Reviewing and designing an atmospheric water generator.
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
Location:
P1 OPINNÄYTTEET D 2019 Moradi Zavie Kord
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Authors
Date
2019
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Creative Sustainability
Language
en
Pages
94
Series
Abstract
In recent decades, as a result of climate change and mismanagement, water scarcity and drought has become more frequent, affecting both the humans and the biodiversity drastically. As a result of such phenomena, more research has been done to find an alternative sustainable way of obtaining fresh water for afforestation and drinking water for human and animal consumption (Klemm et al., 2012), one example of such systems is Atmospheric Water Generator or AWG. This study aims to design and improve AWG. The collector will be used for rehabilitating the dry land and affected ecosystem due to water scarcity. To reach this aim, a literature review and comparison between existing methods of generating water from the atmosphere (i.e. active and passive) has been made in addition to studying other sources of inspiration such as plants and insects that collect water from the atmosphere. The comparison between the collectors was based on the systems advantages and disadvantages, including their total water yield and final water cost per litre. The results showed that the active systems have the highest yield, but their high system complexity and need for external energy source (i.e. electricity) acts as obstacles when they need to be deployed to a remote area where locals do the maintenance and monitoring. In passive collectors (i.e. fog and dew collectors), the dew collectors have the lowest yield compared to the fog collectors. Still, they have the most economical installation and maintenance cost in addition to having a straightforward and easy to maintain system. By improving the Dew condenser design, the total yield of the system will be improved, and the final water cost will be further reduced. Based on the comparison results and nature inspiration (plants and insects), different versions of dew collectors were made and tested in a chamber. The results showed that the funnel-shaped condenser (cone angle of 60°) with additional edges at the bottom is the most efficient way of collecting and condensing water from moist air. Further study and testing are required to fully evaluate the improved dew collector since the tested model in the dew chamber were scaled, and factors such as Infrared emissivity and ground heat flux were not considered. The future test should include 1:1 full-scale model of the collector in a site that meets the dew condensation parameters.Description
Supervisor
Jalas, MikkoThesis advisor
Jalas, MikkoKeywords
atmospheric water generator, active water collector, passive water collector, dew collector design, radiative cooling collector, AWG