The SunGlacier is a fabulous cooling and ice-maker concept for deserts designed by Dutch artist and filmmaker Ap Verheggen who was nominated as the Cultural Ambassador to UNESCO-IHE on World Water Day, 22 March, 2011.
The concept is proposed to work like a tree leaf, attracting moisture from the air and then using the solar panel energy to transform it into ice, creating an artificial oasis, and attempting to address the severe water shortages faced by Middle-East countries.
Veheggen, and Cofely Refrigeration who make ice rinks and custom-designed food storage cooling units, designed 200sq.m (2,152sq.ft) elm-shaped leaves with photovoltaic cells on the outer surface, and an undersurface to capture humidity from the air, then refrigerating the captured moisture, turning it to ice or using it as water.
Surprisingly, the team discovered that Egyptian Sahara Desert air humidity levels are similar to those in the Netherlands. They wanted to prove the concept so they simulated the environment in a shipping container, including the humidity, temperature and the desert winds, creating 10cm (4 inch) thick ice slabs at a temperature of 30ºC (86F).
The hope is that SunGlacier can make 1sq.m (10.8sq.ft.) of ice for every 10sq.m (108sq.ft.) of solar panel, though the ice thickness is not reported.
Via DesignBuzz & theENGINEER
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