Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- and Nanotechnology and Biomimetics (NLBB), The Ohio State University, 201 West 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1142, USA.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2020 Mar 20;378(2167):20190444. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0444. Epub 2020 Feb 3.
Fresh water sustains human life and is vital for human health. For some of the poorest countries, 1 in 10 people do not have access to safe and easily accessible water sources. Water consumption by man continues to grow with an increasing population. The current supply of fresh water needs to be supplemented to meet future needs. Living nature provides many lessons for water harvesting. It has evolved species which can survive in the most arid regions of the world by passively collecting water from fog and condensation of water vapour in the night. Before the collected water evaporates, species have mechanisms to transport water for storage or consumption. These species possess unique chemistry and structures on or within the body for collection and transport of water. Among the high diversity of species surviving in deserts, only a handful of species have been studied. Based on lessons from nature, bioinspired water harvesters can be designed. In this paper, an overview of various desert plants and animals is given and known water harvesting mechanisms of some are presented. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology (part 3)'.
淡水维持着人类的生命，对人类健康至关重要。对于一些最贫穷的国家来说，每 10 人中就有 1 人无法获得安全且方便的水源。随着人口的不断增长，人类对水的消耗持续增长。目前需要补充淡水资源以满足未来的需求。自然生物为集水提供了许多启示。它已经进化出了一些物种，这些物种可以通过被动地从雾和水蒸气的凝结中收集水，在世界上最干旱的地区生存。在收集到的水蒸发之前，物种有机制将水输送到储存或消耗的地方。这些物种在身体上或身体内具有独特的化学物质和结构，用于收集和输送水。在沙漠中生存的高多样性物种中，只有少数几种被研究过。基于自然的启示，可以设计出仿生集水器。本文概述了各种沙漠植物和动物，并介绍了一些已知的集水机制。本文是主题为“生物启发材料和表面的绿色科学技术（第 3 部分）”的一部分。
