KR20110064807A - Apparatus for capturing moisture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A moisture collection apparatus is provided to cheaply produce a large amount of water without chemical and electrical energy consumption. CONSTITUTION: A moisture collection apparatus comprises a structure having hydrophobic strand(11) and hydrophilic strand(12) which are physically entangled each other. The structure comprises thread which is formed by twisting the hydrophobic strands and hydrophilic strands in the longitudinal direction. The hydrophilic strand is a metal strand or polymer strand having a hydrophilic coating layer.

Description

Moisture Collection Device {Apparatus for Capturing Moisture}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water collecting device, and more particularly, to a device for collecting liquid present in a gaseous fluid such as air to generate liquid water.

The World Bank warned in the early 1990s that the 21st century would be an age of water disputes rather than oil, and the United Nations Environment Program report released in 1998 reported that the number of environmental refugees suffering from water shortages exceeded the number of war refugees. At the 5th World Water Forum (2009) in Istanbul, Turkey, about 2.5 billion people suffer from a shortage of living water, and about 880 million people do not have access to drinking water. The findings have been published.

In order to solve this water shortage, dams that can artificially store water during precipitation have been traditionally used, but the construction of dams is not only costly, but it is inevitable to destroy the environment by dam construction. Efforts to find are ongoing.

Artificial rain-producing artificial rain is being researched in more than 40 countries, and the US and Australia are using artificial rainfall to grow crops. However, in the case of such artificial rainfall, the risk of abnormal weather is constantly pointed out, there is a limit that can not be avoided contamination by rainfall inducing substances such as dry ice, silver iodinated, salt.

Research on seawater desalination to remove fresh salt from seawater has been actively conducted, and some countries in the Middle East have used seawater as a source of drinking water, but the development and production costs are very high.

97% of the world's waters are seawater, and only 3% of freshwater, including glaciers, ice caps, groundwater, rivers and lakes, is known. Surface water is evaporated into water vapor by thermal energy, which condenses in clouds as it rises to the atmosphere and cools. Water droplets are generated by precipitation and cloud movement caused by convection, and precipitation occurs. These evaporations and precipitation form two axes of water circulation.

The present invention can effectively produce the water needed by living things from water vapor naturally contained in the atmosphere near the surface without artificially generating rainfall, artificially storing natural rainfall, or performing artificial chemical treatment such as desalination of seawater. To provide a device that is present.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to cause environmental pollution, the production is simple and can be mass-produced at a low cost to obtain the required water even in small groups including individuals, external chemical, electrical energy and It is to provide a water collecting device that can effectively produce water without consuming material.

The present invention relates to a water collecting device for producing liquid water by collecting water in the air. Specifically, the water collecting device according to the present invention is hydrophobic (strand) and hydrophilic (strand) strands (hydrophilic) strand (strand) This physically entangled structure; there is a feature formed, including.

The water contact angle of the hydrophilic strand is 0 to 10 °, the water contact angle difference between the hydrophilic strand and the hydrophobic strand is characterized in that 110 to 170 °, the diameter of the hydrophobic strand is 0.1 to 5 mm The diameter of the hydrophilic strand is characterized in that 0.1 to 5 mm.

Characteristically, the structure is formed including a thread formed by twisting the hydrophobic strand and the hydrophilic strand in the longitudinal direction of the strand.

Characteristically, the structure is formed by including a mesh sheet formed by physically intertwining one or more of the threads.

Characteristically, the structure is formed by weaving hydrophobic strands and hydrophilic strands by warp yarns, and weft and warp yarns are woven including a mesh sheet.

It is preferable that the pore diameter of the reticulated sheet formed by plural threads being physically entangled or woven with hydrophobic strands and hydrophilic strands is 0.5 to 3 mm.

The hydrophilic strand is characterized in that the metal strand, the metal strand is preferably at least one material selected from the group of aluminum, copper, iron, tungsten and titanium, in order to increase the performance of TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZnO, More preferably, a hydrophilic coating layer of at least one selected from WO ₃ , SiO ₂ and Phase Change Material (PCM) groups is formed.

The hydrophilic strand is characterized in that the polymer strand is formed with a hydrophilic coating layer, the polymer strand on which the hydrophilic coating layer is formed is polyvinylalcohol (PVA), poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly (acrylic acid) (PAA), PC (polycarbonate) ), PET (poly (ethylene terephthalate)), PS (polystyrene), PU (polyurethane) and rubber is preferably selected from at least one material, the hydrophilic coating layer of the polymer strand on which the hydrophilic coating layer is formed TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ At least one selected from the group consisting of ZnO, WO ₃ , SiO ₂ and PCM (Phase Change Material).

The hydrophobic strand is characterized by a hydrophobic polymer, the hydrophobic polymer is polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene (polytetraflouroethylene), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polystyrene (polystyrene) containing fluorine and PU containing fluorine Preference is given to at least one substance selected from (polyurethane).

The hydrophobic strand is characterized in that the polymer strand is coated or surface-modified to be superhydrophobic in order to improve its function, and in detail, superhydrophobic fluorine on the surface of the strand through plasma, ion beam, corona discharge or wet treatment It is preferable that the superhydrophobic strand is formed with a compound or a silicon compound or has a surface roughness formed by plasma, ion beam, corona discharge, or wet treatment.

The water collecting device preferably has an angle of 30 ° to 60 ° between the major axis direction of the hydrophilic strand or hydrophobic strand and the major axis direction of the hydrophobic strand constituting the network sheet so that water collected in the mesh sheet flows downwardly effectively. Do.

The water collecting device according to the present invention is characterized by including one or more of the above-mentioned units in the above-described network sheet as a unit.

The water collecting device of the present invention does not cause environmental pollution during the production of liquid water, the production is simple and can be mass-produced at low cost, so that even in small groups including individuals can obtain the required water, external chemical, electrical energy and There is an advantage that can be produced effectively without the consumption of the material.

Hereinafter, a water collecting device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings introduced below are provided by way of example so that the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art can fully convey. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the drawings presented below and may be embodied in other forms. Also, throughout the specification, like reference numerals designate like elements.

Hereinafter, the technical and scientific terms used herein will be understood by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Descriptions of known functions and configurations that may be unnecessarily blurred are omitted.

The water collecting device according to the present invention is characterized in that the hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic surface are present together so that the hydrophilic surface collects water and the hydrophobic surface plays a role as a flow path of the collected water to effectively collect water in the air.

In detail, the water collecting device according to the present invention is characterized by including a structure in which the hydrophobic strand and the hydrophilic strand are physically entangled.

1 illustrates an example of a water collecting device according to the present invention, in which a hydrophobic strand 11 and a hydrophilic strand 12 are formed including a thread 10 formed by twisting in a long axis direction of the strands 11 and 12. There is a characteristic.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the thread 10 includes a thread 10 formed by spirally winding the hydrophilic strand 12 around the hydrophobic strand 11 and the hydrophilic strand 12. It includes a thread (not shown) formed by spirally wound around the hydrophobic strand 11, as shown in Figure 1 (b), the hydrophobic strand 11 and the hydrophilic strand 12 is a thread formed by twisting each other (10).

Similarly to the thread 10 shown in FIG. 1, the physical twisting of the hydrophilic strand 12 and the hydrophobic strand 11 causes the thread 10 to be hydrophilic and hydrophilic. The surface (surface by the hydrophilic strand) is characterized by having a surface that is present alternately in the long axis direction of the thread (10), and furthermore a surface in which the hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic surface is regularly alternating in the long axis direction of the thread (10) There is a characteristic to have.

The hydrophobic strand 11 and the hydrophilic strand 12 are physically intertwined so that a thread 10 having a surface where the hydrophobic region (surface) and the hydrophilic region (surface) are alternated with each other is present in a gaseous atmosphere including the atmosphere. Condensation of water in a short time effectively produces liquid water.

2 illustrates another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention, and includes a porous mesh-like sheet formed by physically interweaving a hydrophobic strand 11 and a hydrophilic strand 12.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the plurality of hydrophobic strands 11 is a weft (or warp), and each of the plurality of hydrophilic strands 12 is a warp (or a weft). It is characterized in that the mesh (sheet) 20 (sheet), whereby the reticulated sheet 20 is a hydrophobic surface (hydrophobic strand) over the entire area of the sheet surface by weaving the hydrophobic strand 11 and the hydrophilic strand Surface) and hydrophilic surface (surface by hydrophilic strand) are characterized by having surfaces that are regularly alternated

In detail, the reticular sheet 20 is characterized in that each of the weft yarns are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval and each warp weaves are spaced apart from each other by a weave-shaped porous structure.

The diameter of the air gap (the gap formed by the gap between the warp and weft) of the reticulated sheet 20 is preferably 0.5 to 3 mm, thereby allowing the air to penetrate the sheet and minimizing resistance when penetrating the air. More droplets are generated in the same sheet area, and the atmosphere dehydrated by the droplets is easily replaced with a fresh atmosphere containing moisture.

3 is another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention, the water collecting device according to the present invention is a mesh (sheet) sheet (sheet) formed by physically entangled with the above-described thread 10 based on FIG. 20 '), and preferably, the reticulated sheet 20' includes the above-described threads 10 as weft and warp yarns, and each weft yarn is spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and each warp yarn is spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. It is woven and has a mesh-like porous structure.

Similarly to FIG. 2, the diameter of the air gap (the gap formed by the spacing between the threads) of the reticulated sheet 20 ′ is preferably 0.5 to 3 mm, thereby allowing the air to penetrate the sheet and penetrating the air. Time resistance is minimized, creating more droplets in the same sheet area, and the moisture from which the droplets are dehydrated is easily replaced by a fresh atmosphere containing moisture.

3 illustrates an example in which the network structure of the network sheet 20 ′ is formed by physical entanglement between a single thread 10, the network structure may be formed by physical entanglement between a plurality of threads 10.

4 is an example of the water collecting device of the present invention including the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 ′ described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the symbol B region of FIG. 4 is a reticulated sheet 20 or 20. ') Is an enlarged area.

At this time, as shown in Figure 4, the water collecting device is a long-axis direction or hydrophobic strand of the hydrophilic strands constituting the network sheet so that the water collected in the network sheet 20 or 20 'effectively flows downward It is preferable that the major axis direction and the gravity direction of have angle (alpha) of 30 degrees-60 degrees.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the reticulated sheet 20 is a porous mesh formed by interweaving a plurality of hydrophilic strands 12 and a plurality of hydrophobic strands 11, the hydrophilic strand 12 or the hydrophobic strand ( It is preferable that the angle (alpha) between the long axis direction s of 11) and the gravity direction g is 30 degrees-60 degrees.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the reticulated sheet 20 ′ is physically woven together with a plurality of threads 10, and preferably, each thread 10 is similar to FIG. 4 (a) with a weft and a warp yarn. In the case of the formed porous mesh, the angle α between the long axis direction t and the gravity direction g of the thread 10 is preferably 30 ° to 60 °.

The area of the network sheet 20 or 20 'may be determined in consideration of the amount of water to be collected for a predetermined time, for example, may have an area of 1m ² to 100m ² . However, the present invention is not limited by the area of the network sheet.

Based on FIGS. 1 to 4, the above-described thread 10 and the mesh sheets 20 and 20 ′ are in contact with an atmosphere containing water vapor to effectively phase-transform water vapor into liquid water, and the resulting water droplets are hydrophobic. It is effectively transported by the strands.

A thermodynamically easy way to convert water vapor contained in the atmosphere into water droplets is to generate a nucleus by heterogeneous nucleation with a seed such as dust in the air, and then a nucleus (water nucleus) is generated. To grow.

In the threads 10 and mesh sheets 20 and 20 'described above, the hydrophilic region by the hydrophilic strand 12 provides a heterogeneous nucleation site for the heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor contained in the atmosphere. As the hydrophilic region by the hydrophilic strand 12 and the hydrophobic region by the hydrophobic strand 11 coexist, nucleation of the nucleus is promoted.

The water nucleus formed in the hydrophilic region by the hydrophilic strand 12 is moved from the hydrophobic strand 11 to the hydrophilic strand 12 by the hydrophobic region by the adjacent hydrophobic strand 11 (H _2). O molecules and clusters), and combine with other nucleating and growing droplets in adjacent hydrophilic regions to grow into stable droplets (droplets).

In the hydrophilic region of the thread 10 and the mesh sheets 20 and 20 ', the water droplets nucleated and grown on the surface of the thread 10 or the mesh sheets 20 and 20' are moved by gravity when they become a certain volume. Flow or free fall.

The number of hydrophilic strands 12 may be used to facilitate the generation and growth of the nucleus by the above-described role of the nucleation seed and repeated formation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions on the surface of the structure 10, 20 or 20 ′. Water contact angle is 0 to 10 °, the water contact angle difference between the hydrophilic strand 12 and the hydrophobic strand 11 is characterized in that 110 to 170 °, the diameter of the hydrophilic strand 12 is 0.1 To 5mm, the diameter of the hydrophobic strand 11 is characterized in that 0.1 to 5mm.

It has a hydrophilic property with a contact angle of 0 to 10˚, and is stable even when exposed to the air for a long time, and it is easy to purchase raw materials and can mass-produce it by reducing manufacturing cost, and is easy to use a thread 10 or a sheet 20 or 20 '. Preferably, the hydrophilic strand 12 may be a metal strand or a polymer strand, and a hydrophilic coating layer is preferably formed to improve its function.

The metal strand is preferably a metal strand is at least one selected from the group of aluminum, copper, iron, tungsten and titanium, the hydrophilic polymer strand is polyvinylalcohol (PVA), poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PAA (poly acrylic acid), PC (polycarbonate), PET (poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET), PS (polystyrene), PU (polyurethane) and rubber is preferably at least one material selected. The rubber includes natural rubber or synthetic rubber.

The hydrophilic coating layer formed on the hydrophilic strand 12 is preferably at least one material selected from the group of TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZnO, WO ₃ , SiO ₂ and PCM (Phase Change Material).

It has a contact angle difference between the hydrophilic strand 12 and 110 to 170 degrees, and is stable even when exposed to the air for a long time, it is easy to purchase raw materials, and can reduce the manufacturing cost, and can mass-produce the thread 10 or the sheet 20 or 20 The hydrophobic strand 11 is preferably a polymer having a hydrophobic polymer or a superhydrophobic coating layer so that the hydrophobic strand 11 can be easily manufactured.

The hydrophobic polymer is preferably at least one selected from polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polystyrene (PS) containing fluorine, and polystyrene (PU) containing fluorine. Do.

The hydrophobic strand 11 is characterized by a polymer strand that is coated or surface-modified to be superhydrophobic, and a polymer having a superhydrophobic fluorine compound or a silicon compound formed on the surface of the strand through plasma, ion beam, corona discharge, or wet treatment. More preferably, the strand or polymer strand having superhydrophobicity is formed by surface roughness through plasma, ion beam, corona discharge, or wet treatment.

The water collecting device according to the present invention may be configured to include one or more units by using the above-described thread 10 as a unit. In order to facilitate the collection of water droplets generated in the thread 10 and to promote growth by binding between nucleation and growing water droplets in the hydrophilic region, the direction of gravity is parallel to the long axis direction of the thread 10 or the thread 10 ) Has a thread 10 positioned such that its long axis direction has a gravity direction component (so that the thread long axis is not perpendicular to the direction of gravity action).

As shown in FIG. 5, the water collecting device according to the present invention may be configured to include one or more units by using the above-described network sheet 20 or 20 ′ as one unit. The reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'has a gravity direction parallel to the sheet surface of the reticulated sheet 20 or 20' or the sheet surface of the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'has a gravity direction component (reticulated sheet It is preferable that the surface of the sheet is positioned so as not to be perpendicular to the direction of gravity action.

When gravity direction is parallel to the sheet surface of the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'or the sheet surface of the reticulated sheet 20 or 20' has a gravity direction component, the gravity direction is similar to that shown in FIG. And the major axis of the hydrophobic strand 11 constituting the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'or the major axis of the hydrophilic strand 12 constituting the reticulated sheet 20 or 20' between 30 ° and 60 °. It is preferable to have an angle of.

1 to 5, the water collecting device according to the present invention described above based on the support of the long axis of the thread 10 or the position of the seat surface of the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'by the gravity (not shown) It may further include a), and further includes a storage unit (not shown) having an opening for injecting water droplets moving to the lower portion of the thread 10 or the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'and stores the injected water droplets. Of course, the transfer pipe (not shown) having an opening in which water droplets are moved to the lower portion of the thread 10 or the reticular sheet 20 by the gravity; And a storage unit (not shown) connected to the transfer pipe to store water transferred by the transfer pipe.

In this case, a lower portion of the thread 10 or the reticulated sheet 20 or 20 'may be in contact with the storage unit (not shown), and the thread 10 or the reticulated sheet 20 or 20' may be the storage unit ( Not shown) or may have a structure partially embedded in the opening side of the transfer pipe, but the water collecting device of the present invention is not limited by the shape and structure of the storage portion, the presence / absence of the transfer portion, the shape and structure of the transfer portion Do not.

In the present invention as described above has been described by specific matters and limited embodiments, but this is provided only to help a more general understanding of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, the present invention belongs to Many modifications and variations are possible in the art to those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims as well as the claims to be described later will belong to the scope of the present invention. .

1 is an example showing a water collecting device according to the present invention,

2 is another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention,

3 is another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention,

4 is another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention,

5 is another example of a water collecting device according to the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

11: hydrophobic strand 12: hydrophilic strand

10: thread 20, 20 ': reticular sheet

Claims (16)

Hydrophobic strand (strand) and hydrophilic (hydrophilic) strand (strand) physically entangled structure formed; water collection device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The structure is characterized in that the hydrophobic strand and the hydrophilic strand is formed, including a thread (thread) formed by twisting in the direction of the long axis of the strand. 3. The method of claim 2, Wherein said structure comprises a mesh sheet in which at least one said thread is physically intertwined. The method of claim 1, The structure is a water collecting device, characterized in that the hydrophobic strands of the weft and the hydrophilic strands of the warp, the weft and warp yarns are woven mesh (sheet) sheet (woven). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The hydrophobic strand and the hydrophilic strand diameter of the water collection device, characterized in that each 0.1 to 5 mm. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The pore diameter of the reticulated sheet is 0.5 to 3 mm, characterized in that the water collection device. The method of claim 5, The hydrophilic strand is a water collection device, characterized in that the metal strand or a polymer strand formed with a hydrophilic coating layer. The method of claim 7, wherein The metal strand is water collection device, characterized in that at least one selected from the group of aluminum, copper, iron, tungsten and titanium. The method of claim 8, The metal strand is a water collecting device, characterized in that a hydrophilic coating layer of at least one selected from TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZnO, WO ₃ , SiO ₂ and PCM (Phase Change Material) group is formed. The method of claim 7, wherein The polymer of the polymer strand on which the hydrophilic coating layer is formed is polyvinylalcohol (PVA), poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly (acrylic acid), PA (polycarbonate), poly (ethylene terephthalate), PET (polystyrene), and PS (polystyrene). ), PU (polyurethane) and rubber at least one material selected, the hydrophilic coating layer of the polymer strand on which the hydrophilic coating layer is formed TiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , ZnO, WO ₃ , SiO ₂ and PCM (Phase Change Material) group At least one selected water collection device. The method of claim 5, And the hydrophobic strand is a hydrophobic polymer strand. The method of claim 5, The hydrophobic strand is at least one selected from polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polystyrene (PS) containing fluorine and polystyrene (PU) containing fluorine. Moisture collection device. The method of claim 5, The hydrophobic strand is a superhydrophobic strand formed by forming a superhydrophobic fluorine compound or a silicon compound on the surface of the strand through plasma, ion beam, corona discharge or wet treatment, or by forming a surface roughness through plasma, ion beam, corona discharge or wet treatment. A water collecting device, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The water contact angle of the hydrophilic strand is 0 to 10 degrees, the water contact angle difference between the hydrophilic strand and the hydrophobic strand is water collection device, characterized in that 110 to 170 degrees. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The water collecting device is a water collecting device, characterized in that it comprises one or more of the unit by using the network sheet as a unit. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The water collecting device is characterized in that it has an angle of 30 ° to 60 ° between the long axis direction of the hydrophilic strand or hydrophobic strand constituting the reticulated sheet and the gravity direction.

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