Feasibility study of atmospheric water harvesting augmented through evaporative cooling
dc.contributor.author | Kgatla, Lesedi | |
dc.contributor.author | Gidudu, Brian | |
dc.contributor.author | Chirwa, Evans M.N. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-03-22T06:08:19Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-03-22T06:08:19Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2022-09-22 | |
dc.description.abstract | The 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.department | Biochemistry | en_US |
dc.description.department | Chemical Engineering | en_US |
dc.description.department | Genetics | en_US |
dc.description.department | Microbiology and Plant Pathology | en_US |
dc.description.librarian | am2023 | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | The University of Pretoria and the Sedibeng Water in Water Utilisation Engineering. | en_US |
dc.description.uri | https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Kgatla, 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.issn | 2073-4441 | |
dc.identifier.other | 10.3390/w14192983 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90166 | |
dc.identifier.uri | DOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.22027721.v1 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | MDPI | en_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.subject | Atmospheric water harvesting | en_US |
dc.subject | Capacity utilisation | en_US |
dc.subject | Water yield | en_US |
dc.subject | Energy consumption | en_US |
dc.subject | Atmospheric water generators (AWGs) | en_US |
dc.subject | Evaporative cooling system (ECS) | en_US |
dc.subject | Clean water and sanitation | |
dc.subject.other | SDG-06: Clean water and sanitation | |
dc.title | Feasibility study of atmospheric water harvesting augmented through evaporative cooling | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |