Clean Technology Firm Taps 3D Printing for Irrigation

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Clean Technology Firm Taps 3D Printing for Irrigation

AquaRoot Technologies’ innovation system uses biodegradable polymers to enable farmers to make customised irrigation pipes on site.

Founder Vincent Farrelly has a technology background, having worked for over 20 years in life sciences and biotechnology in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe.

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Source: Irish Examiner

His idea recently won the Irish heat of 2017 Climate LaunchPad, after AquaRoot travelled to Cyprus to compete in the finals of the competition which looks for the world’s best green business ideas. Mr Farrelly’s idea stemmed from his interest in polymers and plant biotechnology.

He began to look at the use of polymers in irrigation systems to find out if expandable foam could be used to make pipes on site using “very basic 3D printing”.

The AquaRoot platform will allow pipes for irrigation and drainage to be produced rapidly and more economically than current systems.

“We’re looking at the typical farmer who wants to create customised tubing or pipes whenever they want to,” he said. Having received some funding, the company has worked with Athlone Institute of Technology to develop different types of polymers with different functions.

“Like a tree root, it delivers water to and from, and takes water out of the soil. You can print on the surface of the ground, on concrete, asphalt or inject it into the soil, where it expands and behaves like a sponge. You can pull water out and pull water using capillary pressure or a suction pump. It’s just a new way of bringing liquids in and out from one place to another,” he said.

The system uses a “very basic” form of 3D printing — extruding out the polymer compound to form a shape.

Once the substance is exposed to air, it expands to about 50 times its size and forms a honeycomb-like structure which the water can flow through like a sponge. “You can also create a bore in the pipe into which you can flow fluid or water through. This forms near instantaneously, and within seconds you’ve got a structure,” he said.

AquaRoot’s first structure is a very simple tube through which water can be drawn.

“We provide the equipment for the farmer or irrigation specialist and they actually make the pipes on site. These things form very quickly and the idea is that you can actually plant seeds into them and you can grow plants in them,” he said.

As far as Mr Farrelly is aware there is no system like AquaRoot on the market.

The potential environmental benefits are promising, especially in areas prone to drought or water restrictions. As the system allows for targeted watering and fertilisation of plants, it can provide big reductions in the use of water, fertilisers and pesticides.

Read full article: Irish Examiner

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