Now-a-days in most developing countries, people use fossil fuels to fuel their vehicles , which on
combustion , gives off a mixture of gases including greenhouse gases . Out of those gases, one is responsible for the formation of clouds, and is also required by all organisms for their nutrition . Yes, this is Water(H2O) which is emitted as water vapor from the exhaust of vehicles as a product of combustion of hydrocarbons. Today, in many parts of the world , including the developing countries, there is water scarcity . A new technology developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. army collects water from the exhaust of vehicle running on hydrocarbons.
This utilizes capillary condensation to collect water from the vapor coming from the exhaust fume of vehicles.This type of condensation is quite different from thermodynamic condensation.In this contrast, Melanie Debusk , the project leader, said, "Based on the rules of capillary condensation, you should be able to condense more water out of a given temperature compared to if you cooled air directly to that temperature compared to if you cooled air directly to that temperature andwere relying on thermodynamic condensation."The apparatus is very simple consisting of an inorganic membranewhich uses the capillary action . The diesel exhaust passes through a series of ceramic tubes which contain microscopic pores that suck up the water vapor comingas a product of hydrocarbon combustion.This water vapor condenses on the surface of the tube which forms water that is constantly drawn off from the outside of the tube , allowing more water vapor to condense on the inner surface of the exhaust pipe. We know that theoretically, a gallon of diesel can produce a gallon of water . But, all this water could not be condensed by this technology . However, Debusk and her team is trying to develop this system so as it can condense 65-85% of the total amount. This means that the more fuel we spent, the more water we get. The water condensed, being constantly drawn off from the pores , is pollution-free as it doesn't get a chance to come in contact with water-soluble gases . This technology is being developed for the use of U.S. military as warfare is highly tedious and requires a steady stream of water - almost up to 7 gallon a day per person.But, in the near future, it could be used in our vehicles or near sea shores or at any other placewhere extraction of water by capillary condensation is possible to tackle water scarcity.
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