Stand-Alone Atmospheric Water Generator.

Stage 1:
Preliminary Design Of Components And System
Academic year 2024-2025
TU Delft – ME – BSc Mechanical Engineering
WB2543: Process Engineering and Thermodynamics

Project group: Groupmembers:

- N. Barten
- J.P. Hartman
- L. Honselaar
- M.Q.A Ijkema
- R. Noorland
- L.D.E Smit
Project Supervisor: E. Zanetti
Date: December 6, 2024
 C ONTENTS

I Introduction 2

II Thermodynamics 2
II-A Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
II-B Evaporator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
II-C Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
II-D Condenser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
II-E Expansion valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
II-F Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

III Refrigerant 7
III-A Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
III-B Choosing Refrigerants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
III-C Refrigerant of Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

References 10
 I. I NTRODUCTION
In 2022, around 2.2 billion people in the world lacked direct access to clean drinking water [1]. This leads to, among other
things, a million preventable deaths due to diarrhoea. Out of these million people, 395,000 are children under the age of five.
This is just one of the many consequences of unsafe drinking water.

While there is water all around us, in fact around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of that water is not
drinkable, with 96.5% of that water being in the oceans[2]. This water can be accessed through desalination, which already is
the main source of water for around 300 million people in the world[3].

However, desalination cannot be used in places that lack oceans or another source of salt or brackish water. For such areas, we
can find water in the air around us. The air is full of fresh water that can be accessed using an atmospheric water generator
(AWG). This machine, with the use of a power source like solar panels, can harvest water out of the air.
[?] The goal is to design an AWG that can be used to provide a source of clean drinking water for remote communities with
insufficient access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, it could also serve as a solution for scientific expeditions that remain
in a location for an extended period with no access to clean drinking water.

In order to make sure the AWG is working optimally in most conditions, climate data was gathered from all types of climate
as seen in table I.

TABLE I
C LIMATE DATA [?]

Location (City, Country) Avg.RH Avg. Solar Energy/day (KWh/m2 ) Max.T (C) Min.T (C) Avg.T (C) P.atm (Pa)
Delft, Netherlands 0.8033 3.502 18.1 4.1 10.8 101325
Mexico stad, Mexico 0.5692 6.206 18.7 13.4 16 77229.41
Luxor, Egypt 0.399 6.856 33.4 14.2 25.1 100296.29
Trondheim, Norway 0.8025 2.776 14.6 -4.5 4.4 99861.94
Dubai, UAE 0.5175 6.386 35.7 19.4 28.2 101141.34
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 0.8575 4.556 26.3 25.1 25.8 101070.52
Punta Arenas, Chili 0.7608 4.198 9.0 1.4 5.3 100903.04
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei 0.81 4,872 27.3 25.9 26.6 101290.36
Kabul, Afghanistan 0.558 6,369 25.6 -2.9 12.4 81415.66
Moscow, Russia 0.7558 4,339 20 -8 5.7 99795.13

As table I shows, there are large ranges in every category, so there is a lot to keep in mind when designing the AWG. Such
as the low atmospheric pressure in Mexico City, the low relative humidity in Luxor or the lack of solar energy in Trondheim.
Going forward, the table above will be used to calculate water generation in each location.
II. T HERMODYNAMICS

The first step of designing an atmospheric water generator is determining the different boundary conditions as well as
understanding the concept of heat transfer and the refrigeration cycle for this problem. These steps are important for the
further process of designing the generator as a whole. In the first part of this chapter these values will be calculated using
a number of assumptions. furthermore the design of the different components that make up this refrigeration cycle will be
included in this chapter.

Understanding the refrigeration cycle

The atmospheric water generator makes use of a refrigeration cycle to cool down the incoming airflow. This can be visualized
in the T-s diagram that is depicted below. This diagram shows the four different processes that make up the cycle.
The first process is isothermic and shows the evaporator, this is from four to one in the diagram and this process can be
changed so that the refrigerant can be superheated. After the evaporator the next step is the compressor, which adds energy
to the system. It’s used to increase temperature of the refrigerant so that it later can be cooled down. It’s the step from one to
two in the diagram. The third step is the condenser. This is the process that cools the refrigerant down and makes it a liquid
again. It’s depicted as the process from two to three and proceeds isobaricly. The end temperature can be decreased so that
subcooling can be achieved, as seen in figure 1.
 Fig. 1. T-s diagram of the refrigerant cycle

The last process is from three back to four in the diagram. It’s function is to expand the refrigerant. This causes a pressure
difference between the processes. A pressure difference is needed to run the cycle. This process proceeds isenthalpicly and
takes place in an expansion valve.

Understanding the psychometric chart

In addition to the refrigeration cycle another important diagram is the psychometric chart. The chart gives a relation between
the temperature of the air, the relative humidity, the dew point and the specific humidity. The relative humidity is the amount
of water in the air with respect to the maximum amount of water that can be present and described as a percentage [4].

The dew point of air is important to know. It determines the temperature at which condensation is possible. It depends on the
air temperature and the relative humidity. To obtain the dew point the formula 1 can be used [5].

17.625·Ta
(243.04 · (ln RH
100 ) + 243.04+Ta )
Tdew = 17.625·Ta
(1)
(17.625 − ln ( RH
100 ) + 243.04+T a
)
In which:
Tdew = The temperature of the dew point
RH = The relative humidity
Ta = The Temperature of the air

The last component of the psychometric chart is the specific humidity. This is defined as the weight amount of water per
kilogram of air [6]. The specific humidity can be determined using the psychometric chart in figure 2.
 Fig. 2. The psychometric chart(Moran’s)

A. Assumptions
To begin the process of designing and calculating, the first step is to make a number of assumptions. Without these, numerical
calculations cannot be made, or will be difficult without the appropriate software. So the first step is to define values and make
assumptions to simply the problem. These assumptions will later be used in the different calculations.

First of all the assumptions made for the refrigeration cycle. The processes from four to one will run isothermic and from two
to three will run isobaric as shown in figure 1.
B. Evaporator
The first component of the refrigerant cycle that needs to be looked into is the evaporator because of it’s importance regarding
the water production.

Fig. 3. Schematic of an evaporator

An evaporator makes use of a refrigerant that streams through pipes that go back and forth. On the outside of these pipes,
air is free to flow. This causes heat transfer between a cold refrigerant and the warmer air. An optional component of an
evaporator are fins. These fins increase the the surface area and thus the heat transfer. To calculate the amount of water that
 can be produced through condensation, the difference in specific humidity can be multiplied by the mass flow rate of air, As
seen in equation 6. An equation for the mass flow rate of air as seen in equation 2 can be found [7]. To compute this two
things are needed. The first is the heat transfer from air to the refrigerant in the system. The second thing is the latent heat
of air. The Heat transfer can be calculated using equation 3. The latent heat can be found by computing equation 5. For the
heat transfer a temperature difference is needed between the begin and end temperatures of the air. To calculate the average
temperature difference equation 4 is needed [8]. Adding this all together the mass flow rate of air can be found, and thus the
mass flow rate of water.

The amount of water that can be produced is crucial to know because of the knowledge as to where the atmospheric water
generator can be used to produce the needed amount of water. Besides the operating window with the mass flow rate of water
the rest of the system can also be calculated or designed.

ṁa = Q̇cv /∆h (2)

In which:
ṁa = The mass flow rate of air
Q̇cv = The heat transfer from the air to the refrigerant
∆h = The change in enthalpy over the cooling of air

Q̇cv = U A · ∆Tlmn · ηf in (3)

In which:
Q̇cv = The heat transfer from the air to the refrigerant
U = The heat transfer coefficient of an evaporator
A = The surface area of the outside of the evaporator
∆Tlmn = Temperature difference
ηf in = Efficiency of the fins of the evaporator

(TH − TC )I − (TH − TC )O
∆Tlmn = (4)
H −TC )O
ln[ (T
(TH −TC )I ]

In which:
∆Tlmn = Temperature difference
THI = Hot temperature of the air at the inlet
TCI = Cold temperature of the air at the inlet
THO = Hot temperature of the air at the outlet
TC = Cold temperature of the air at the outlet

∆h = (ha2 + ω2 · hv2 ) − (ha1 + ω1 · hv1 ) (5)

In which:
∆h = The change in enthalpy over the cooling of air
h2a = The partial enthalpy of air at the outlet
ω2 = Specific humidity at the outlet
hv2 = The partial enthalpy of the water vapour at the outlet
ha1 = The partial enthalpy of the air at the inlet
ω1 = Specific humidity at the inlet
hv1 = The partial enthalpy of the water vapour at the inlet

ṁw = (ω1 − ω2 )˙˙ma (6)

In which:
ṁw = The mass flow rate of water
ω1 = Specific humidity at the inlet
ω2 = Specific humidity at the outlet
 For various initial values the water production can now be calculated by using the above equations 2-6. In figure 4 the results
are displayed for a temperature of 10.8°C. These values are calculated with a U A = 50 and ηf in = 80%.

Fig. 4. Daily Water Production

In figure 4 lines for different relative humidities can be seen. The line of for example 80% and a end temperature of 3°C
produces about three liters of water per day. This is because of the high relative humidity and the low end temperature.
C. Compressor
To select an appropriate compressor which will generate enough pressure increase, it is necessary to understand how different
compressors function and how it is used in a refrigeration cycle. In a refrigeration cycle, low pressure incoming refrigerant
from the evaporator is compressed, to generate a high pressure refrigerant gas. As a result, temperature and enthalpy of the
hot refrigerant gas will increase and then flow to the condenser. Assuming an isentropic compression, the following formulas
are used:
h2s − h1
ηc = (7)
h2 − h1
In which:
ηc = Isentropic compressor efficiency
h2s = enthalpy at state 2 after isentropic compression
h1 = enthalpy at state 1
h2 = enthalpy at state 2

Q̇out
Q̇out = Ẇcomp + Q̇in =⇒ = h2 − 2h1 + h4 (8)
ṁ
In which:
Q̇out = rate of heat transfer from the refrigerant passing through the condenser
Ẇcomp = rate of power input from refrigerant flowing
Q̇in = rate of heat transfer to the refrigerant passing through the evaporator
Q̇out
ṁ = rate of heat transfer from the refrigerant per unit mass of refrigerant flowing
h2 = enthalpy at state 2
h1 = enthalpy at state 1
h4 = enthalpy at state 4
 Using the results from calculating the latent heat and mass flow rate of water, it is possible to define the required pressure
difference that is needed to compress the refrigerant. This can be used for selecting the optimum compressor.
D. Condenser
The condenser is responsible for cooling the refrigerant so that it transitions from a vapor into a liquid. This phase change is
necessary to prepare the refrigerant for the next stage of the cycle, the expansion valve.

The working principles of a condenser is similar to that of an evaporator, but in reverse. It is a heat exchanger that cools
the refrigerant with air. To improve effectiveness, the cold air leaving the evaporator is used to maximize the temperature
difference.

The size and shape of the condenser is dependent on a couple of parameters: The pressure, temperature and mass flow of the
refrigerant from the outlet of the compressor. The outlet temperature and mass flow of the air from the evaporator. And also
the liquid saturation temperature of the refrigerant.
To find the necessary heat transfer we can rewrite equation 2:

Q̇cv = ṁR /∆h (9)

In which:
Q̇cv = The heat transfer from the refrigerant to the air
ṁR = The mass flow rate of the refrigerant
∆h = The change in enthalpy of the refrigerant

The necessary change in enthalpy can be calculated by subtracting the liquid saturation enthalpy from the enthalpy of the
refrigerant at the outlet of the compressor
∆h = hsat − hin (10)
In which:
∆h = The change in enthalpy of the refrigerant
hsat = the liquid saturation enthalpy of the Refrigerant
hin = the enthalpy from the refrigerant coming in the condenser
E. Expansion valve
The expansion valve regulates the flow of refrigerant to lower the pressure so evaporation can occur. There are a multiple types
of expansion valves, the most probable options are:
A capillary tube which has a constant throat diameter,
a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) regulates the flow to have a constant outlet temperature at the evaporator so the evaporator
does not get to hot or to cold,
an electric expansion valve that can be regulated by the flow rate, temperature or pressure.
F. Conclusion
III. R EFRIGERANT
A. Introduction
Essential to the AWG is the refrigerant. This is the fluid/gas that takes care of the cooling down of the air, so that the air starts
to condensate. In this chapter is explained what key factor are to a refrigerant and how the refrigerant is chosen that the AWG
will be using.
B. Choosing Refrigerants
When choosing the right refrigerant four factors are at play: thermodynamic properties, safety, environmental impact and cost.

First the refrigerants are chosen by safety. The safety of refrigerants can be classified based on the toxicity and the flammability
as seen in table II. So an refrigerant marked with a safety level A3 has a Higher flammability and a Lower toxicity.
Secondly the refrigerants are chosen by the environmental impact of the refrigerant. The two most common ways to measure
this is by the Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and the Global Warming Potential (GWP). Because the most ozone depleting
refrigerants are widely phased out, only the GWP value is looked at. The GWP measures the ratio of global warming caused
by, in this case, a refrigerant to the warming caused by the same mass of CO2.
 TABLE II
R EFRIGERANT C LASSIFICATION BASED ON F LAMMABILITY AND T OXICITY.

Safety Group
Flammability Lower Toxicity (A) Higher Toxicity (B)
Higher Flammability A3 B3
Lower Flammability A2 B2
A2L* B2L*
No Flame Propagation A1 B1
*A2L and B2L are lower flammability refrigerants with a maximum burning velocity of ≤10 cm/s.

A1
A2L
A2
0-10
A3
10-1000
B1
1000-
B2L
B2
B3

Fig. 5. Safety label

Fig. 6. GWP of A1 refrigerants

Third, the refrigerant is chosen on the basis of its thermodynamic properties. One of the thermodynamic properties to look
at is the normal boiling point temperature(NBP). This property in combination with the temperatures of the warm and cold
regions determines the pressure in the evaporator and condenser. So, the Ph-diagram is a good way to look at the suitability
of a refrigerant [7]. Secondly the specific heat capacity is one of the thermodynamic properties to look at. The specific heat
capacity shows how much heat is necessary to increase the temperature of the refrigerant [9]. Having a high specify heat
capacity means that the refrigerant needs a high amount of energy to become hotter.

Lastly the cost is a factor taken into account while choosing a refrigerant. To minimize the cost of our setup it is necessary
to choose a refrigerant below a certain price.
C. Refrigerant of Choice
The choice of refrigerant was made based upon a large list of different refrigerant and their properties [10]. There are almost
an infinite number of refrigerants, but this list contains the most relevant ones.
The refrigerant is needed to be as save as possible because the AWG is meant for private individuals and therefore it is
necessary that it is save to add refrigerant to the AWG without special care. That is why only the refrigerants with safety level
A1 are selected. As seen in figure 5 this is leaving a little bit more than half of the refrigerants to choose from.

After excluding some refrigerants because of their safety level, the GWP will be looked at. Because of the goals of providing
water in a sustainable manner, a refrigerant with a very low GWP is preferable. So only the refrigerants that have a GWP
lower than 10 are selected. As seen in figure 6 there are only a few refrigerant that meet the requirements. To be precise of
the list containing 368 refrigerants, only nine remain.

In table III the left over refrigerants are shown. Now looking at each individual one and their thermodynamic properties and
which one suits the AWG the best. First looking at the critical temperatures of the refrigerants. The critical temperature is
the temperature that a substance cannot be liquefied [11]. Working below the critical pressure of a substance is favourable
 TABLE III
P OSSIBLE R EFRIGERANTS

Type ASHRAE number IUPAC chemical name Critical temperature °C

H R-13I1 Trifluoroiodomethane 123.3
R-704 Helium -267.96
R-720 Neon -228.75
R-728 Nitrogen -146.9
R-732 Oxygen -118.6
R-740 Argon -122.4
R-784 Krypton -63.8
R-744 Carbon dioxide 31.04

Fig. 7. ph-diagram

because the phase of the refrigerant can change, this causes the heat to change the state of the refrigerant rather then rising it’s
temperature. On the other hand the refrigerant can’t go below 0°C this would cause some of the water in the air to instantly
freeze and possibly get stuck to the fins of the evaporator. As seen in table III this only leaves two possibilities: R-13I1 and
R-744.

With only two refrigerants left the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerants will be looked at further. The refrigerants will
be evaluate on three factors: how much work is needed for the refrigerant to function, how much heat they can absorb and
at what pressure levels they work. Using a ph-diagram as seen in figure 7 the working points are determined. Firstly the heat
absorbed by the refrigerant is calculated using formula 11 [7]. This formula is rewritten to calculate the needed mass flow of
the refrigerant. The Q̇in is retrieved from the heat that is released from the condensed air as calculated in formula 3. Secondly
using this mass flow the work needed to increase the pressure of the refrigerant (i.e to go from point one to point two) is
calculated using formula 12. The enthalpy of point two is calculated using the isentropic compressor efficiency as seen in
formula. Lastly the pressure levels can be read from the graph 7 [7].

Q̇in = ṁ(h1 − h4 ) (11)

.

Ẇcomp = ṁ(h2 − h1 ) (12)

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