Bioinspired Water Harvesting, Purification, and Oil-Water Separation

Book excerpt: This book presents an overview of arid desert conditions and natural mechanisms for water harvesting from fog and condensation, providing data on various bioinspired surfaces for water collection. It discusses consumer to military and emergency applications. It presents various designs for water harvesting towers and projections for water collection, and describes innovative approaches to bioinspired water desalination, water purification and oil-water separation. Fresh water sustains human life and is vital for health. However, water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population and is projected to rise, especially in some of the world’s most impoverished countries. Additionally, water contamination is one of the most critical environmental and natural resource concerns of the 21st century. This book addresses these topics with a presentation of the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly bioinspired surfaces for water harvesting from fog and condensation, as well as bioinspired oil-water separation techniques for removing oil contaminants from oil-water mixtures and oil-water emulsions. Intended for novices as well as experts in the field, the book offers actionable insight for practitioners, solution seekers, and the generally curious alike. It serves as an excellent accompanying text for one-semester courses in biomimetics, water supply and management, or environmental engineering.