On Novembre, 15th, The Global Cooling Prize Committee presented the finalists for the prize: eight groups of researchers, companies, start ups, innovators, presenting breakthrough technologies for room air conditioning.
Among them also Kraton Corporation, a global specialty chemical company, is collaborating with Infosys Limited, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Porus Labs to develop a hybrid cooling solution, NexarCool™ Technology, using a membrane dehumidification system based on Nexar™ polymer.
NexarCool™ technology integrates an electro-osmotic membrane dehumidifier with a water-based direct evaporative cooling system to achieve air conditioning without using any refrigerant.
By applying a small voltage across the membrane dehumidifier system, water vapor from the indoor air is ejected to the outside air, thus making the indoor air dry in the process.
The dry indoor air is then cooled via a direct evaporative cooling process, where the moving air loses its heat to evaporate the water, and in the process, gets cooled. This integrated approach to cooling is expected to have significantly lower energy consumption than conventional air conditioners sold today. Additionally, as no refrigerant is used, the technology has the potential to dramatically lower climate impact.
More information HERE