Device and method of evaporation

Abstract

Device and method for mitigating, adapting to and combating climate change based on the efficient and massive evaporation of water, which cools and humidifies the environment, helping to mitigate heat waves, droughts and fire 5 risks and promoting plant growth and soil health. By placing a vertical wall (2) perpendicular to an incident wind (1), an upward air current (4) is generated. Once the velocity of this upward current (4) has been measured, the maximum diameter of the water droplets arranged in the upward current (4) that will rise in it is calculated, and a nebulization of droplets (5) with diameters smaller than the 10 calculated diameter is produced by means of a pumping system (6) and a nebulization system (7).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Device and method of evaporation

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The evaporation device and method according to the invention fall within the scope of adaptation, mitigation and, in general, the fight against climate change. Human activity has affected the Earth's climate in two main ways: by injecting greenhouse gases such as CO2 or methane, CH4, and by changing land use, which refers to the clearing of forests, draining of wetlands and their replacement by cities, roads and other infrastructure.

[0005] Once released into the air, methane and CO2 mix and diffuse very quickly and are distributed evenly throughout the Earth's atmosphere in a relatively short period of several weeks. They will remain there for many years, about 100 in the case of methane and about 1 ,000 in the case of CO2. For decades, and especially since the Industrial Revolution, these gases have been accumulating in the atmosphere and changing the thermal balance of our planet. The process is relatively slow, but it is constant and cumulative. So far, humanity has not been able to stop it. In 2023, the average temperature of the Earth exceeded the temperature of the second half of the 19th century by 1 ,5°C.

[0006] Changes in land use have a very different impact on the climate. If a forest occupying part of a river basin is cut down or burned, the effect on the climate in that area is immediate: on the day of the felling, temperatures rise, relative humidity falls and rainfall decreases in the river basin. Similarly, in a large city, the temperature is higher than in the surrounding countryside, and even within the city there are phenomena such as heat islands where the temperature is higher than in other areas with more green spaces or trees. All these changes affect the water cycle, as there is generally less evaporation due to fewer forests and a reduction in convective clouds and storms. This phenomenon is more local or regional than that of greenhouse gases, whose effect is global. As land use change is taking place in most regions of the earth, its cumulative impact is also a global one.

[0007] To solve these problems, various policies to reduce greenhouse gases have been implemented. These policies have not yielded many results so far; on the contrary, our civilisation seems to be constantly increasing its consumption of fossil fuels, so that the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continues to rise.

[0008] One possible solution could come through the recovery of the water cycle.

[0009] The device according to the invention aims to remedy the problem of lack of humidity in the atmosphere due to the reduction of forest areas, new land uses such as intensive agriculture, and rising temperatures caused by the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Our efficient evaporation method is preferably carried out in arid or semi-arid areas with high or very high ambient temperatures between 30°C and 50°C and low relative humidity, for example below 40%.

[0010] In this environment, we propose injecting large masses of water into the air so that they mix with it in the right proportion and evaporate, thus compensating for the large masses of water that once evaporated from the now-deforested forests, evaporating water flows on the scale of cubic metres of water per second, which will mix with air flows on the scale of hundreds of thousands of cubic metres per second, all without using forced ventilation or high energy consumption.

[0011] In this way, the adaptation and mitigation objectives recommended by the IPCC can be achieved.

[0012] In fact, the large bodies of water that evaporate when mixed with huge volumes of air produce the following advantages:

[0013] 1- Immediate cooling at a constant ambient enthalpy. This cooling, which can exceed 20°C, mitigates the effects of heat waves, benefiting the people, animals and plants affected.

[0014] 2- An increase in relative air humidity that is beneficial to vegetation: grasses, shrubs and trees are thus relieved of water stress and can fully perform their photosynthetic function and cell growth. Increased plant growth allows carbon to be absorbed and fixed from the atmosphere, incorporated into plant tissue and partially sequestered in the soil. In addition, the productivity of agricultural and forest plantations is increased.

[0015] 3- The increase in relative humidity is also beneficial for soil microfauna and microflora and promotes soil regeneration.

[0016] 4- Lower ambient temperatures and increased relative humidity reduce the risk of forest fires.

[0017] 5- Increased relative humidity and lower temperatures favour the formation of dew.

[0018] 6- A cool, humid environment reduces the need to water plants and crops.

[0019] 7 - Colder, more humid air masses promote the formation of cumulus clouds, which increase local albedo and provide additional cooling by reflecting part of incoming solar radiation.

[0020] 8- In case of seawater usage or freshwater mixed appropriately with seawater, the evaporation of water droplets leads to the formation of saline microcrystals which, if sufficiently small and abundant, promote the formation of ultra-bright clouds that produce an additional effect of increasing albedo and cooling the Earth's surface.

[0021] 9- After the formation of cumulonimbus clouds, storms and rain can be induced, with known benefits for all ecosystems, such as the recharge of aquifers, the filling of rivers and marshes, etc.

[0022] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0023] The use of adiabatic evaporation to cool outdoor environments is known in the prior art and is particularly common for cooling terraces and patios. None of these systems is capable of evaporating sufficient water flows to achieve a significant and permanent drop in ambient temperature, and in any case, these amounts of water evaporated are often much less than one litre per second, much less than the amounts we are aiming for of one thousand litres per second. According to the state of the art, evaporators inject a nebulization of water into the air at a certain height. The injection is carried out in still air so that the volume of air quickly reaches saturation, as a single litre of water saturates a volume of about

[0024] 180 cubic metres of air. The nebulized droplets fall to the ground in a saturated air environment at their free fall or terminal velocity without evaporating and therefore without cooling the air. The system ceases to function effectively. In fact, once saturated, the air is unable to evaporate water.

[0025] Some systems attempt to remedy this problem by operating intermittently and therefore inefficiently. Other systems, such as the one described in US patent US 6786701 B1 , include forced ventilation by means of a fan. These systems have higher energy consumption due to the typically electric ventilation, and in no case do they ventilate air volumes greater than the 180 cubic metres per second necessary to evaporate one litre of water. This is because, among other things, these fans must not produce air currents at such high velocities that they are unpleasant or uncomfortable for people. In addition, the ventilation of humid air involves the evacuation of the cooled air from the volume we intend to cool.

[0026] In all cases, there is the problem that the space or volume to be cooled severely limits the amount of water that can be evaporated. For example, in typical heatwave conditions with 40°C and 20% relative humidity, approximately 180 cubic metres of air are needed to evaporate a single litre of water.

[0027] Under these conditions, state-of-the-art evaporation systems quickly encounter the problem of water saturated air, which is why they either operate intermittently and therefore less efficiently, or the water droplets suspended in saturated air cannot evaporate and fall to the ground, wetting it but without producing any cooling.

[0028] All these systems also have in common that evaporation occurs from a water droplet suspended in the air. In order for the water droplet to evaporate completely, a certain evaporation time is required. This time must be longer than the time it takes for the droplet to fall from the moment it forms until it reaches the ground. For this to be possible, the droplets must be very small, as this reduces the evaporation time and increases the time it takes to fall to the ground. However, the production of extremely small droplets requires the use of very high pressures and special nozzles. To maintain very high pressures with the same flow, it is necessary to greatly increase the power of the system, and this is where we encounter a limit. For example, to reduce the diameter of the droplet by a factor of 10, it is necessary to increase the pressure and power of the pumps by a factor of 10.

[0029] To remedy these limitations and achieve water evaporation rates several orders of magnitude higher, we propose using the method described in claim number one.

[0030] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] Thanks to the interposition of a vertical obstacle or barrier facing an incident horizontal wind, an upward air current is produced. This is because at low speeds, i.e. speeds much lower than the speed of sound, air behaves like an incompressible fluid and, furthermore, in areas where the movement is laminar, i.e. before the boundary layer detaches, air behaves like a fluid with irrotational movement.

[0032] If we nebulize droplets into this upward current, the residence time of the droplets in the air is greatly extended, so that the time during which the droplets remain suspended in the air is much longer than the evaporation time of these droplets, even with relatively large droplets.

[0033] This method causes faster and even total evaporation of the droplets therefore makes possible to increase the total water flow without increasing pressure, as the diameter of the nebulized droplets is relatively large. The only requirement is that the diameter of these droplets must be less than the critical diameter, i.e. the diameter of droplets that, in free fall, would have a free fall velocity equal to the velocity of the upward wind.

[0034] In addition to the above, as the upward air current after a first laminar phase enters a second turbulent phase, this causes the nebulization of water droplets to mix naturally with larger amounts of air before reaching saturation, which allows the evaporation process to continue efficiently. Furthermore, the turbulent movements around the droplets and microdroplets constantly renew the air and accelerate the evaporation processes.

[0035] The upward movement of the nebulized droplets is very beneficial for the evaporation process for the following reasons:

[0036] 1 -The droplet's suspension time in the air is much longer and, in most cases, this time is sufficient to allow the water in the droplet to evaporate completely.

[0037] 2- There are no problems with air saturation, since as the droplet rises, it always encounters new volumes of air that are sufficiently large and unsaturated.

[0038] 3 - While the droplet is immersed in the upward current, it does not fall to the ground, thus avoiding a loss of efficiency.

[0039] 4 - As the droplet evaporates, its diameter decreases and, therefore, its free fall velocity also decreases. Thus, the droplet's upward velocity increases. When the upward process ends, we may find ourselves in two different situations.

[0040] - a) The droplet has completely evaporated during the upward process.

[0041] -b) The droplet has not completely evaporated but has lost a large part of its volume through evaporation and has become a droplet with a much smaller diameter. In this second case, the smaller drop would begin to fall at a very low terminal velocity from a very high height. Under these conditions, the drop evaporates almost completely during the fall.

[0042] All these advantages are obtained thanks to the device and method according to the invention.

[0043] We will now describe a particular mode of the invention in order to clarify it, but without reducing or limiting the invention.

[0044] To do this, we will refer to the attached figures, which describe:

[0045] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a device according to the invention.

[0047] Figure 2 shows a front cross-section of the image in Figure 1 , showing the dynamics of the wind and the streamlines.

[0048] Figure 3 shows a cross-section similar to Figure 2, in which the elongated object has a surface tangent to the incoming streamlines.

[0049] Figure 4 shows a graph in which the sedimentation velocity of an aerosol is related to its diameter on a logarithmic scale.

[0050] Figure 5 shows a graph of the relationship between the diameter of water droplets and their terminal velocity in free fall in the atmosphere. PREFERRED REALISATION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] Any object that falls freely in the atmosphere from rest increases its velocity until it reaches a free-fall velocity limit. At this velocity, the frictional force of the air or drag force is equal to the weight of the object and therefore the object does not accelerate and continues to fall at a constant velocity equal to the velocity limit, Vi. This phenomenon also applies to water droplets. The shape of water droplets is very roughly equivalent to a sphere, and this approximation is greater the smaller the droplets are, particularly below diameters of one millimetre. Since the weight of the drop is proportional to its volume and therefore to the cube of its radius, while the frictional force, being proportional to the surface area of the drop, is therefore proportional to the square of the radius of the drop, the limiting free fall velocity of the drops varies increasingly with their radius and decreases as the radius of the drops decreases. The relationship between the diameter of the drop and its terminal velocity is an increasing and continuous function, and therefore there is a one-to-one relationship between each drop diameter and each terminal velocity.

[0052] The terminal velocity of drops is a well-studied and well-known phenomenon. The graph in Figure 5 shows the free fall velocities of droplets, in metres per second, on the y-axis, and on the x-axis, the diameter in millimetres of the corresponding droplets. As can be seen in the graph, the relationship between the diameter of the droplets and the free fall velocity is indeed an increasing and continuous function, and therefore there is a one-to-one relationship between each droplet diameter and each free fall, i.e. each diameter corresponds to one and only one free fall velocity and vice versa.

[0053] It is interesting to note in this graph that diameters of around 1 mm and below correspond to free fall velocities of around 4 m / s and below. This relationship is interesting because sea breezes regularly blow at velocities of above 4 m / s.

[0054] By arranging the nebulization of droplets in the updraft, the velocity of the droplets' movement relative to the ground can be calculated as a combination of velocities: the velocity of the updraft relative to the ground minus the free fall velocity of the droplet relative to the air in which it is immersed.

[0055] This resulting velocity will always be positive, i.e. the droplet will rise, if we have chosen the droplet size so that its terminal velocity is lower than the velocity of the updraft. Finally, a positive droplet velocity relative to the ground is obtained, i.e. upwards, so that the nebulization rises in the air.

[0056] Method of operation

[0057] We will begin by selecting the area of operation in warm, dry, possibly arid terrain, where a certain wind blows. This wind has a velocity parallel to the surface of the ground Vs (1 ).

[0058] Once the area of operation has been selected, a vertical wall (2) is constructed, for example, at least ten metres high. This vertical wall or long, narrow element is positioned perpendicular to the incident wind (1 ).

[0059] The mere presence of the wall positioned perpendicular to the incident wind causes the wind to deflect upwards, i.e. it changes direction as it approaches the wall so that as it approaches the upper corner (3) of the wall (2), the air current is now a vertical current (4). As it deflects, the wind also accelerates in the vicinity of the upper corner of the wall. The velocity of this vertical current will depend on the velocity of the incident wind (1 ), as well as the height of the wall (2). By placing a nebulization of droplets (5) in an area with upward winds (4), the wind carries the nebulization of droplets (5) upwards, causing them to remain in suspension long enough for them to evaporate completely.

[0060] In the upper corner area (3) of the wall (2), the boundary layer becomes detached (see figure 2). The boundary layer detachment is more efficient if the angle of the upper wall at the corner (3) is sharp. The detached air flow continues on an upward and slightly inclined trajectory. In addition, the flow, which until now had been laminar, begins to become turbulent due to the influence of the detached boundary layer.

[0061] Next, the vertical wind velocity (4) in the vicinity of the upper corner (3) of the wall is measured, for example, with an anemometer. Once the vertical wind velocity is known, the theoretical diameter of the water droplets whose free fall velocity in the atmosphere would be equal to the velocity measured with the anemometer is evaluated using the graph in Figure 4 either with formulas or tables. We will call this diameter the critical diameter. The relationship between vertical velocity and critical diameter is a continuously increasing function and therefore each vertical velocity corresponds to one and only one critical diameter.

[0062] In the area where the vertical wall is located, we will provide an abundance of water. This water can be fresh water, sea water, a mixture of both or even another type of contaminated water.

[0063] A hydraulic system (6) that will use, for example, pressure pumps that will pump the water through a nebulization system (7) for water nebulization. The pressure produced by the pumps and the nebulization system are adjustable, allowing us to modify either of them to obtain a nebulization of water droplets with a diameter smaller than the previously calculated critical diameter. The system allows the diameter of the water droplets and the total water flow to be adjusted independently.

[0064] Depending on the dimensions of our vertical wall (2), the nebulization system (7) can be more or less numerous and project the nebulization further or closer from the edge starting at the corner (3) towards the upward air current (4). For example, the wall (2) may have the dimensions of a 100 m high dam, in which case the nebulization system may be nebulization cannons that spray a dispersion of water droplets, for example, 50 m. These nebulization cannons are similar to those used on ski slopes to make snow.

[0065] Once these adjustments have been made, we proceed to spray the water droplets from the nebulization system (7) and carry out this procedure in the area near the upper corner (3) of the wall (2) where the air velocity (4) is the measured vertical velocity. We select this area for water injection because it is here that the upward vertical velocity is at its maximum.

[0066] As the diameter of the nebulized droplets is less than the critical diameter, the free fall velocity of these droplets is less than the vertical upward velocity of the air stream and therefore the droplets rise with the air stream, exceeding the maximum height of the wall while mixing with the warm air and evaporating in it. As the droplets evaporate, their diameter decreases.

[0067] The nebulization continues to rise until it reaches the turbulent zone (8) of the flow. In this zone, given the turbulent nature of the flow, there is intense mixing of the air. The turbulent flow (8) intensifies evaporation because the air velocity at the surface of the droplets is chaotic in a turbulent flow and may be different from the velocity of the droplet itself, which favours air renewal at the air-water interface.

[0068] At this point, we can observe whether the water has already evaporated completely and, if so, we can increase the water flow in the nebulization system (7) by adjusting the pressure and geometry of said system(7). Once the water flow in the nebulization system has been increased, the process is repeated and, if the water has completely evaporated, the flow can be further increased to the point where so much water is introduced into the air flow that some droplets fall back to the surface in a liquid state. At this point, we have reached the maximum volume of evaporable water in our system. The nebulization system are arranged along the upper part (9) of the wall (2) near the point where the vertical air velocity is highest. The outlets of the nebulization system are spaced at a certain horizontal distance from each other, for example 1 m. This distance can be adjusted to be greater or lesser depending on the intensity of the updraft and its thermodynamic conditions namely, temperature and relative humidity.

[0069] The nebulization system are connected to a hydraulic system in series or in parallel, or a combination of both, so that a constant flow of water with an adequate flow rate and pressure is continuously provided.

[0070] Saline microcrystals, aerosols and ultra-bright clouds

[0071] These evaporation procedures can also be very useful for the production of aerosols with saline microcrystals. Saline microcrystals with micrometric dimensions of around one or two micrometres or less have been presented as one of the solutions to the climate emergency as they promote the formation of ultra-bright clouds. These clouds increase the Earth's albedo and help to cool the Earth's surface.

[0072] The formation of microcrystals is complicated because, in order to obtain a one- micrometre microcrystal from a drop of seawater, it is necessary to diffuse very fine droplets of around twenty micrometres in diameter or less. If we start with seawater droplets with larger diameters, between 100 micrometres and one millimetre, the result after evaporation is the formation of a relatively large salt crystal measuring several tens of micrometres. These larger microcrystals not only fail to serve as condensation nuclei for ultra-bright clouds, but also have a relatively high free fall velocity (see figure 4), also known as sedimentation velocity, and tend to fall to the ground where they can be harmful to soils and agriculture. To avoid this, we propose the formation of microcrystals smaller than two micrometres, whose sedimentation velocity, as can be seen in the graph in Figure 4, is of the order of 0.14 mm / s and which behave like aerosols, remaining in the air until they transform into condensation nuclei for raindrops without contaminating the soil.

[0073] To obtain a one-micrometre microcrystal from a drop of seawater, it is necessary to diffuse very small droplets, around twenty micrometres in diameter or less. This diffusion is already problematic due to the high energy cost of overcoming the surface tension in microscopic droplets. In addition to the energy cost, there is the mechanical problem of using extremely small nozzles with highly saline and corrosive seawater. One way to solve this problem is to mix fresh water with seawater in the right proportion. If, for example, we have adjusted our nebulization system to produce droplets with a diameter of one tenth of a millimetre, we find that this nebulization can be produced at relatively low pressures and therefore with low energy costs. However, droplets with a diameter of 0.1 millimetres have a terminal velocity of 0.27 m / s. Once these droplets are sprayed into an upward air stream with velocities greater than, for example, 1 m / s, they will begin to rise and start a process of evaporation which, when complete, will leave behind a salt crystal. When mixing fresh water with sea water in a ratio of 10,000 to 1 , the 0.1 - millimetre-diameter droplets will leave behind a sodium chloride crystal measuring 0.4 micrometres of length. This microcrystal has a sedimentation rate of 2 or 3 centimetres per hour (see figure 4) or approximately 6 micrometres per second.

[0074] In other words, it is an aerosol and is very unlikely to fall to the ground. However, as it rises in the atmosphere due to convective winds, this microcrystal will serve as a concentration nucleus for a microdroplet of water or ice. Saline microcrystals of sufficiently small dimensions form the basis of ultra-bright clouds.

[0075] Experiments initiated to cool Australia's coral reef barrier, and projects in the Arctic to prevent melting and in the Caribbean to reduce the risk of hurricanes have had uncertain results. All of them use a technique of launching microdroplets from a marine platform such as a ship. The problem with these procedures is that, after the nebulization is released into the air, the air mixes with the cloud of microdroplets. Part of the volume of the droplets evaporates upon contact with the air, causing the air to cool adiabatically. As the air cools, its density increases relative to the ambient air and it tends to fall towards the sea surface, taking with it all the nebulization produced. There, the newly formed droplets fall back into the sea in liquid form. This makes the whole process inefficient, since the aim is to release the microdroplets into the lower layers of the atmosphere where they should evaporate.

[0076] With the method according to the invention, a dispersion of water droplets is provided in an upward air stream so that, even though the air cools and becomes denser due to the evaporation of the water, the induced currents continue to push the air mass with the droplets upwards. The first step of our method consists of generating an upward air current in the place where we intend to carry out the cooling. Alternatively, it is possible to locate and select upward air currents that occur spontaneously in the natural environment.

[0077] Once the upward current has been obtained or located, we can use an anemometer to measure the vertical component of the velocity of that upward air current. Once the vertical velocity is known, we can derive the diameter of the water droplet whose free fall velocity is equal to that upward velocity. Using the graph in figure 5, we obtain the corresponding critical diameter. The critical diameter can vary from day to day and even from hour to hour or in shorter periods of time as the vertical velocity of the upward air current varies.

[0078] Fourthly, our nebulisation devices (e.g. the nebulization system, power, flow and pressure) must be adjusted so that they produce a dispersion of droplets whose diameter is equal to or less than the calculated critical diameter.

[0079] Fifthly, the nebulization is injected into the rising air and we observe whether the droplets rise and evaporate completely. If evaporation is complete, the water flow can be increased.

[0080] Sixthly, we can increase the water flow until we reach the point where the number of water droplets in the air stream is so high that they do not evaporate completely. This is detected simply by observing the trajectory of the droplets from their injection, ascent and subsequent descent. If evaporation is not complete, some of the injected liquid will fall to the ground.

[0081] Special case for extremely arid or desert areas. In such areas, we find the following conditions:

[0082] -very high temperatures

[0083] -very low relative humidity

[0084] -little or no availability of fresh water

[0085] -almost completely mineral soil.

[0086] In this case, given that the soil is not fertile, we can use a portion of the land to which we will add seawater. Preferably, we will choose a relatively flat and impermeable piece of land. Alternatively, the land can be artificially waterproofed. Once prepared, seawater is brought in through pipes or channels, normally using hydraulic pumps, unless the chosen area is below sea level, in which case the water could be brought in without pumping. Once the land is flooded with seawater, a marshy area similar to a salt lake is created. A flat vertical structure is built on this land, for example a wall or a curtain that is perpendicular to the sea breeze, which means that the wall is usually parallel to the coast or to the prevailing wind. When the sea breezes begin to blow, an updraft will form around the vertical wall. From here, we apply our method, i.e. we measure the velocity of the updraft and calculate the size of the water droplets that need to be nebulized so that they are carried by the updrafts until they evaporate. During the night, sea breezes are replaced by land breezes blowing from the land to the sea. These breezes are less warm but drier, and the evaporation process can be carried out in the same way using the other side of the vertical wall, as this is where the upward wind currents will form.

[0087] As the droplets in this case are seawater, at the end of the evaporation process a sea salt crystal will form, composed mainly of sodium chloride. Once formed, this salt crystal will fall back onto the water in the salt lake, where the salt will quickly accumulate. If the crystal is small enough, its sedimentation rate will be very low and it will remain suspended in the air, forming a marine aerosol that will promote condensation and cloud formation.

Claims

CLAIMSClaim 1Device for cooling the environment by means of the evaporation of a nebulization of water droplets (5) arranged in an upward air stream (4), said droplets being carried and lifted by the upward air stream and remaining suspended and immersed in the air in which said droplets evaporate, said evaporation of the droplets causes cooling and humidification of the air, characterised in that the upward air stream (4) is formed by the interposition in front of the incident wind (1 ) of a horizontal elongated element (2) with a vertical surface facing perpendicularly to the incident wind (1 ).Claim 2Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the vertical surface facing perpendicularly to the incident wind (1 ) of the horizontal elongated element (2) has a horizontal edge with a cutting angle, said edge limiting the vertical surface at the top of the elongated element (2).Claim 3Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the vertical surface facing perpendicularly to the incident wind (1 ) of the horizontal elongated element extends from the upper horizontal edge to the ground where it rests.Claim 4Device according to claim 3, characterised in that the boundary layer of the flow detaches at the upper horizontal edge and a turbulent flow (8) is induced.Claim 5Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the vertical surface is tangent to a cylindrical surface (10), which cylindrical surface is in turn tangent at the other end to the horizontal surface of the floor, so that the variation in slopes is gradual. Claim 6Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the cylindrical surface has a hyperboloid-shaped section.Claim 7Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the diameter of the water droplets from the nebulization is less than the diameter of a water droplet whose terminal velocity in free fall in the air would be equal to the velocity of the upward air current (4).Claim 8Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that it contains a water pumping system (6) with adjustable flow and pressure and a nebulization system (7) which is adjustable.Claim 9Device according to claim 1 in which the water used for droplet nebulization is seawater, grey water or contaminated water.Claim 10Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the water used is a mixture of fresh water and sea water.Claim 11Device according to claim 10, in which the mixture of fresh water and sea water is made in a volume ratio of more than 10,000 volumes of fresh water per volumeof sea water.Claim 12Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the incident wind is the sea breeze and the vertical wall, the elongated element, is arranged perpendicular to said breeze.Claim 13Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the device operates at night with land winds blowing in the opposite direction to the sea breezes, using the opposite vertical surface of the long, narrow element to deflect the incident land wind upwards.Claim 14Device according to claim 1 , characterised in that the horizontal elongated element with a vertical surface facing perpendicularly to the incident wind is the dam of a reservoir.Claim 15Device according to claim 14, characterised in that the reservoir forms a marsh that is filled with seawater.Claim 16Device according to claim 13, in which the nebulization is carried out with the seawater stored in the reservoir and the evaporation of the water from the droplets ultimately leaves a salt crystal that falls back into the reservoir, where the salt accumulates as the water evaporates, characterised in that the system can be used for salt production.Claim 17Method of cooling and humidifying the environment by means of water evaporation, including: detecting an incident wind (1 ), interposing a vertical wall (2) opposite the incident wind perpendicular to it, forming a natural upward air current (4) by the interaction between the incident wind (1 ) and the vertical wall (2), measuring the vertical component of the upward current velocity, using the vertical component of the upward velocity to determine the critical diameter of the equivalent droplet whose free fall limit velocity would be equal to the upward velocity, adjusting the water nebulization systems (6, 7) to produce droplets with a diameter equal to or less than the calculated critical diameter, injecting a nebulization of droplets with a diameter equal to or less than the calculated critical diameter into the upward stream.

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