The Experiment of Producing Freshwater from the Air Using Thermoelectric Cooler for the Need of Drinking Water in a Lifeboat

Abstract

A limitation of freshwater supply in a lifeboat during sea survival situation caused by a ship accident could endanger survivor’s life. An availability of freshwater is critical for people to survive during search and rescue time. Therefore, it is very important to have a device that can produce freshwater continuously in a lifeboat. A capacity of the lifeboat is around for 20 people. In this research, four model of atmospheric water generator (AWG) namely Model I, Model II, Model III, and Model IV has been designed, fabricated, and tested. All models are tested for one hour with humid air flow is 20 cfm. The atmospheric condition is 78% relative humidity and 30 0 C temperature. The cooling process in AWG device use a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). Based on the result of experiments, the Model IV atmospheric water generator has a best result. The Model IV can produce 53 mL/hr of freshwater. By using 6 sets of the Model IV AWG, a total 7.63 liter/day of freshwater could be produced in that lifeboat. The electricity power supply for those AWG is served by 4 solar panels which each produce 295 WP. The electricity energy from solar panels is saved in 9 power storages or batteries which each has 100 AH and 12 V voltage