High Water Vapour Harvesting Capacity for Deployable Solar-Driven Atmospheric Water Generator
Access to clean water is a growing issue throughout the world. Roughly 844 million people, in mostly underdeveloped African nations, do not have clean water. Even larger industrialized nations rely heavily on the use of bottled water, creating unnecessary plastic waste. Common processes of water pur
2025-06-28 16:27:40 - Adil Khan
High Water Vapour Harvesting Capacity for Deployable Solar-Driven Atmospheric Water Generator
Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject SummaryAccess to clean water is a growing issue throughout the world. Roughly 844 million people, in mostly underdeveloped African nations, do not have clean water. Even larger industrialized nations rely heavily on the use of bottled water, creating unnecessary plastic waste. Common processes of water purification, such as nanofiltration and reverse osmosis desalination, are extremely energy intensive and create waste from the extracted impurities in water. An attractive alternative to deliver clean drinking water is atmospheric water generation. There is an estimated 13 trillion liters of water captured in the air as vapor, providing great potential for clean water generation. The most widespread technique for capturing atmospheric water is to use cooled surfaces to condense the water vapor. It is desired to implement such a system in a hydroponic greenhouse to take advantage of its controlled high humidity level. Many underdeveloped parts of the world already have greenhouses or access to the resources to build one, so the use of atmospheric water generation is extremely attractive. Several refrigeration technologies can perform this function. The vapor compression cycle is the best alternative to generate clean water, given its high efficiency, ability to operate with large work requirements, usage of safe and environmentally friendly refrigerants, and close control of the cycle output. This project investigates the design parameters for a vapor compression cycle used to generate 500 cc of water per hour, including the working fluid, condenser and evaporator surface areas and heat loads, and compressor power.
The working fluid decided upon is R-1234ze, a new HFO refrigerant that was chosen due to its low operating pressures, low global warming potential, and similar performance to the commonly used HFC refrigerant, R-134a. R-1234ze operates between pressures of 179 kPa (1.79 Bar) on the evaporator side and 780 kPa (7.8 Bar) on the condenser side. This results in overall conductance (UA) values for the condenser and evaporator of 21.43 W/K and 34.57 W/K respectively. This was achieved with a calculated condenser length of 0.67 meters and an evaporator length of 0.32 meters resulting in heat extraction of
345.7 W and heat rejection of 460.7 W. The compressor work to achieve these values is 115.6 W. These values dictated system design, component purchasing, fabrication, and assembly.
Utilizing optimization techniques for nonlinear systems of equations, such as the Lagrange multiplier technique, one may arrive at a higher system efficiency, however, due to time constraints, this method was not deployed in this study. This is a point that requires further research and development in order to design and build the most efficacious solution.
Project ObjectivesThe major aim or objective of our project is to provide safe and clean drinking water to those areas which are facing water shortage problems or where water transportation through regular means is expensive (especially rural areas) and water produced by AWT is safe and healthy not only for drinking purpose but also suitable for irrigation purpose. Our project hopes to reduce this problem in areas of Pakistan specially it can overcome the problems in deserts of our land i.e., cholistan, thar and thal so by providing an atmospheric water generator that will run or stand-alone renewable source of energy i.e., either solar or wind.
Project Implementation MethodIn this project we will make a device which will produce water by atmosphere and, that water produced is healthy and pure. Water produced can be use for drinking purpose and even it can also be use for irrigation.
Benefits of the Project4 – Benefits
- Live Off-Grid
Off-grid living is sometimes a result of inconvenient circumstances, but other times it is purely by choice. To escape the costs and politics of living on public utilities, many families choose to use alternative methods of energy and water collection.
- Water to Go
Industries which require travel, such as the military, can use an atmospheric water generator to create water when resources run low. Setting up camp in a desert, or a region where there is little safe drinking water is much simpler when you have a device like ours to continuously supply hydration.
- Its Cheap & Easy to Maintain
One of the biggest advantages of Atmospheric Water Generators are the cost efficiency of the device. While the immediate cost may outweigh the price of purchasing portable water from a retailer at first, the overall value improves, and a net gain is seen within a short time period. Another benefit of this method of water retrieval is no additional operating expenses, and because the atmospheric water generator is autonomous, there are no electric bills.
- Emergency Water Solutions
Finally, a major reason to implement an atmospheric water generator is for emergency and medical purposes. Having one of these units handy during recovery efforts can help source drinkable water for families, store supplies, medicine and blood, alongside other necessities. Whether you are living in a remote area, or your job is taking you to a place where living conditions are less than favorable, we’ve got you covered when it comes to clean drinking water.
Technical Details of Final DeliverableFinal Year Project will be deliverable with in the due date given to us by the University. It will be in the month of july this year approx. 25th of july, this project will be deliverable.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry FoodOther Industries Health Core Technology Clean TechOther Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals Clean Water and SanitationRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 68000 | |||
| DC Inverter | Equipment | 1 | 15000 | 15000 |
| Compressor | Equipment | 1 | 9000 | 9000 |
| Condensor | Equipment | 1 | 9000 | 9000 |
| Evaporator | Equipment | 1 | 23000 | 23000 |
| Water Tank | Equipment | 1 | 5000 | 5000 |
| Water Taps | Equipment | 2 | 450 | 900 |
| Air Filter | Equipment | 1 | 2500 | 2500 |
| Ozone Generator | Equipment | 1 | 1600 | 1600 |
| Pump | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| Fan | Equipment | 1 | 1500 | 1500 |