Water recovery from dew

Vadim Nikolayev (1, 2) , D Beysens (3, 2) , A Gioda (4) , I Milimouk (5) , E Katiushin , J.-P Morel (6)

1 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
2 SBT - Service des Basses Températures
3 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
4 GREATICE - Glaciers et ressources en eau d'altitude - Indicateurs climatiques et environnementaux
5 ESEME : Équipe du Supercritique pour l'Environnement, les Matériaux et l'Espace : Équipe commune CEA-CNRS (2000-2014)
6 UP1 UFR04 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UFR d'Arts plastiques et sciences de l'art

The recovery of clean water from dew has remained a longstanding challenge in many places all around the world. It is currently believed that the ancient Greeks succeeded in recovering atmospheric water vapour on a scale large enough to supply water to the city of Theodosia (presently Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine). Several attempts were made in the early 20th Cent. to build artificial dew-catching constructions which were subsequently abandoned because of their low yield. The idea of dew collection is revised in the light of recent investigations of the basic physical phenomena involved in the formation of dew. A model for calculating condensation rates on real dew condensers is proposed. Some suggestions for the " ideal " condenser are formulated.

Domaines: Ingénierie de l'environnement

Vadim Nikolayev, D Beysens, A Gioda, I Milimouk, E Katiushin, et al.. Water recovery from dew. Journal of Hydrology, 1996, ⟨10.1016/0022-1694(95)02939-7⟩. ⟨hal-01264194⟩