The UCO paves the way toward more sustainable air conditioning based on water evaporation

University of Córdoba

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Researchers Paula Conrat, Francisco Comino and Manuel Ruiz de Adana, from the University of Cordoba

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Credit: University of Cordoba

Rising global temperatures are driving the need for more efficient cooling systems, one of today’s key sustainability challenges. According to a Eurostat report, the need for air conditioning in buildings has nearly quadrupled since 1979, with Spain ranking as the fourth European country with the greatest increase. This translates into a significant rise in the demand for energy,not only directly impacting household bills, but extending far beyond the residential sector. Cooling needs at industrial facilities and data centers lead to increases in energy demands, with the environmental damage that this entails.

To address this problem it is essential to devise alternative systems that cool air at lower ecological and economic costs. This is the focus of the Research in Applied Thermal Engineering (RATE) group, which is developing and optimizing new systems that cool air using a natural process: water evaporation. These evaporative cooling systems use only air and water as working fluids, require no refrigerants or compressors, and can reduce energy consumption by up to 70% compared to conventional air conditioning units.

University of Cordoba researcher Paula Conrat explained this work. Together with researchers Manuel Ruiz de Adana (Department of Applied Chemistry and Thermodynamics) and Francisco Comino (Department of Mechanics), and the Andaltec Plastics Technology Center, she has headed up a study focused on improving these systems’ performance through material selection. Specifically, the researcher explained:“we selected polymeric materials in the form of films or thin sheets with different water retention capacities, porosity, and surface roughness.” These materials are then processed using lamination techniques and used to manufacture what is known as a “wet channel”—the element responsible for the heat and mass exchange that occurs in these systems and, therefore, constituting the “engine” for cooling.

By analyzing the performance of each channel manufactured with different materials, the team verified how their properties directly influence air cooling capacities. Testing showed that the best-performing channel was able to reduce air temperature by 16 degrees Celsius. According to the research group, these results represent a direct contribution to optimizing these systems, which are destined to replace or complement traditional cooling methods.

The search for more sustainable air cooling solutions is a key challenge on a planet suffering ever-higher temperatures and rising demand for energy: according to International Energy Agency (IEA) data, a 25% global increase is expected by 2050. In this context, science has begun exploring ways to reduce electricity consumption and CO2 emissions associated with the need to survive heat, and― the most difficult part ―to do so without compromising the population’s well-being or productive needs.

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Journal

Energy

DOI

10.1016/j.energy.2025.139370 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Experimental and numerical analysis of wet channels for evaporative cooling systems manufactured with polymeric film materials