Atmospheric Water Generation
Leonardo da Vinci said, ??Water is the driving force of all nature.?? Air-moisture is a potential source of a plentiful amount of freshwater that is accessible everywhere and can be easily cooperated with renewable energy source. Freshwater scarcity is increasingly perceived
2025-06-28 16:30:18 - Adil Khan
Atmospheric Water Generation
Project Area of Specialization Mechatronics EngineeringProject SummaryLeonardo da Vinci said, ‘‘Water is the driving force of all nature.’’
Air-moisture is a potential source of a plentiful amount of freshwater that is accessible everywhere and can be easily cooperated with renewable energy source. Freshwater scarcity is increasingly perceived as globally systemic risk. From application’s point of view, an AWG can produce sufficient freshwater under a wide range of weather conditions in an energy-efficient way.
Atmosphere contains large amount of water in the form of vapor, moisture etc. Within those amounts almost 30% of water is wasted. This amount of water can be used by implementing a device like Atmospheric Water Generator. This device is capable of converting atmospheric moisture directly into usable and even drinking water. The device uses the principle of latent heat to convert water vapor molecules into water droplets.
The importance of implementation of technologies for the extraction of water from air results from four main reasons:
1) In many regions drinking water are not available or insufficient
2) In many regions where water is available the water is polluted
3) Tens of percentages of the global population has no access to piped fresh water
4) Infrastructures expansion cannot overtake the rapid growth of the population, the industrial development and developing agricultural needs.
There are mainly four components in vapor compression refrigeration system: a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator. The refrigerant passing through the evaporator absorbs the heat from the air passing over evaporator coil and exits as saturated vapor. Air is cooled below its dew point temperature, when it comes in contact with evaporator coil and condensation occurs. From evaporator, refrigerant will pass through compressor where vapor achieves high pressure and temperature. This high pressure and high temperature vapor refrigerant get condensed into liquid state in the condenser by rejecting the heat to the flowing air stream. Further, the expansion process occurs in capillary tube where pressure and the temperature of refrigerant decreases. A controlled-speed fan pushes filtered air over the coil. The resulting water is then passed into a holding tank with purification and filtration system to help keep the water pure and reduce the risk posed by viruses and bacteria which may be collected from the ambient air on the evaporator coil by the condensing water.
Project ObjectivesObjectives: Atmospheric water generators (AWG) have been addressing the need to provide pure drinking water in recent years in many countries of the world. The device is designed to save the lives of billions of people around the globe suffering from the pollution or shortage of clean drinking water using the enormous amount of moisture available in the air. An atmospheric water generator has the following aims and objectives:
Generation of Water: The primary objective of an atmospheric water generator is to produce potable water from surrounding air. An AWG functions by cooling down air to below its dew point temperature. Once the air is cooled below its dew point, the air becomes saturated with water vapor. The most commonly used AWG systems employ condenser and cooling coil technology to pull moisture from the air. Alternatively, the water vapor can be concentrated using a solid or liquid desiccant or by inducing and controlling convection in a tower structure.
Air Purification and Volatility: In order to ensure the highest quality of water an AWG is accompanied with air and water treatment systems to eliminate suspended particles in the atmosphere and water-soluble VOC (volatile organic compounds). Hence an AWG has the capability to function as an air purifier, water purifier and a dehumidifier besides extracting water from air.
Portability and Compactness: Atmospheric Water generators are greatly scalable and can produce water wherever it is needed in the required quantity for consumption. These units range from home-based units that can produce 1 to 20 liters of water per day to commercial-scale units capable of 1,000 to over 10,000 liters per day. In addition, they are portable and hence can be transported easily. Compactness is one of the distinguished features of an atmospheric water generator when compared to the output of large-scale water treatment plants. AWG technology in comparison requires little or no infrastructure building due to its portability and scalability.
Autonomy: The only inputs for an atmospheric water generator are fresh air and a source of energy. All we need to do is plug the AWG and it starts producing pure drinking water. Control systems engineering is utilized to completely automate the process. Most of the modern AWGs are equipped with internet of things IoT which makes the device convenient, safe and dependable.
Viability: Atmospheric water generators present a viable solution to the problem of water crisis and an alternative to existing water supply system. AWGs producing varying water capacity can also be considered as supplementary resources and logistical assets for consumers and industries that have limited access to water. If we consider the cost of water, transportation costs, the cost of recycling and disposal as in the case of bottled water, AWGs provide a much cheaper solution hence making them economically viable as well.
Project Implementation MethodThe project will extend our working of the optimization and design improvement. The first phase would make sure a plan-to-action schedule is established which will make sure the achievement of milestones and streamline the overall process. The funds will be used to procure the major working components and the designed components shall be ordered. Upon receiving all the requisites, a plan for assembly shall be put forward. This will include thorough diagramatizing and instrumentation.
Since the water production capacities vary from location to location, the system will be tested under various conditions to give the best of sample points for prediction. The new format of heat exchanger will be employed to limit contact of ambient water to the heavy metals which will in turn render a supreme water quality and promise a long life of the machine.
The results shall then be verified and plotted by any available means/working and the conclusive statements will b discussed to the superviser for validation. The target areas of Koppen B climatic regions will limit our working conditions in terms of temperature and humidity. Tentatively, the TDS of the water extracted from air conditions shall be monitored.
Benefits of the ProjectThe project aims at providing a viable solution to the problem of the water crisis in the form of an Atmospheric Water generator. These generators are highly scalable ranging from domestic units producing 1 to 20 liters of water per day to commercial-scale units capable of 1,000 to over 10,000 liters per day. After developing an atmospheric water generator, it is desired to minimize energy consumption and maximize water output compared to other benchmarked devices in the market. The optimization process shall be followed by an improvement in the filtration process and ensure the water fit for drinking. Finally, the operational costs of the device can be reduced drastically by powering it with solar panels. In this way the carbon footprints of the device can be eliminated completely.
With the ever-increasing population and water pollution, the conventional resources of pure water are fast depleting and proving inadequate to meet the challenges. Hence there is an urgent need to develop alternative sources of fresh drinking water to solve the problem of the water crisis. AWGs provide a potential solution to this problem by supplying fresh water independently of existing water resources. The atmosphere is a renewable resource containing 3400 trillion gallons of water at any given time. AWGs use this abundant source of water which otherwise goes unutilized. Water from AWGs creates a self-sustained water supply that bypass toxins found in tap water, and avoids microplastics which seep into store-bought water bottles, at a lower cost and minimal harm to environment. Perhaps the best implementation of AWG is in the case of natural disasters such as hurricanes, drought and earthquakes etc. AWGs eliminate the need of plumbing systems and hence pipe corrosions resulting in contamination issues. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in AWGs as both emergency and long-term pipe solutions.
Technical Details of Final DeliverableFlow process
In a cooling condensation type atmospheric water generator, a compressor circulates refrigerant through a condenser and then an evaporator coil which cools the air surrounding it. This lowers the air temperature to its dew point, causing water to condense and drips downward off the pipes. A controlled-speed air handler blower sucks filtered air over the coil. Now free of moisture, the air passes over the hot condenser/compressor unit and warms back up to its original temperature.
The rate at which water can be produced is a function of many factors includes size of evaporator coil, condenser and the compressor. Atmospheric water generators become more effective as relative humidity and air temperature increases.
Scalability
Size for every need. Due to their large scalability Atmospheric water generators have production capacities ranging from 20 to thousands of liters per day in given conditions. As discuss above rate of water extraction depends upon many factors per requirement. We select the nominal size evaporator coil of dimension 1*1*1 cubic feet produces 20 liters per day, with 0.75 tonneage of compressor load.
Moreover the water obtained termed as purified water (A water which has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use).This water can be used for drinking as it provides purified water free of contamination, chemicals and bacteria having less salt content for a healthy life, it also has other applications in different districts such as pharmaceuticals, food preventions etc.
Atmospheric water generators also been developed to be more environmentally friendly, primarily through the use of passive solar or wind energy.
Specs of Final project
- Stand-alone unit
- Balanced Refrigerant with 1*1*1 ft. Evaporator Coil using Automatic Expansion Valve.
- Controlled-speed air handler blower
- R-134a refrigerant
- 0.75 tr rotary-type compressor
- Dual Cycle system for further advancement and study purposes
- Water-water and water-refrigerant system for added safety for potability
| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 80000 | |||
| Compressor | Equipment | 1 | 16000 | 16000 |
| Copper Coils | Equipment | 1 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Pump | Equipment | 1 | 7000 | 7000 |
| Stainless Steel Tube/sheet | Equipment | 1 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Plumbing | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Air Condenser | Equipment | 1 | 12000 | 12000 |
| Welding Equipment Rent | Miscellaneous | 1 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Refrigerant R-134a | Equipment | 1 | 5000 | 5000 |
| Assembling Requisites | Equipment | 1 | 7000 | 7000 |