Jia Mingxuan, a teenager, has created a condensation irrigation system that directs water accumulated inside pipes to the base of trees in areas with little rainfall and threatened by desertification. This young man has won several awards for this system, which captures moisture from the air and supplies newly planted seedlings in dry areas of China. This invention is made from simple steel pipes and reused plastic bottles, which serve to create a temperature gradient that forces condensation. Jia’s grandfather comments that in the 1960s, the area received only 380 mm of rainfall per year, which led to shifting dunes and bare soil. The young man’s idea came to him when he saw vapour condensing on the cold tiles in his kitchen at home.
How the mechanism works
The mechanism uses a controlled temperature difference between the outside and the buried section of the pipe, allowing a small top wind cover to circulate internally, condensing the moisture present in the air, even in dry environments. This mechanism offers a low-cost solution capable of complementing digital methods where technological infrastructure is difficult to implement. Jia is currently collaborating with a research team in Shanghai to improve the stability of the system. They are investigating bioplastics and lightweight alloys as alternatives to increase durability and enable large-scale production without increasing environmental impacts.
