Nanopatterned Surfaces Could Improve Power Plants

New nanopatterned surfaces could improve the efficiency of power plants and desalination systems. The condensation of water is crucial to the operation of most of the power plants that provide our electricity — whether they are fueled by coal, natural gas or nuclear fuel. It is also the key to producing potable water from salty or brackish water. But there are still large gaps in the scientific understanding of exactly how water condenses on the surfaces used to turn steam back into water in a power plant, or to condense water in an evaporation-based desalination plant.

New research by a team at MIT offers important new insights into how these droplets form, and ways to pattern the collecting surfaces at the nanoscale to encourage droplets to form more rapidly. These insights could enable a new generation of significantly more efficient power plants and desalination plants, the researchers say.

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