Feasibility study of atmospheric water harvesting augmented through evaporative cooling

dc.contributor.authorKgatla, Lesedi
dc.contributor.authorGidudu, Brian
dc.contributor.authorChirwa, Evans M.N.
dc.date.accessioned2023-03-22T06:08:19Z
dc.date.available2023-03-22T06:08:19Z
dc.date.issued2022-09-22
dc.description.abstractThe water harvesting potential of atmospheric water generators (AWGs) in high-altitude semiarid regions can be diminutive relative to the water generation capacity. Operational parameters for the dehumidification process can be augmented to increase atmospheric water in the defined zone available for harvesting. In this paper, the feasibility of augmenting the microclimates of AWGs at the point of air extraction through an evaporative cooling system (ECS) was investigated. Water yield and capacity utilisation were measured from two AWGs piloted on a plant in Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa. This was implemented between December 2019 and May 2021. The study revealed that although the ECS did impact the operating parameters through decreasing temperature and increasing relative humidity (p < 0.05), variance in water yield was not significant (p > 0.05). Capacity utilisation of the AWGs remained below 50% after augmentation. Cooling efficiency of the ECS ranged between 1.4–74.5%. Energy expenditures of 0.926 kWh/L and 0.576 kWh/L for AWGs 1 and 2 were required under pristine conditions, respectively. Under the modified conditions, energy expenditure decreased to 0.855 kWh/L for AWG 1, but increased/L to 0.676 kWh for AWG 2. ECS is deduced to not be a feasible intervention for augmenting water harvesting potential for AWGs in this semiarid zone.en_US
dc.description.departmentBiochemistryen_US
dc.description.departmentChemical Engineeringen_US
dc.description.departmentGeneticsen_US
dc.description.departmentMicrobiology and Plant Pathologyen_US
dc.description.librarianam2023en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe University of Pretoria and the Sedibeng Water in Water Utilisation Engineering.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/wateren_US
dc.identifier.citationKgatla, L.; Gidudu, B.; Chirwa, E.M.N. Feasibility Study of AtmosphericWater Harvesting Augmented through Evaporative Cooling. Water 2022, 14, 2983. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14192983.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2073-4441
dc.identifier.other10.3390/w14192983
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/90166
dc.identifier.uriDOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.22027721.v1
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.rights© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.en_US
dc.subjectAtmospheric water harvestingen_US
dc.subjectCapacity utilisationen_US
dc.subjectWater yielden_US
dc.subjectEnergy consumptionen_US
dc.subjectAtmospheric water generators (AWGs)en_US
dc.subjectEvaporative cooling system (ECS)en_US
dc.subjectClean water and sanitation
dc.subject.otherSDG-06: Clean water and sanitation
dc.titleFeasibility study of atmospheric water harvesting augmented through evaporative coolingen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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