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Biomass Gasifier-Powered Adsorption Chiller for Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Prospects in Developing World

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Advances in Energy Research, Vol. 1

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Energy ((SPE))

Abstract

The availability of potable water is one of the emerging challenges of the twenty-first century. This problem is more acute in arid, semi-arid regions, and population centers because of the continuous dropping of groundwater levels and increasing pollution of surface water bodies. In this regard, atmospheric water harvesting (AWH), i.e., cooling of the ambient air for moisture condensation is a promising alternative. AWH allows us to obtain clean drinking water in regions geographically far away from the sea, rivers, and other water bodies. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop relevant off-grid and environmentally friendly AWH systems. Here, we investigate the potential of a biomass gasifier-powered adsorption refrigeration system for AWH. We develop a thermodynamic model to estimate the water harvesting performance of this adsorption-based AWH system. Ambient climate conditions and crop residue availability in various developing countries are considered to quantify the AWH potential of this system. We show that the proposed AWH system can satisfy the potable water requirement (drinking and cooking) of around 19, 16, 12, 4, and 7% of the populations in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and India, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, through the Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana scheme. We also acknowledge New Leaf Dynamic Technologies (P) Ltd. New Delhi, India, for providing technical details of their adsorption refrigeration system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal and Fluid Transport Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihta, 801103, Bihar, India

    Bathina Chaitanya & Rishi Raj

  2. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihta, 801103, Bihar, India

    Ajay D. Thakur

Authors
  1. Bathina Chaitanya
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  2. Ajay D. Thakur
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  3. Rishi Raj
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Correspondence to Bathina Chaitanya .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Suneet Singh

  2. Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Venkatasailanathan Ramadesigan

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Chaitanya, B., Thakur, A.D., Raj, R. (2020). Biomass Gasifier-Powered Adsorption Chiller for Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Prospects in Developing World. In: Singh, S., Ramadesigan, V. (eds) Advances in Energy Research, Vol. 1. Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2666-4_44

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2666-4_44

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2665-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-2666-4

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