Experimental evaluation of a solar still-assisted TEC-AWG system for atmospheric water generation

摘要

During recent years, water production from atmospheric air has been widely introduced as one of the most promising solutions for providing remote regions with potable water. An experimental investigation was conducted here on a newly designed solar still-assisted thermoelectric cooling atmospheric water generation (TEC-AWG) system in order to evaluate the influence of various operating factors such as solar radiation intensity, ambient and TEC channel outlet temperatures, relative humidity, as well as the effect of insulating the TEC channel, and utilizing photovoltaic power (PV) on water production and system performance. In order to increase the moisture content of the TEC channel inlet air; the incoming air was directed via a solar still prior to its entrance through the TEC channel. Tests were performed under realistic climate conditions of Babol, Iran (36.53 degrees N, 52.67 degrees E), over nine typical summer days. Three sets of comparative experiments were carried out between a backup powered-TEC channel without insulation (Model A as the reference model), a backup powered-TEC channel with insulation (Model B), and a PV-powered TEC channel with insulation (Model C). The obtained results demonstrated average annual production of 845, 2064, and 1315 L/m(2) for models A, B, and C, respectively. These data correlate to 144.3 (for Model B) and 55.6 (for Model C) increase in average annual production. Maximum average annual production of 2064 L/m(2) which was acquired during Model B experiments, is higher than that of reported for a simple solar still (i.e., similar to 1511 L/m(2)). Additionally, system performance (i.e., the ratio between the generated water and consumed power); of 0.07, 0.20 and 0.30 mL/Wh was obtained for models A, B, and C, respectively. These data imply the superiority of Model B in terms of water production and Model C in terms of system performance. Comparing the system preperformance results of the models B and C with some previous studies, demonstrates the viability of the current design and therefore, the present newly designed setup can be effectively utilized as a reliable AWG device.