(Volume: 2, Issue: 10)
Create potable water from atmospheric air...
Creating potable water out of the moisture contained in the air is on what the Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) are aimed at. Normally, there are several means with which the AWGs produce clean water. Few of them include: (i) The direct cooling of moisture-ridden air below its dew point, (ii) The use of desiccant or hygroscopic materials, which naturally absorbs moisture from the air and undergo heating or similar processes to collect water and (iii) Graviportation, which uses the gravitational force to separate the water from air. However, the conventional AWGs consume about 0.4 Kw of energy to extract just a liter of water from the atmosphere through air compression or heating of the moisture-absorbent materials. Moreover, the incessant supply of water is denied, as the power fluctuations are more common. So, numerous researchers have shown interest in the past to ensure continuous supply of clean water from the AWGs with less expensive means. Very recently, Dr. S. S. Sivakumar and Ms. Jennifer Pandiyan have put forth a Compressed Air Atmospheric Moisture Extractor (CAAME), which involved three components viz. an air compressor, the Ranque Hilsch tube or Vortex tube and an air handling unit. As per the researchers, the incessant supply of water is assured because their air compressor works using hybrid power generation systems, involving both the solar photovoltaics and the power grid. Their methodology was to compress the air, send it to the Ranque Hilsch tube or Vortex tube to split the incoming compressed air into hot air and cold air for further processing. The cold air is then led through an air handling unit containing copper pipes and aluminum fins, which are chilled by a blower fan to condense the moisture in air into liquid droplets. The liquid droplets, when collected are free of any underground or air- borne impurities and serve to be a dependable source of potable water. Future inventors can suggest similar enhanced methodologies of potable water extraction to aid people living in the arid or remote regions and to the descendants, who are certainly going to face water scarcity
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