės-steaming collection system with polymer origami which can collect and purify vanduo at a very low cost
Pasaulyje didėja švaros paklausa vanduo owing to population growth, industrialization and contamination and depletion of our planetos gamtos turtai. Saulės-steaming is a technique in which saulės energija can be used to purify vanduo by evaporating contaminated vanduo, re condensing it and producing fresh clean vanduo. 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 saulės energy. The strength and efficiency of a saulės-steaming system depends on its design and choice of photothermal materials. Current saulės-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 saulės-steaming system which can be directly used by individuals.
Naujame tyrime, paskelbtame gegužės 28 d Advanced Materials researchers describe a novel method for saulės steaming by designing a low cost portable low-pressure controlled saulės steaming collection system which can collect and purify vanduo 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 vanduo reached the petals, PPy material in the flower structure turns vanduo 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 vanduo 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.
Šiame tyrime aprašomas naujas racionalus nešiojamos nebrangios saulės garų surinkimo sistemos su 3D origami fototerminėmis medžiagomis dizainas, užtikrinantis geresnį vandens išgaravimą ir garų surinkimą. Kiekvienos gėlę primenančios konstrukcijos kaina nesiekia 2 centų ir per valandą viename kvadratiniame metre ji gali sėkmingai pagaminti 2 litrus švaraus vandens. Šis dizainas gali būti įkvėpimas sukurti unikalius saulės energijos garinimo modelius švaraus vandens gamybai.
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Šaltiniai)
Li, W. ir kt. 2019. Nešiojama žemo slėgio saulės garų surinkimo sistema su Polypyrrole Origamis. Pažangios medžiagos. http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201900720
