The device absorbs sunlight to create superheated steam

The Massachussetts Research Institute (MIT) has developed a device that absorbs heat from sunlight to boil water and create 'super-hot' steam over 100 degrees Celsius without any expensive optical equipment. .

On sunny days, this device can passively produce steam that is hot enough to disinfect medical devices, cook food and many other benefits. This hot steam is also used to provide heat for industrial processes, or to be condensed into pure drinking water.

Previous researchers have developed a sponge-like device that floats on a water container and turns water into the foam into steam. But this method appears to be a problem that contaminants in the water make the device very fast. While the new type of device is suspended on the water surface, it is not damaged by contaminants.

High temperature steam can be used to cook, clean or disinfect medical devices in remote areas.(MIT photo).

The device is about the same size and thickness as a small tablet and looks like a sandwich. The top of the device is made of a ceramic compound - a material that absorbs solar heat very well, while the bottom is made of mesh-like carbon foam that radiates heat down to the water below the fruit.

Once the water temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius, it will vaporize and fly back up through a middle layer made of plastic-like material. Here, steam continues to be heated above the boiling point, before being pumped through a single tube.

'This is purely a passive heating system - that is, users only need to place the device outdoors to absorb sunlight. They can use this device to create enough drinking water for a family, or disinfect medical equipment for a surgery room , 'said Thomas Cooper, associate professor of mechanical engineering, York University. know.

The researchers first tested the device in the laboratory, using a device that simulates the characteristics of sunlight with different intensities. They found that the device could heat a small water tank to boiling temperature and produce steam at 122 degrees Celsius, under the same conditions as a normal sunny day. When the researchers increased the intensity of the sun by 1.7 times, they found the device even produced hot steam up to 144 degrees Celsius.

In October 2017, the team of researchers tested the device on the roof of MIT's No. 1 building. It was a sunny day and to increase the sun's intensity, the researchers installed a simple sun absorber - a convex mirror that helped capture and direct more sunlight into the device. than.

In this way, the device can generate steam up to 146 degrees Celsius within 3.5 hours. In subsequent experiments, the team also created water vapor from seawater that had absolutely no salt crystals to blur the surface of the device. In other experiments, they were able to collect and condense more than water in a pitcher to collect pure drinking water.

'This new device has really solved the disadvantages of previous devices. Currently, we are trying to increase performance and improve equipment further. There are some points to be overcome and we hope to create the most perfect device , 'said Gang Chen, an electrical engineering professor at MIT.