AskNature

Innovation Details

Many communities in Northern Canada suffer from a lack of clean drinking water, and this issue of water insecurity disproportionately affects Indigenous Canadians. Inspired by the countercurrent heat exchange system found in trout and the beard lichen’s water collection process, the SINC (Sustainable Ice Nucleation Contraption) is an outdoor water collection system designed for northern communities affected by water scarcity.

What is the problem you are trying to solve and how is it related to the united nations sustainable development goals?

The problem we are trying to address is water scarcity within our home country of Canada. Living in Calgary, Alberta, we are lucky enough to have reliable clean water infrastructure, with most residents having never experienced a lack of available water. However, not everyone in Canada is lucky enough to be in a similar situation. Some First Nations reserves and rural Northern communities often encounter water scarcity issues from aging or damaged infrastructure. It is essential to be able to address this issue in a sustainable & innovative manner, as everyone should have reliable access to water. This problem is directly correlated with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. However, our device also simultaneously tackles: Sustainable Development Goals 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), and 13 (Climate Action), by sustainably acting as a source of clean water for communities in need and helping reduce water inequality.

What organisms/natural systems did you learn from and how did what you learned inform your design?

Our design is inspired by organisms that can survive in cold and icy environments. The frost-collecting surface mimics the texture of lichen, which increases the surface area available for ice nucleation and encourages frost formation. Once frost has formed, it can then melt when the temperature rises. The method of temperature change within our device is also influenced by the countercurrent exchange system in the circulatory system of the rainbow trout. In trout, a diffusion gradient with oxygenated and deoxygenated blood allows dissolved oxygen to circulate throughout their bodies and keeps them warm while spending minimal energy.

What does your design solution do? How does it address the problem or opportunity you selected?

Our design is an atmospheric water generator designed to work in arctic communities. Traditional atmospheric water generators produce water by cooling air to its dew point, the point at which the water vapour in the air begins to condense, then collects the condensed water. The challenge with replicating this process in arctic communities, or communities where the winter months are characterized by consistently below 0-degree Celsius weather, is two-fold. First, when the ambient temperature decreases, so does the amount of water vapour in the air. Second, with temperatures below the freezing temperature of water, ice is more likely to form than liquid water. Our design circumvents these challenges by mimicking lichen’s frost generation and utilization mechanism. Our design features a system of parallel counter current heat exchangers which take in arctic air and cool it to the air’s dew point. At this point, the water vapour in the air forms ice through the process of heterogeneous ice nucleation. To melt the ice, the same countercurrent heat exchangers are used, but the flow of coolant is restricted, and the flow of a heating fluid is increased. The melted ice passively flows to one end of the heat exchanger and is collected for use. Similarly to lichen, our design utilizes the natural temperature fluctuations between night and day. During the night, only the cooling process occurs, then during the day, the cooling and heating process alternate to optimize water production. At night, when temperatures drop, the ice formation process occurs, then during the day a solar heater is used to heat the heating fluid, and melting occurs. A solar powered air conditioning system is used to promote the formation of ice during the day. Waste heat from the air conditioning system is used to supplement the solar heater.

See Related Strategy

Biological Strategy

Ice Nucleation Captures Water

Golden-rimmed navel lichen

Lichens capture water via ice nucleation, absorbing the moisture once the temperature rises and the ice melts.