A passive, fan-free condensation cascade for rooftops and cooling-tower retrofit

This document describes a passive condensation cascade for rooftops and for retrofit on cooling towers. Warm, humid air flows downward through a heat exchanger cooled by counter-current water. The air loses heat and water vapor, becomes denser than the outdoor air, and sinks; the density difference can drive the flow without a fan. The system produces distilled water and delivers heated water, for example for preheating tap water in apartment buildings or process water in industry. The cooled air is saturated and requires aftertreatment before use in occupied spaces. Three cases are calculated per square metre of cross-section with verified thermodynamic data (IAPWS-95, CoolProp). As a worked example at an assumed airflow of 0.40 m³/s per m², they give 24, 58 and 170 L/h of distillate and 24, 53 and 136 kW of heat; both scale in proportion to the airflow. An estimate of the passive airflow gives roughly 0.1 to 0.7 m³/s per m² in warm weather and none in cool weather. All figures are calculated, not measured.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23932094
Primary Topic
Adsorption and Cooling Systems
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

A passive, fan-free condensation cascade for rooftops and cooling-tower retrofit

Vesa Olavi Lius
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Adsorption and Cooling Systems
article

A passive, fan-free condensation cascade for rooftops and cooling-tower retrofit

Vesa Olavi Lius
article en

Abstract

This document describes a passive condensation cascade for rooftops and for retrofit on cooling towers. Warm, humid air flows downward through a heat exchanger cooled by counter-current water. The air loses heat and water vapor, becomes denser than the outdoor air, and sinks; the density difference can drive the flow without a fan. The system produces distilled water and delivers heated water, for example for preheating tap water in apartment buildings or process water in industry. The cooled air is saturated and requires aftertreatment before use in occupied spaces. Three cases are calculated per square metre of cross-section with verified thermodynamic data (IAPWS-95, CoolProp). As a worked example at an assumed airflow of 0.40 m³/s per m², they give 24, 58 and 170 L/h of distillate and 24, 53 and 136 kW of heat; both scale in proportion to the airflow. An estimate of the passive airflow gives roughly 0.1 to 0.7 m³/s per m² in warm weather and none in cool weather. All figures are calculated, not measured.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Adsorption and Cooling Systems
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