High-Performance Portable Atmospheric Water Extractor for Extreme Climates

K. Walton
Georgia Institute of Technology,
United States

Keywords: water, water treatment

Summary:

Portable water supply has always been a critical part of any expeditionary tasks, especially in situations where portable or even ground water is scarce. Atmospheric water extraction is a system that can generate portable water, providing more mobile, flexible and self-sufficient operations. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art fog-harvesting and dew systems are limited to operations where high humidity is available. For extreme conditions where portable water is scarce, adsorption-based atmospheric water extractor promises to supply drinking water regardless of the weather conditions. The goal of this work is to develop novel adsorbent materials, and design and optimize a high performance portable atmospheric water extractor to provide sufficient daily portable water supply for individual warfighters in various extreme conditions. This presentation will focus on our recent adsorbent development and scale-up work, with discussions on the current state-of-the-art and challenges to be overcome.