Systems and methods for generating liquid water from air

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023390696-A1
Application number	US-202318206473-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 6, 2023
Priority date	Nov 20, 2014
Publication date	Dec 7, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

This disclosure includes systems and methods for extracting water vapor from atmospheric air and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, systems and methods for optimizing liquid water production from air, in some instances, taking into account diurnal variations. The systems comprise an adsorption zone and a desorption zone, an actuator to move a desiccant between the adsorption zone and the desorption zone. The liquid water production is optimized based, at least in part, on measurements of one or more of: an ambient air temperature, ambient air relative humidity, and a level of solar insolation.

First claim

1 . A system for generating water from air comprising:
a hygroscopic material configured to be exposed to process air and a regeneration fluid; wherein the hygroscopic material captures water from process air and releases water to the regeneration fluid; a thermal unit configured to provide thermal energy to the regeneration fluid; a condenser configured to receive the regeneration fluid to produce liquid water from the regeneration fluid; a controller configured to control a liquid water production rate.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust exposure of the hygroscopic material to process air and the regeneration fluid.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust exposure of the hygroscopic material to the regeneration fluid based on an amount of electrical power generated by a solar power unit.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust exposure of the hygroscopic material to the regeneration fluid based on amount of thermal energy generated by the thermal unit.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a variation in solar insolation; adjust exposure of the hygroscopic material to process air and the regeneration fluid in response to the variation in solar insolation.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control a liquid water production rate of the system based on an amount of electrical power generated by a solar power unit, an amount of thermal energy generated by the thermal unit, ambient air temperature, ambient air relative humidity, and a level of solar insolation, or a combination thereof.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control a liquid water production rate of the system based on a level of solar insolation, a level of humidity in the process air, a diurnal variation, or a combination thereof.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control a liquid water production rate of the system based on an ambient condition measured in real-time, a forecast ambient condition, or a combination thereof.

9 . The system of claim 1 , where the controller is configured to control a liquid water production rate by controlling:
a flow rate of the process air; a flow rate of the regeneration fluid; a rate of exposure of the hygroscopic material to the process air and the regeneration fluid; or, a combination thereof.

10 . The system of claim 1 , where the controller is configured to adjust a system operational parameter in response to a low amount of available thermal energy from the thermal unit, a low amount of electrical power available from a solar power unit, or a combination thereof.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to operate without an external source of electrical power.

12 . The system of 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to capture data indicative of:
an ambient air temperature; an ambient air relative humidity; a temperature of the regeneration fluid; a relative humidity of the regeneration fluid; a temperature of the process air; a flow rate of the process air; a flow rate of the regeneration fluid; or, a combination thereof.

13 . The system of claim 12 , where in the controller is configured to control a liquid water production rate based, at least in part, on the data captured by the sensor.

14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the thermal unit is a solar thermal unit comprising at least one transparent layer configured to allow sunlight to enter the solar thermal unit.

15 . The system of claim 1 , comprising an absorber configured to absorb thermal energy from sunlight and provide at least a portion of the absorbed thermal energy to the regeneration fluid.

16 . The system of claim 1 , where the condenser is configured to transfer thermal energy from the regeneration fluid in the regeneration fluid path downstream of the hygroscopic material to air in the process airflow path upstream of the hygroscopic material.

17 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a recovery heat exchanger configured to recover thermal energy from the regeneration fluid otherwise lost to the environment through the condenser.

18 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a second hygroscopic material configured to transfer water from regeneration fluid in the regeneration fluid path downstream of the condenser to regeneration fluid in the regeneration fluid path upstream the condenser.

19 . The system of claim 1 , where the regeneration fluid flows in a closed-loop path.

20 . A method for generating liquid water from air, the method comprising:
exposing a hygroscopic material to process air to capture water; flowing a regeneration fluid in a thermal unit to capture heat; exposing the hygroscopic material to the regeneration fluid to release water to the regeneration fluid; receiving, in a condenser, the regeneration fluid to produce liquid water from the regeneration fluid; and controlling, with a controller, a liquid water production rate.

Assignees

• Univ Arizona State

Inventors

• Friesen Cody
• Switzer Elise
• Lorzel Heath

Classifications

• B01D53/261 Primary

  by adsorption · CPC title

• B01D53/06

  with moving adsorbents, e.g. rotating beds {(B01D53/025 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• E03B3/28

  from humid air (condensing of vapours in general B01D5/00; dehumidification of air for air-conditioning F24F3/14) · CPC title

• B01D53/0454 Primary

  Controlling adsorption (controlling temperature swing adsorption B01D53/0462, controlling pressure swing adsorption B01D53/047) · CPC title

• C02F1/325

  Irradiation devices or lamp constructions · CPC title