An innovative Solar-Power fed atmospheric water Generator: Quantity and quality Assessments
Mohammed Thushar Imran, Sharif Mohd Shams, Azraf Nafi Barshan, Farook Sattar, AKM Azad, Monzur Alam Imteaz
Abstract
• An innovative atmospheric water generation system was developed and tested. • The system used a thermoelectric cooler powered by solar energy. • The system was able to produce 0.8333 ml h −1 W −1 at 66 % relative humidity. • Among contemporary similar systems, the current system’s capacity is highest. • Some indicative bacteria are present in most of the collected samples. This paper presents the generation of an alternative source of clean water through the Atmospheric Water Generation technique. A customised design using a thermoelectric cooler, powered by a renewable energy source, was used for this purpose. The system is powered by a 65-watt solar panel coupled with piezoelectricity generation utilising the mechanical power of pedestrians. As piezoelectricity production was diminutive, it was only used to supply energy to a low-power appliance. Several customized designs, as well as systematic orientations of the prototype, were examined under varying temperatures and humidity to optimise water production. It is found that the best system configuration can produce about 100 ml of water after 6 h of operation at 66 % average relative humidity and an ambient temperature of 31 °C. The water generation was a complete off-grid solution using solely solar power. As per the accumulated water-to-power input ratio, the proposed system has the maximum water generation capability (0.8333 ml h − 1 W − 1) amongst the contemporary systems. The drinkability of accumulated water samples was tested considering the Heterotrophic Bacterial and total Coliform counts, accompanied by a comparison between tap water and distilled water.