Atmospheric Water Harvesting Nears Commercial Viability
Atmospheric water harvesting, a promising solution to global water scarcity, is advancing towards commercial viability. Recent developments focus on integrating and optimizing energy-efficient systems, with a new study in Joule exploring this transition from lab prototypes to commercial systems.
Atmospheric water harvesting follows two main routes: condensation and sorption systems. Condensation systems cool air to its dew point and collect liquid water, but they are less efficient in dry conditions. Sorption systems, on the other hand, capture water vapor in a sorbent and release it with heat, but they require suitable heat sources.
To bridge the gap towards commercial realization, researchers are focusing on integrating and optimizing energy-efficient systems. Recent progress emphasizes the combined use of heat pumps as a shared energy source for both condensation and adsorption methods. This hybrid approach enhances energy efficiency and operational synergy, making atmospheric water harvesting a more viable option.
The study calculates the minimum energy required for both routes across different climates and heat source temperatures. It emphasizes the importance of economics and scenario-first design for commercializing this technology. A unified platform using a heat pump as a common energy backbone could further improve efficiency and reduce losses in these systems.
With climate change fueling longer and more severe droughts, leading to shrinking reservoirs and erratic rainy seasons, atmospheric water harvesting could potentially become a dependable water source. The recent progress in energy-efficient systems and the focus on commercial viability bring this technology a step closer to addressing the global water scarcity issue affecting over 2 billion people.
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