Water harvesting through fog collectors: a review of conceptual, experimental, and operational aspects

In water-scarce regions where fog is abundant, the population can rely on this resource to obtain fresh water. The potential to harvest fog is confirmed by Large Fog Collector projects worldwide, which are reviewed. Mostly maintenance issues due to environmental and complex social factors compromise the sustainability of such projects. Researchers endeavour to resolve these issues by developing enhanced materials, while others employ biomimetic design, hence creating innovative collectors. The objective of this paper is to survey and review the state-of-the-art and develop a framework of different types of innovative fog collectors, including conceptual, experimental, and operational aspects.