Universal scalable sorption-based atmosphere water harvesting

Abstract

Air water harvesting (AWH) is a prospective way to make people live in extreme conditions, such as arid desert and remote islands. However, the refrigeration-based AWH suffers from ineffectiveness at low humidity, while the current sorption-based solar driven AWH has low area specific water production. To provide affordable water, it is essential to design universal and scalable systems to effectively capture moisture from air year-round with less energy consumption at different locations. Here we develop a theoretical framework and demonstrate a scalable prototype on the sorption-based AWH. The prototype adopts a temperature-insensitive and RH-broadband desiccant, achieving a large water harvesting capacity in different regions. Scalable modular sorbers with sinusoidal honeycomb structure are used. The prototype harvests ca. 38.5 kg fresh water per day, consuming ca.7.2 MJ heat/kg fresh water. The performance analyses show that our device can harvest freshwater universally, which is a promising solution to relieve the thirsty world.