Abstract
Water is, arguably, Earth's most valuable and vital resource. Devices that extract water from the atmosphere have been intensely researched as a means of harvesting potable water in environments where it is otherwise scarce. One such device is a Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC); a device that utilises the Peltier effect to cool a system. TECs are a promising solution for atmospheric water generation (AWG) over their competitors due to their simplicity and refrigeration capabilities. Despite these advantages, TECs are still considered mostly inefficient as they demand relatively high costs and energy consumption. This meta-analysis focuses on optimising the efficiency of small-scale Peltier devices. It explores the means of optimising the liquid cooled heat sink by using a specific flow field microchannel configuration such that less pumping power is required to push the coolant and more energy can be saved. A combination of optimal operating current of the Peltier device and of a novel flow liquid-cooled microchannel heatsink configuration with bifurcated fins using Galinstan as a coolant promises a significant increase in water production per unit of energy consumption for the AWG system.
Highlights
Atmospheric water generation has become increasingly popular in the developing world where potable water is scarce and electricity production is limited [1,2,3,4,5,6]
This meta-analysis was conducted with the aim of investigating how the efficiency of a heat sink for Peltier devices could be optimised for use in Atmospheric Water Generators
A review of various experimental results established that decreasing the temperature differential between the Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) hot and cold sides (ΔT), in conjunction with cooling the hot side close to the ambient temperature, is directly related to achieving higher water production
Summary
Atmospheric water generation has become increasingly popular in the developing world where potable water is scarce and electricity production is limited [1,2,3,4,5,6] In these climates, Thermoelectric Coolers (TECs) are commonly used as they provide a feasible and sustainable solution to the growing demands of the inhabitants [3,4,5, 7,8,9]. A common alternative are desalination plants, due to their capability of efficiently transforming undrinkable water into potable water Whilst they are effective, the technology they operate on is expensive to produce and maintain, suggesting that they are not a feasible, long-term solution to the world’s water scarcity dilemma [1, 6]. Modern investigations explore the cooling condensation method, rather than a refrigerant circulating, the system utilises the Peltier effect to more efficiently cool the water capture surface [4, 5, 10]
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