Clean drinking water out of desert air? This is the kind of innovative thinking that will help makes people’s lives better in the era of resource scarcity and climate change. Enjoy!
For your interest, here is monthly data on the water-from-air
resource in Lima, Peru. The units are for water vapour density [grams of water vapour per cubic metre of air]
Jan 15.2, Feb 16.2, Mar 16.2, Apr 14.3, May 13.5, Jun 12.7, Jul 11.2, Aug 11.2, Sep 11.2, Oct 11.9, Nov 12.7, Dec 14.3
The billboard’s water-from-air machine (or atmospheric water generator) will be a maximum of about 58% efficient at removing water vapour from the air in February and March. In July and August, the machine’s dehumidification efficiency drops to 39%. These efficiency values presume that the chilled surface in the machine is maintained at 5°C.
The energy typically needed by dehumidifiers to condense water vapour into liquid water is approximately 0.4 kWh per litre of product water. Using photovoltaic panels for the energy source with a battery bank to allow 24 hour operation is still considered “too expensive” (except on an
experimental basis) but as solar panel (and storage battery) prices decrease an ideal synergy is possible in the future.
– Roland Wahlgren, Atmoswater Research, Vancouver, Canada
For your interest, here is monthly data on the water-from-air
resource in Lima, Peru. The units are for water vapour density [grams of water vapour per cubic metre of air]
Jan 15.2, Feb 16.2, Mar 16.2, Apr 14.3, May 13.5, Jun 12.7, Jul 11.2, Aug 11.2, Sep 11.2, Oct 11.9, Nov 12.7, Dec 14.3
The billboard’s water-from-air machine (or atmospheric water generator) will be a maximum of about 58% efficient at removing water vapour from the air in February and March. In July and August, the machine’s dehumidification efficiency drops to 39%. These efficiency values presume that the chilled surface in the machine is maintained at 5°C.
The energy typically needed by dehumidifiers to condense water vapour into liquid water is approximately 0.4 kWh per litre of product water. Using photovoltaic panels for the energy source with a battery bank to allow 24 hour operation is still considered “too expensive” (except on an
experimental basis) but as solar panel (and storage battery) prices decrease an ideal synergy is possible in the future.
– Roland Wahlgren, Atmoswater Research, Vancouver, Canada