Croissance de nanotubes de carbones en continu pour produire des harpes permettant de collecter les microgouttelettes d'eau du brouillard

Each human being must consume a minimum of 2.5 L of water per day to survive. Although the planet contains enough water to supply the entire population, the poor distribution of this resource causes water scarcity in arid regions. These regions must find alternative water sources such as sea water and air humidity in order to meet the needs of their people. For populous regions close to the sea, desalination of seawater is the preferred solution. However, in rural areas, when no water source is available nearby, farmers must pay around 90 % of their wages to provide water for their families and livestock. Some women and children must walk up to 9 km every day to get water. When these areas are subject to regular mists, moist air masses containing suspended water droplets, this source is the most promising considered. The clogging of standard nets prevents optimal water capture. A harp geometry, vertical parallel wires, increases the efficiency of the standard device and will be further improved in this project. Research has shown that a hydrophobic surface increases the rate of water collection. This project uses carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the hydrophobic nanostructure, formed from coiled sheets of graphene, sp2 carbon ordered in a honeycomb like structure.