Professional Documents
Culture Documents
*e-mail: A.alahmer@ttu.edu.jo
Received December 4, 2016
Abstract—It presents a method to extract pure water from atmospheric air, which depends on intensifying the
water vapor from the air. The plant was designed to perform the optimum levels to produce high quality water
with minimal electricity consumption. The harvesting water was inspected and analyzed based on ISO/IEC
17025 method to check the purity of water. This study also investigates the potential of a solar powered using
for atmospheric water generation (AWG) as a new option for fresh water production. A proposed solar AWG
unit was assembled, analyzed and modeled using HOMER software. The results demonstrated that the water
produced by the water extraction plant is pure, safe, economical, and acceptably tasting. It can be used as
drinking water after treated by filter and disinfected by Ultra Violet Light (UV) technique. The feasibility
analysis showed that there is a potential to adopt solar powered of AWG as strategic and alternative option for
a small area; which is suffering from a shortage of drinking water.
DOI: 10.3103/S0003701X18020044
110
UTILIZING OF SOLAR ENERGY FOR EXTRACTING FRESHWATER 111
found that many interesting methods have been devel- gel, Activated alumina and Molecular sieve 13 X. The
oped to harvest the water from different perspectives results showed the maximum quantity of water pro-
and modelling schemes. For example, Hall [10] pro- duced by silica gel is 4.57 times of molecular sieve 13 X
posed a cycle for producing water from atmospheric and 8 times that of activated alumina [21].
air by absorption technique using ethylene glycol as a As it was mentioned above, several investigators
liquid desiccant with subsequent recovery of the have studied to extract water from atmospheric air. In
extracted water. Also, he studied the effects of tem- general, there are two basically approaches: the first
perature and humidity on the recovered water. The one basically depends on solar energy, and it is
results were presented in the form of a composition reported that the energy consumption is highly due to
psychometric chart. However, the paper does not pro- low conversion efficiency. Another approach for
vide any information about the mass of the recovered extraction water from atmospheric air is by cooling
water [8]. Another relevant work was conducted by moist air to a temperature lower than its dew point
Sofrata, [11] constructed a non-conventional system where moisture condensation takes place, is per-
to extract water from air based on an adsorption pro- formed by absorption of water from the moist air into
cess, byusing of a solid desiccant. Similarly, this paper a solid or liquid desiccant with subsequent separation
examines the feasibility of the application of air condi- of water from the desiccant by heating and condensa-
tioning systems for collecting water from moist air by tion of vapor [8, 15, 22]. The results showed that the
cooling it to a temperature lower than the dew point. second system is economic. This comparison was car-
Alayli [12] used a typical S-shaped composite material ried out when solar energy was used as the power sup-
for absorption of moisture from atmospheric air with ply to derive any of the two systems, with the use of
subsequent regeneration using solar energy. On the LiBr absorption cycle for the cooling system and
other hand, Hamed [13–15] tested two methods to applying calcium chloride as the working desiccant for
extract water from atmospheric air using solar energy. the absorption and regeneration system.
The first method based on cooling moist air to a tem- The main purpose of this paper is to provide solu-
perature lower than the air dew point using a solar tions for water supply in regions that suffer from short-
LiBr–H2O absorption cooling system, while the sec- age of fresh water, and suffer from polluted and/or
ond method based on the absorption of moisture from contaminated water though investigates the potential
atmospheric air during the night using CaCl2 solution of using a solar powered for atmospheric water gener-
as a liquid desiccant, with subsequent recovery of ation (AWG) as a new option for fresh water produc-
absorbed water during the day. The findings of this tion. This manuscript describes the techniques of
study revealed that the second method was recom- extraction of water form atmosphere introduction sec-
mended as a most suitable application of solar energy tion. System description section illustrates the system
for water recovery from air. This method is strongly component and presents a comprehensive description
recommended for climatic conditions with high tem- of water treatments using different filters. The experi-
peratures and humidity such as in the coastal regions mental results were introduced in the experimental
of the United Arab Emirates. Kabeel [16] investigated results section. The solar air water generation (AWG)
a possible technique for obtaining fresh water based on simulation and feasibility analysis was discussed in
the process of cooling and dehumidification of air solar water generation section.
conditioning. The process was analyzed and the oper-
ating parameters were optimized to maximize the con-
densate output. However, Awad et al. [17] described SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
the application of a simple vapor-compression refrig- Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the atmo-
eration cycle for cooling moist air to a temperature spheric water generating system, it consists of the fol-
lower than its dew point where moisture condensation lowing parts: fan, condenser unit, evaporator, and res-
takes place. ervoir tank. The air water harvesting units work
In addition, a theoretical model for the selection of according to these steps; (i) air is passed through an
the optimum cooling temperature was developed. electrostatic filter, removing 93% of all air born parti-
Gandhidasan and Abualhamyel [9, 18] investigated an cles; (ii) this clean humid airflow passes through a
analytical procedure for calculating the mass of condensation unit receives (cooled coil) to reduce the
absorbed water from atmospheric air using a liquid air temperature, which leads to reduce capacity of air
desiccant as a function of meteorological data and ini- to carry water vapor, and then causing water vapor to
tial desiccant conditions. Kumar and Yadav [19, 20] condense; (iii) during the air water generating appara-
tested a composite desiccant material “CaCl2/Ver- tus collects the water, it drops it into a collection tray
miculite/Saw wood” for the water generation from and immediately passes through Ultraviolet (UV)
atmospheric air under Indian climatic conditions, the light, where it stays in contact with UV rays for
results showed that the maximum amount of water approximately 30 min. This kills over 90% of all germs
generated during the experimental days has been and bacteria in water; (iv) water harvesting is then
reached up to 195 mL/kg/day. The same authors pumped through a sediment screen, and then through
tested different materials of desiccant named Silica two solid blocks activated carbon micron filters,
δRi = ∂R δxi .
Test duration, h 8h 8h
(2)
Average temperature, °C 18 26
∂xi
The relative variation in R is
Average RH, % 62 53
δRi 1 ∂R δx
δxi = i ∂R i .
x
Water generation, L 9.5 8 = (3)
R R ∂xi R ∂xi xi
60
Temperature, qC
0.8 25
6
Clearness index
20
0.6 40
15
4
0.4 10 20
5
2
0.2 0 0
Nov
Jan
Feb
Aug
Sep
Dec
Jun
Jul
Oct
Mar
Apr
May
0 0 Month
Feb
Sep
Jan
Aug
Nov
Dec
Jun
Jul
Oct
Mar
Apr
May
Tavg, qC Tmin, qC
Daily radiation Clearness index Tmax, qC RH, %
Fig. 2. Monthly average of the total solar radiation and Fig. 3. Monthly averaged temperature (°C) and relative
clearance index. humidity (RH %) in Amman city.
11
10
9
Primary load 1 8
Power, kW
200 kWh/day 7
Grid 25 kW peak PV 6
5
Converter 4
3
Resources AC Other DC 2
Solar resource Economics 1
System control 0
Jan
Feb
Sep
Nov
Dec
Jun
Jul
Aug
Oct
Apr
Mar
May
Emissions
Constraints Month
PV Grid
By introducing the notation for relative uncer- SOLAR AIR WATER GENERATION (AWG)
tainty, we obtain FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
PV kW 40 40
Convertor kW 30 30
Grid kW 200 200
Initial Capital $ 41.500 179.900
Operating cost $/kW h 1.115 1.113
Cost of energy (COW) $/kW h 0.06 0.208
Renewable Fraction % 0.74 0.74
SYSTEM MODELING around thirty six times more than the water cost from
AND RESULT ANALYSIS DISI project.
AWG units were powered using photovoltaic cell The feasibility analysis showed that it is not feasible
generator (PV), the supplysystem was analyzed by the to adopt AWG option as strategic and alternative
hybrid optimization model for renewable energies option for the domestic water supply as DISI project
(HOMER) commercial software was developed by due to water production cost, also the size limitation.
NREL. The system modelling was based on the site But this option could be used as strategic and alterna-
information, and energy demand from the product tive option for a drinking water purposes.
data sheet. The main assumptions were taken can be According to the 2009 Population and family
summarized as follows. health survey, 31% of households in Jordan use bottled
The cost for the PV system was assumed: water as primary source of drinking water [26]. There
1500 $/kW. The electricity tariff: 0.08 $/kW h (middle are many bottled water products in the Jordanian mar-
tariff for domestic sector). Operation hour is 8 h. The kets, and the cheapest option of bottled water is from local
electricity price escalation: 4%. The inflation rate: 7%. filtered water industry; which costs around (0.08 $/L),
this cost will increase by increasing water tariff, elec-
On the other hand, there are many limitations, that tricity, and fuel.
can be summarized as follows.
AWG offers a drinkable water with a competitive
There is enough available area for the PV system, price to the bottled water price. And this technology
but in practice it’s not always available for the individ- will be more feasible if we take the feed in tariff for the
ual and residential projects. excess electricity in consideration. Also, if there is a
The excess electricity will not be sold to the grid reduction initial investment, and this could be by proj-
(because the grid purchase just a limited quantity ect scaling and localized technology. Figure 6 shows
based on the total consumption and generation, and to COW versus initial investment reduction %.
avoid exceed this limited amount of energy the study
The human health and environmental side effect
assumed there is no sale back electricity).
should be taken into consideration; AWG offers a
Figures 4 and 5 and Table 2 show the system con- drinkable water without health and environmental
figuration and simulation results. The analysis shows
that the best PV size is 40 kW, this size will cover
around 74% of the AWG unit load, and the gap will be Table 3. Cost of Water (COW) analyses
filled from the national grid. The levelized cost of elec-
Unit output (L/d) L/d 1722
tricity (COE) is 0.06 $/kW h as shown in the Table 2.
To calculate the levelized cost of water production Unit output L/8 h 574
(COW), the capital cost of the AWG unit (138.500 $
from email communication) add to the PV system cost, Nominal Power kW 25
the new COE that depicted in Table 2 was used to calcu-
late COW, and the result presented in the Table 3. Total Power kW h 200
The analysis shows that the cost of water produc- Cost of Electricity (COE) $/kW h 0.208
tion from AWG is (0.07 $/L). This cost is higher than
normal water tariff and the actual operation cost. For Total Cost of Energy (TCOE) $/kW h 41.6
example actual water cost from DISI project around
Cost of Water (COW) $/L 0.07
(1.93 $/m3) [25]. This means the water cost from AWG
0.05
from air and low operating costs will make a radical
0.04 change in solving the problem of drinking water-sup-
0.03 ply shortage in Jordan, and open new perspectives for
agriculture and the elimination of desertification in
0.02 countries where water shortage is abundant.
0.01 The analysis of the generated water from air shows
0
that the generated water is drinkable. However, due to
0 20 40 60 the very low value of total dissolved solids T.D.S.
Capital cost reduction, % which does not exceed value of 16.51 mg/L, so it is
necessary to increase this value through adding miner-
Fig. 6. Cost of water (COW) vs. initial investment reduc- als, although to the levels of bottled water in Jordan
tion %. which is in the range of 120–180 mg/L.
The study showed that the solar driven AWG tech-
side effects as bottled water and the filtered water nology is technically feasible and it can be worked on
industry. For example, the widespread use of chemical Jordanian weather conditions.
treatment for water as chlorine has been proven to have The feasibility analysis show that it’s not feasible to
hazardous side effects if taken excessively, the bottle adopt AWG option as strategic and alternative option
re-use has a health concerns, and disposal or accumu- for domestic water supply as RDS project. But this
lation of non-biodegradable as bottle poses the envi- option could be used as strategic and alternative option
ronment. for a drinking water purposes.
The results of analysis of atmospheric water gener- AWG offers a drinkable water with a competitive
ation (AWG) were compared to some popular water price for the bottled water. And there is a high poten-
bottles sold in Jordanian market and it is presented in tial to reduce this price if we take the feed in tariff for
Fig. 7. It is cleared that the purity of AWG after filtra- the excess electricity in consideration, or if we go with
tion treatment processes has physical and chemical a large project scale.
parameters perceivable to humans. The AWG technology is more environmental and
health friendly than bottled water.
CONCLUSIONS AWG technology has an enormous advantage in
case of an emergency where all water sources have to
This study applies the approach of adapting air-
water by intensifying water vapor from air to produce be interrupted.
portable water in an economic and feasible way. The All the above mentioned show that there is a high
proposed solar powered system of AWG unit was ana- potential for AWG technology as strategic option for
lyzed and modelled using hybrid optimization model dirking water in Jordan, and we should start immedi-
for renewable energies (HOMER) commercial soft- ately to investigate this technology more.
60
Concentration average, mg/L
AWG
50 Aynan
Al-Asyad
40
AquaPure
30 Ghadeer
Juneidi
20
Nestle
10
0
Ca Mg Na K SO4 CL-1 NO₃ PH
Chemical components
Fig. 7. Chemical concentration parameters for AWG water and popular water bottles in Jordanian market.
Appendix A: Inspection of sample water generation purity using filtration and UV technique
Component Result LRV Unit Method Used
A-BHC <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Lindane <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Heptachlor <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic /ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
D-BHC <0.02 0.02 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Heptachlor epoxide <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
P,P-DDE 0.02 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Dieldrin <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
P,P-DDD <0.02 0.02 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Endosulfan 2 0.03 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
P,P-DDT <0.02 0.02 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Endrin Aldehyde 0.02 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Endrin Ketone <0.01 0.01 ppb Gas Chromatographic/ECD (Ref: CHO-OCP-R*003)
Electrical Conduc- 2 Us/cm Laboratory Method (Ref: CHI-EC-R*004)
25.8
tivity
pH 7.00 N/A unit Electrometric Method (Ref: CHI-PH-R*003)
Calcium 3.21 0.3 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Magnesium <0.3 0.3 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Sodium 1.15 0.3 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Potassium 0.39 0.3 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Chloride <0.5 0.5 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Sulfate 0.48 0.3 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Carbonate 0 0 mg/L Titrimetric Method
Bicarbonate 10.98 8.5 mg/L Titrimetric Method
Nitrate 0.59 0.2 mg/L Ion Chromatographic
Hardness N/A mg/L As Ion Chromatographic Method by Calculation
9
CaCO3
Ammonium 1 0.1 mg/L as NH4 Ammonia Selective Electrode
Turbidity 1.63 0.2 NTU Nephelometric Method (Ref: CHI-TRB-R*003)
Iron <0.1 0.1 mg/L Atomic Absorption Spectrometric (Ref: CHI-MTAA-R*003)
Zinc <0.06 0.06 mg/L Atomic Absorption Spectrometric (Ref: CHI-MTAA-R*003)
Copper 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma /Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Manganese 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Lead 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Chromium 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Cadmium 0.003 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.003
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Nickel 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer (Ref: CHI-MTICP- R*003)
Arsenic <0.005 0.005 mg/L Hydride Generation/Atomic Absorption Spectrometric
Selenium <0.005 0.005 mg/L Hydride Generation/Atomic Absorption Spectrometric
Odor 2 N/A TON Threshold Odor Test
Appendix A: (Contd.)
Component Result LRV Unit Method Used
Total Organic Car- 0.3 mg/L Persulfate-Ultraviolet Oxidation (Ref: CHO-TOC-R*002)
2.26
bon
Aluminium 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
0.02
Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Barium 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Silver 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Antimony 0.005 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.005
Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Fluoride <0.2 0.2 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Nitrite <0.2 0.2 mg/L Ion Chromatographic Method
Mollybdenum 0.01 mg/L Inductivety Coupled Plazma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
<0.01
Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Total Dissolved N/A mg/L Calculation by Factor to EC Ratio
16.51
Solids
Anionic Surfactants <0.02 0.02 mg/L Colorimetric Method
Total Coliforms 1.8 MPN/100 Multiple Tube Fermentation (Ref: MIC-TFC-R*003)
23
mL
Escherichia coli 1.8 MPN/100 Multiple Tube Fermentation (Ref: MIC-TFC-R*003)
<1.8
mL
Mercury <0.15 0.15 ppm Hydride Generation
17. Awad, M.M., Sultan, A.A. and Abd El Raouf, M.M., different desiccant materials, Int. J. Sustainable Eng.,
Using refrigeration systems to extract water from moist 2016, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 390–400.
air, in Proceedings of the 1st UAE Conference on Air Con-
ditioning in the Gulf, ACG, 1996. 22. Hamed, A.M., Aly, A.A., and Zeidan, E.B., Applica-
tion of solar energy for recovery of water from atmo-
18. Gandhidasan, P. and Abualhamayel, H.I., Water spheric air in climatic zones of Saudi Arabia, Nat.
recovery from the atmosphere, Renewable Energy, Resources, 2011, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 8–17.
1996, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 745–748.
19. Kumar, M. and Yadav, A., Experimental investigation 23. Holman, J.P., Experimental Methods for Engineers,
of solar powered water production from atmospheric air 7th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
by using composite desiccant material CaCl2/saw 24. Kumar, D.S., Mechanical Measurements and Control,
wood, Desalination, 2015, vol. 367, pp. 216–222. 3rd ed., New Delhi: Metropolitan, 1989.
20. Kumar, M. and Yadav, A., Composite desiccant material
CaCl2/vermiculite/saw wood: a new material for fresh 25. The Disi Amman Water Conveyance Project.
water production from atmospheric air, Appl. Water Sci., http://courses.washington.edu/cejordan/Disipresen-
2016, pp. 1–9. tation.pdf. Cited Nov. 22, 2016.
21. Kumar, M. and Yadav, A., Comparative study of solar- 26. Department of Statistics, Population and Health Survey,
powered water production from atmospheric air using 2009, p. 21.