Debre Tabor University

Faculty of Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION
EARTHS WATER

Salt Water Fresh

97% Water
3% Polluted
Water Treatable

75% Water
25%

30%
Remaining
70% Fresh
Locked in Water
Polar Ice
Cap

Source: World Bank

 OVER 70% OF OUR EARTH IS COVERED BY WATER OUT OF WHICH 97% IS UNDRINKABLE
SALT WATER.

ONLY 3% OF OUR EARTHS WATER IS FRESH70% IS LOCKED IN POLAR ICE CAPS; 30% IS IN
LAKES, RIVERS AND UNDERGROUND, OF WHICH 75% IS POLLUTED.

ONE FIFTH OF THE WORLD POPULATION LACKS SAFE DRINKING WATER.

EIGHTY PERCENT OF ILLNESS IS CAUSED FOR HUMAN BECAUSE OF CONTAMINATED

DRINKING WATER.

Sources: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

IS THERE A SOLUTION TO THE DRINKING WATER CRISIS?

THE SOLUTION IS AIR TO WATER

There-fore we selected a title for this problem is

EXTRACTION OF WATER FROM HUMIDITY

PRESENT IN AIR
(or)
ATMOSPHERIC WATER GENERATOR
ETHIOPIA
 INTRODUCTION
Ethiopia is located in africa's horn where drought and politics are two leading causes of water

shortage. In a study conducted by water.Org they found that "42% of the population has

access to a clean water supply" and only "11% of that number has access to adequate

services". In rural areas of the country, these figures drop even lower, resulting in health

problems in the villagers. In ethiopia most of the areas have the relative humidity is quite high

(around 70-80%). So, the air in those places can be used to meet the water needs of people by

using a dehumidifier unit.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF AIR TEMPERATURE, RELATIVE HUMIDITY
The capacity of air to hold water increases as air is warmed, and decreases as air is cooled
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the project is to design and develop a new generation

AWG that is able to produce 10-20 litres of water daily in various climate

conditions, and can deliver water in conditions below 30% relative humidity

which can be used to meet the water requirements of a regular household.

 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Assessment of demand, supply, daily water usage
To design an innovative system for obtaining clean drinking water from air.
To develop a portable device that can be used to meet the water requirements.
To test the developed one in different place of south Gondar region.
Optimization of energy requirement with the end goal of powering the device with
renewable energy.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
Vapour compression refrigeration system, can be utilized to generate fresh drinking water by
extracting water from humid ambient air by using cooling condensation process. In a cooling
condensation based atmospheric water generator, a compressor circulates refrigerant through a
condenser and an evaporator coil which cools the air surrounding it, lowering the airs temperature to
that of dew point and causing water to condense. A controlled-speed fan pushes filtered air over the
coil. The resulting water is then passed into a holding tank with purification and filtration system to
keep the water pure.
 As per mr. Ajinkya wankhade, prof. Dr. Harish u. Tiwari the atmosphere contains a large quantity of water in
the form of water vapor and this endless source of water can be recovered for general drinking purpose. A new
innovative method available for extracting water from air is adsorption refrigeration(ar). Adsorption
refrigeration is clean source of energy and uses environment friendly refrigerants. Moreover, adsorption
refrigeration systems can be driven by low temperature heat source. The present work is focused towards the
design and development of refrigeration system for producing water from air for 6 minutes cycle on the
working principle of adsorption system by using activated carbon and ammonia selected as working pair.
Amount of water collected from the system depends upon the atmospheric conditions (like dbt, dpt, and rh)
and the amount of air blown on the evaporator.
 S.T.Wankhede, suraj petkar, nikky anand, A.H.Ingle the problem of water scarcity is also observed in other
places of the world due to lack of rainfall. However, in highly humid areas such as places close to the sea,
water can be obtained by condensing the water vapour present in air. Here, the paper presents the method to
develop a water condensation system based on thermoelectric cooler. The system consists of cooling elements,
heat exchange unit and air circulation unit. A solar cell panel unit with a relevant high current output drives the
cooling elements through a controlling circuit. Atmospheric water generator is a device that can convert
atmospheric moisture directly into usable and even drinkable water. It is such a device which uses the principle
of latent heat to convert molecules of water vapour into water droplets.
 Sahil doshi, shubham chaudhari, saheel aitwade, ratan singh, and C. P. Waykole the lack of clean
drinking water is one of the key issues facing the world today. The water in many countries is of
poor quality creating a big demand for bottled water where the economic means are available. For
underdeveloped countries this has led to the death of millions while it in the industrialized world has
meant a big increase in consumption of bottled water which has had a big negative effect on the
environment. There have been some efforts in trying to develop an applicable technology as a
solution to the water problem.
AWG CONCEPT GENERATION
 SCOPE
This system can be used as dehumidifier also. This can be used from moderate to high capacity and more water
produced by using higher capacity compressor, condenser, and evaporator.

This reduce humidity levels in climates where high humidity levels create uncomfortable conditions in homes
or buildings.

This water extractor purifies water for drinking. These units produce distilled water that is perfectly safe to
drink.
 EXPERIMENTAL SITE

The proposed project meant for debre tabor university and other

areas where we found most humidity present in air in Ethiopia

 PROJECT PLAN
PROJECT NAME ATMOSPHERIC WATER GENERATOR
NO OF WEEKS

ASSESMENT

DESIGN

TASK
DEVELOPMENT

TESTING

OPIMIZATION
COST ESTIMATION
S. Items Unit Quantit Unit Total
No. y price price
(Birr) (Birr)

I Stationery
1 Laser jet printer cartridge No. 1 900 900
2 Re-writable CD Pack 15 30 450
3 USB Flash Drive(32 GB) No. 1 720 720
4 Paper (A4 size) Packet 5 100 500
5 Fixer Pencil Packet 4 150 600
6 Fixer lid Packet 2 20 40
7 Note book (Big) No. 4 50 200
8 Marker Packet 1 50 50
9 Pen (Lexi 5) Packet 2 100 200
Sub Total 3660
S. No. Task Items Unit/members Quantity/no of Unit price Total price
days (Birr) (Birr)
II On project
1 Assessment Transportation 3 8 100 2400
Accommodation 3 5 300 4500
2 Design ---------------- ------ ------ ---- ------
3 Development 1/8 Compressor 1 1 2000
Condenser 1 1 2000
Heating coil(400 watts) 1 1 2500

Capillary(10 feet) 1 1 1500

Temperature detector 2 2 2500
Humidity device 1 1 3000
UV filter 2 2 2500
Evaporator 1 1 2000
Water collector 1 1 1000
Compressor base 1 1 1500
Peltier 4 4 3200
Cabin box 1 1 2000
4 Testing Transportation 3 8 100 2400
Accommodation 3 5 300 4500
Sub-Total 39500
5 Miscellaneous 10% contingency 3950
Total 47110