Energy Conversion and Management: G. Raveesh, R. Goyal, S.K. Tyagi

Energy Conversion and Management 239 (2021) 114226
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman
Review
Advances in atmospheric water generation technologies

G. Raveesh, R. Goyal *, S.K. Tyagi
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The availability of freshwater is persistently changing, and the current trends indicate that it is declining very
Atmospheric water generation rapidly, both quantitatively and qualitatively around the globe. Therefore, the shortage of freshwater will pose
Vapour compression refrigeration the biggest threat to mankind, and hence, there is an urgent need to develop and demonstrate new and sus
Thermoelectric cooling
tainable technologies to address the issue. Atmospheric water generation technologies, which generate water
Sorption
Passive radiative cooling
from the air, has been untapped so far and could be an emerging alternative to tackle this issue. However, these
Fog harvesting technologies have been energy-intensive, which actually limits their widespread deployment in the field. The
performance of various technologies has been summarized and compared in terms of their important perfor
mance parameters, constraints and advancements. The technological solutions to some of the current issues,
retarding the growth of these technology have also been identified and discussed. Further, it is found that the
advancement of some of these technologies is still in the nascent stage, and could not emerge as an economically
viable solution. Thus, there is immense scope to explore atmospheric water generation and transform it into a
feasible futuristic solution to water scarcity. Therefore, this review aims to provide the technical insight to re-
examine the available technologies, research gaps and scope for further advancements.
will face severe water stress owing to population growth, unsustainable

consumption of natural resources, economic development, and climatic
1. Introduction changes [9–11]. According to World Resources Institute (WRI), many
developed and developing countries have already entered the top list of
Water scarcity has emerged as one of the potential global issues water stress rankings [12]. Therefore, the scientific community has to
nowadays [1]. Although water fills 70% of our planet, but only 2.5% is look for some alternatives and sustainable water generation technolo
available as freshwater [2,3]. According to a study done by World gies to address water scarcity on an urgent basis.
Health Organisation (WHO), it is estimated that around one-third of the This article presents the recent advances in one of these such tech
global population lacks safe drinking water and more than three billion nological interventions, wherein the water gets generated from the
people have no access to clean water for maintaining hygiene at their moist air, which is widely and freely available in the atmosphere. The
places [4]. More recently, people have realized the critical importance of research and developments in atmospheric water generation (AWG)
clean water availability in the context of the global fight against the reported in the past decade has been inspiring and promising. Many of
ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Further, around four billion people face these are still in their initial stages, enabling researchers to explore more
water shortage at least for a month each year, and nearly half of them and flourish. The research community has made numerous efforts to
live in India and China [5]. Some recent studies also point out that India, address the water-energy nexus of AWG. Therefore, the objective of this
along with China, France and the US, will be left without safe drinking paper is to review the recent advances in AWG technologies and discuss
water by the year 2040, if the consumption of water continues at the them comprehensively. This review also identifies and suggests the so
current pace [6,7]. lutions for the important issues associated with the AWG systems, along
Further, countries that are not known to be arid at present and with future perspectives.
having a reasonable amount of annual rainfall are also facing water
stress nowadays [8]. The majority of water is consumed for power 2. Atmospheric water generation
generation worldwide, and soon a situation may arise when they have to
choose between the drinking water and energy demand [6,7]. It is ex The moisture in the atmospheric air exists as a renewable source of
pected that by the year 2050, more than half of the global population
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rahulgoyal@iitd.ac.in (R. Goyal).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114226
Received 4 February 2021; Accepted 26 April 2021
Available online 8 May 2021
0196-8904/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
G. Raveesh et al. Energy Conversion and Management 239 (2021) 114226
collected by various techniques. In the case of fog, only an efficient

Nomenclature capturing and collecting technique is required, whereas, for water
vapour, a technique to transform the water vapour into a liquid phase is
AWG Atmospheric Water Generation required. One such technique is condensation, in which the saturated
VCR Vapour Compression Refrigeration water vapour is converted into water (Relative humidity ~ 100%) by
COP Coefficient of Performance cooling the air below its dew point temperature. Other techniques are
TEC Thermoelectric Cooling also available and relevant to extract pure water from the moist air.
HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Fig. 1 shows the broad classification of AWG technologies considered in
RH Relative Humidity, % this review.
T Operating Temperature, oC The active refrigeration techniques facilitate forced and controlled
WGR Water Generation Rate, L/h condensation of water vapour but at the expense of high-grade energy
SEC Specific Energy Consumption, kWh/L like electricity. The required cooling below the dew point temperature of
MHI Moisture Harvest Index the air is usually achieved by using conventional refrigeration tech
niques. Therefore, this technology is not feasible for low relative hu
midity (RH) and low-temperature conditions. Another approach uses a
vapour concentration technology with sorbent materials that can work
even at low RH conditions. The energy input required here is the
application of heat to release the captured water vapour. The input
energy for sorption can be assisted with solar radiation, depending upon
the property of the sorbent. The vapour concentration is also possible
with selective membranes that separate the water vapour from other
non-condensing atmospheric gases. The passive techniques for AWG
include fog and dew harvesting but are applicable only at high RH
conditions. Thus it is clear that there is no such universal AWG tech
nology that can be equally and efficiently applied under all climatic
conditions. The psychrometric properties of atmospheric air like RH, dry
bulb temperature, dew point temperature etc., at a given location and
time, decides the choice of appropriate AWG technology. Attempts are
also being made to approach AWG in unconventional ways with the
concept of integrating standalone AWG with other systems. However,
none of the currently available AWG techniques has emerged as an
energy-efficient alternative to freshwater production on a large scale
[27,28].
3. Active refrigeration
In this type of AWG, the atmospheric air is cooled below its dew point
to generate water. The required cooling for condensation is mainly
provided by employing conventional vapour compression refrigeration
(VCR) system or thermoelectric cooling (TEC). Rather than a standalone
system, condensate recovery from Heating, Ventilation and Air-
Fig. 1. Atmospheric water generation technologies. Conditioning (HVAC) system during their seasonal operation may also
be used to obtain water as a by-product. The performance of AWG sys
freshwater, estimated to contain around 1.29 × 1013 m3 of water tems is usually evaluated in terms of its water generation rate (WGR),
[13,14], which can be potentially extracted [15–17]. Atmospheric water giving the amount of water generated per unit time and specific energy
generation is a process that extracts water from the humidity present in consumption (SEC), giving the power consumed to produce the unit
the ambient air. The water thus generated can supplement freshwater amount of water. The ambient temperature, relative humidity, and dew
and may be treated further using filtration and purification processes to point temperature have a significant role in the WGR and SEC, making
make it safer for human consumption. This process does not impact the the performance of these systems highly dependent on climate [29,30].
environment negatively because the humidity removed will be naturally Active AWG systems are energy-intensive, so powering using renewable
replenished by the hydrological cycle. There are many other techniques energy sources will be a sustainable option. Theoretically, the proximity
to supplement freshwater, including but not limited to solar desalina of the inlet air conditions to the saturation curve in a psychrometric
tion, membrane distillation, etc. [18–20], which are in practice world chart estimates the energy demand. The inlet air has to be first sensibly
wide. However, all these techniques require access to conventional cooled to near dew point temperature, and then latent heat has to be
water sources. Besides, the onsite implications of these techniques are removed to facilitate phase change from vapour to liquid. Thus the total
challenging, especially in landlocked regions. Moreover, these tech energy demand comprises sensible cooling demand and latent heat
niques require extensive infrastructure for implementation, involve removal demand. Since the required output is water, the latter is un
wastage and residual products. On the other hand, the AWG technique is avoidable, whereas the former is overburden to the system.
more attractive and easily applicable while operating without any As a result, the contribution of latent load to total cooling load
conventional water sources and extensive infrastructure. In contrast to invested is a critical parameter in determining the economic feasibility
its counterparts, AWG is a promising concept that can supply water in of any AWG process that uses high-grade energy. A simple method to
the event of contamination of existing water sources [21], emergencies assess the energy requirements of AWG technologies using active cool
[22], and resolve the problem of water scarcity, especially in remote, ing was formulated by Gido et al. [15] with the help of the moisture
low-precipitation, and arid regions [23–26]. harvest index (MHI). The MHI can be used as a tool to predict the per
The atmosphere also contains potentially extractable water in the formance of AWG systems, economic analysis, and operational strategy.
form of fog and water vapour, which can be captured, processed and The values of MHI will provide information about unfavourable times,
2
Fig. 2. Integration of climatic chamber with active refrigeration system [36].
where switching to alternate technologies can ensure energy savings confirm the suitability of active refrigeration-based AWG and its better
rather than working with low efficiency. More details about the MHI and performance under hot and humid conditions [29,30,37,38].
its detailed analysis can be found in the reference [15]. Zolfagharkhani et al. [39] developed a mathematical model using a
rigorous computer algorithm without assuming the exit air as saturated
3.1. Vapour compression refrigeration from the AWG system. They conducted parametric studies on a refrig
eration based AWG device. The amount of water generated and the
VCR based AWG is an established technology as it follows the same energy consumed under various ambient conditions were evaluated
working principle as refrigerator and air-conditioner. The moist air en using the proposed mathematical model. For the analysis, the incoming
ters the evaporator section of the VCR system with the help of a air temperature and RH were considered in the range 30–50 ◦ C and
controlled fan. It is then cooled below its dew point temperature and 30–100%, respectively. With the mathematical model results, a case
condenses over the evaporator coil, purified and collected. The water study was also conducted with the climatic conditions (humid, mean
generation depends upon the VCR system’s cooling capacity, the RH-69 to 94%) of a coastal region in Iran. The optimized small scale
quantity of air entering, and the inlet air’s psychrometric properties. The model obtained a WGR of 22–26 L/day with SEC in the range of 0.22–0.3
majority of commercially available AWG [31–34] devices deploy this kWh/L. Talib et al. [40] conducted experiments on a modified small
technology. The high energy demand and the operational limit under scale VCR system with a 372 W reciprocating compressor. The experi
adverse climatic conditions are the significant concerns of VCR based ments were performed at a location in Iraq (T = 33 ◦ C, RH = 24%) for
AWG [27,29,30,35]. different values of the volume flow rate of incoming air across the
A typical VCR based AWG unit will contain multiple sets of air filters evaporator. The modified system obtained a WGR of 7.9 L/day with a
and water filters in addition to standard VCR components. The filters minimum SEC of 1.76 kWh/L at an airflow of 230 m3/h. The perfor
used may require annual maintenance or replacement, which adds up to mance was improved by introducing an evaporative cooler in the test
the cost of operation. Also, the VCR based AWG systems have to cool space resulting in 13.11 L/day WGR with SEC of 1.068 kWh/L at the
large volumes of air if the RH of the ambient air is not high. A large same incoming air volume flow rate.
amount of high-grade electrical energy is required to maintain the low The condensate formed in HVAC systems during the hot-humid
temperature required for water vapour condensation. Around half of the season, usually neglected, can supplement water for domestic pur
total cost is associated with energy consumption, and performance poses [41–47]. The condensate collected from HVAC systems requires
degradation is observed when RH becomes less than 30% [27]. For some filtration process to make it available for drinking. Optimization in
example, at RH levels below 30% and the ambient temperature around the design of buildings and HVAC hardware is required to prevent
20 ◦ C, the dew point will be at 0 ◦ C or below, making its operation contamination in its pathways and provide safe storage [44]. The
infeasible in such climatic conditions. The formation of frost over the maximum water cannot be extracted as the HVAC systems have to
evaporator coil will act as a resistance to heat transfer and adversely maintain some residual humidity for thermal comfort. However, only
affect the AWG system. seasonal operation is recommended for such systems. In the studies
The performance of a VCR (1 ton of refrigeration (TR) capacity) conducted by Magrini et al. [41–43], the concept of an integrated HVAC
based AWG system under different weather conditions was experimen system was investigated in terms of its contribution to meet the water
tally studied by Patel et al. [36]. The weather conditions were selected demands at the place of installation. For this purpose, a case study was
by considering the average monthly data obtained from various cities of performed for a hotel in Abu Dhabi. An optimized integrated system was
India. The experimental setup includes a climate chamber consisting of developed for specified climatic conditions (T = 20–35 ◦ C and RH =
an electric heater and a humidifier with the AWG system, as shown in 60%). The total cooling power demand of the hotel was divided into
Fig. 2. The inclusion of a climatic chamber could create favourable equal size modules, treating an airflow at 8.33 m3/s. During summer
weather conditions for AWG, irrespective of location. According to the months, such an integrated system could collect water around 10,200 L/
test results, the AWG device was found to work effectively with hot day with the potential of meeting over 24% of the annual water demand
ambient conditions and relatively higher RH values. For example, the of the hotel. Al-Farayedhi et al. [45] investigated the condensate re
AWG device (Operating temperature (T) = 35 ◦ C and RH = 95%) pro covery from a split air conditioner (1.5 TR) under the climatic conditions
vides a WGR of 1.78 L/h with 0.75 kWh/L SEC [36]. Other studies also of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (ambient temperature = 25–50 ◦ C, RH =
3
15–90%). The airflow rate was maintained as 0.135 m3/s throughout the
investigation. The highest daily average water production of 70.1 L/day
was observed in the humid month of August. Cattani et al. [47] proposed
an integrated HVAC system installed on the roof of a hotel in Mexico to
produce drinking water, domestic water heating, and provide air in non-
conditioned space. A tool for simulating the operation was also devel
oped to predict the yearly performance, energy savings and pay-back
period. Experiments were conducted in November (ambient tempera
ture = 27.3 ◦ C, RH = 86%). The system was made to work continuously
during the test period and observed an average WGR of 1880 L/day. A
payback period of maximum 2.5 years was also estimated with experi
mental and simulation results.
The performance of VCR-AWG systems can be improved either by
precooling the inlet air with the cold exit air from the evaporator, which
can reduce the sensible cooling demand [28,48] or by providing a pre
conditioning unit to improve the psychrometric properties of incoming
air [36,49]. Also, there exists a considerable variation in theoretical and
experimental values of WGR at high humidity, which highlights the
scope of further optimization in the design of AWG [29,36]. The recent Fig. 3. Solar-powered Peltier module for condensing atmospheric air [66].
approaches in VCR systems integrated with liquid desiccant dehumidi
fication [50–52] and with desiccant coated heat exchangers [53–56] can helped in increasing the condensation rate on the cold side of TEC. Also,
be viewed as the new research pathways for AWG. These technologies the reuse of cold air from the exit facilitated better thermal management
support the efficient handling of the sensible and latent load associated than the conventional design. Compared with the conventional system
with the VCR systems, which can be re-investigated for AWG. The under the same conditions, the maximum WGR of the new design was
integration of desiccants with VCR reduces the total cooling load to be around 67% more than the conventional system. Shourideh et al. [64]
solely handled by the VCR system. The regeneration of desiccants for designed a portable TEC-AWG system based on cooling capacity and
continuing its operation can be provided using low-grade energy or by COP variation with the current. A mathematical model was also devel
the heat liberated from the condenser, which extends its application in oped to predict the water generation and optimize the fin design on the
various fields without increasing the energy consumption [57,58]. cold side of TEC. Performance analysis was performed with different air
velocity, RH, and current. The study [64] found that the increase in air
3.2. Thermoelectric cooling velocity deteriorated the water generation, whereas the increase in
current and RH improved the water generation. A similar type of anal
Thermoelectric cooling (TEC) is another well-known method to get a ysis was also carried out experimentally by Liu et al. [65]. The
low-temperature surface below the dew point. It is based on the Peltier condensation rate increased with an increase in RH but decreased with
effect, transforming the electrical energy into a temperature gradient. the incoming air flow rate. Their study concluded that the productivity
Compared to VCR, the coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling could be further increased by optimizing the contact surface to provide a
capacity is very low for TEC but still attractive due to its advantages like better contact area, increasing the contact time of air, and improving the
compactness, no moving parts, non-requirement of refrigerants, silent wettability of the cooling surface.
operation, less maintenance, portability and eco-friendliness [59–61]. Kadhim et al. [66] fabricated and tested a small scale prototype of
Thus, TEC is gaining attraction in providing refrigeration as well as TEC-AWG, powered by a solar panel. During the experiments, the
dehumidification of air to extract water. The performance of TEC can be incoming air velocity, RH, and dry air temperature were between 0.59
enhanced by developing new thermoelectric materials, better TEC and 1 m/s, 60–80% and 24–31 ◦ C, respectively. The hot side of TEC was
design, thermal management, and optimizing it. fitted with a fan, and on the cold side, an aluminium cone was used, as
Milani et al. [61] conducted a feasibility study of TEC in the dehu shown in Fig. 3. For the test case, the maximum WGR was 20 mL/h for
midification of atmospheric air. It was found that more than 95% of the an incoming airflow of 1 m/s at 75% RH. Eslami et al. [67] conducted
cost of water generation is due to high input energy requirement rather exhaustive optimization of a TEC to obtain the best performance from
than the initial investment of dehumidification devices. The study [61] such a device. The different operating parameters affecting the system
recommended integrating the AWG system with rainwater harvesting performance were considered together in optimization to minimize en
tanks to meet the growing water demands. The study also highlighted ergy consumption. The study [67] concluded that the input current and
the need to stack TEC devices powered by renewable energy sources to inlet air velocity should be reduced at higher temperatures. With the
overcome its low thermal efficiency and energy consumption. The effect overall parametric optimization, a WGR of 26 mL/h (T = 45 ◦ C, RH =
of orientation of the heat sink of a TEC on condensation under high RH 75%) with an energy consumption of 20 W was achieved. The optimized
condition was experimentally studied by Hand and Peuker [62]. The test TEC device performed well compared to other commercially available
conditions were set to ambient temperature in the range 16–22 ◦ C and VCR based AWG devices at high RH.
an ultrasonic humidifier controlled RH close to 100%. The performance Irshad et al. [68] performed an experimental and numerical inves
of the TEC system was further investigated by periodically cleaning/ tigation on a dehumidification system with a thermoelectric air duct for
removing the water collected on the cold side of TEC and applying a a tropical climate. The input power and airflow rate were varied to
hydrophobic coating on the cold side. The periodic cleaning and coating evaluate the performance of the dehumidifier. The number of thermo
enhanced the WGR by 16–18% and 30%, respectively. The orientation electric modules was selected based on the cooling load requirement at
of the heat sink was found helpful in controlling the water collection at the place of installation. The WGR was around 0.82 L/h for an input
high humidity conditions. power of 30 W with a 0.011 L/s air flow rate. The study [68] observed
He et al. [63] experimentally studied and compared the performance that the WGR decreased with a further increase in input power due to
of a newly designed TEC-AWG system with the conventional system. The heat transfer from the hot part to the cold part of the thermoelectric
new design consisted of a hydrophobic coating (Nano silicon dioxide system at higher powers. Sharpe et al. [69] conducted a meta-analysis
(SiO2) gel) on the cold side fin surface. The cold exit air was recirculated review of better thermal management in thermoelectric cooler to use in
to the hot side of the thermoelectric module. The hydrophobic material
4
Table 1
Summary of the main research work in active refrigeration.
Ref. Technology Working\Test Performance
conditions
[36] VCR T = 17–40 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 1.78 L/h, SEC =

27–95% , Air 0.75 kWh/L, at T = 35 ◦ C,
velocity = 5–15 m/s RH = 95%
[39] VCR T = 38–44 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 0.92–1.08 L/h, SEC
69–90%, Air velocity = 0.22–0.3 kWh/L
= 2–5 m/s
[40] VCR T = 33 ◦ C, RH = 24% WGR = 0.33 L/h, SEC =
, Air flow = 224–244 1.76 kWh/L
m3/h
[41–43] HVAC T = 20–35 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 425 L/h
condensate 60%, Air flow =
recovery 30,000 m3/h
[45] HVAC T = 25–50 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 2.92 L/h
condensate 15–90%, Air flow =
recovery 486 m3/h
[47] HVAC T = 27.3 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 78.3 L/h Fig. 4. Radiative cooling setup attaining high-temperature reduction from
condensate 86% ambient [86].
recovery
[62] TEC T = 16–22 ◦ C, RH ~ WGR improved by 30% with
100% hydrophobic coating and
lies between 25–100 W/m2, restricts the dew yield below 0.8 L/m2/day
16–18% with cleaning [30,73–76]. Current research focuses on developing new materials for
[63] TEC T = 24.3 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 24 mL/h with 52.3 the condenser, system architecture, daytime radiative cooling, and
60–90%, Air flow = W input power (RH = 90%) optimizing for better dew yield according to meteorological parameters
30,50,70 m3/h
[77,78]. The dew yield is highly influenced by the geometry of the
[65] TEC T = 24.29 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 20 mL/h with 58.2
67.8%, Air flow rate W input power collector or passive condenser. Beysens et al. [76] studied the dew
= 29.7 m3/h collection with different dew collectors’ shapes and compared the per
[66] TEC T = 24–31 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 20 mL/h with 70 W formance with a standard planar condenser. The study observed that the
60–80%, Air velocity input power (T = 31 ◦ C, RH hollow shaped structures could enhance the dew yield with improved
= 0.59–1 m/s = 75%)
[67] TEC T = 45 ◦ C, RH = 75% WGR = 26 mL/h with 20 W
cooling due to less wind influence than the planar structure. According
input power to other studies [79,80], micro-sized grooves on the surface can enhance
[68] TEC T = 22–35 ◦ C, RH = WGR = 0.82 L/h with 30 W the dew yield than the conventional flat condenser plate. The grooves
60–90% input power will favour drop coalescence by reducing pinning forces under the same
wettability of a smooth surface.
Al-Khayat et al. [81] prepared and tested the effect of micro-
AWG. They mainly focused on heat sink configurations using liquid
patterned polymer coating on copper tubes in capturing the water
coolants. According to previous research data, a non-periodic micro
vapour from the atmosphere. The micro-pattern design consisting of
channel configuration with multiple bifurcations on the heat sink could
hydrophilic bumps was inspired by the desert beetle [82], that harvest
provide efficient TEC-AWG performance. Galinstan was also suggested
water in a dry climate due to its unique skin texture. Under the
as a suitable liquid coolant owing to its physical and thermal properties
commonly achievable dew formation conditions, the new pattern
and less pumping power requirements. A summary of the main research
condensed 57% more than the standard case. Ang et al. [83] proposed a
works in active refrigeration based AWG is presented in Table 1.
concept of trapping the uncollected micro-droplets of water from usually
neglected regions of a dew harvester through a cascading effect.
4. Passive cooling
Specially designed conical microstructures were incorporated in the
condenser surface to trap the usually neglected water droplets. In usual
The water from the atmosphere can be extracted by passive means
cases, these water droplets will undergo re-evaporation and thus not
through dew and fog harvesting. Dew is formed due to invisible atmo
contributing to the water yield. Their study claimed that this modifi
spheric water vapour condensation on a substrate. In contrast, fog is the
cation could harvest around three times more water volume than the
visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets formed due to conden
unmodified flat surface.
sation in the atmosphere. In dew harvesting, the dew point temperature
The greatest challenge with passive radiative cooling lies in its
required to initiate condensation of atmospheric water vapour is ach
daytime operation. It requires low solar absorption and high mid-
ieved on a substrate by passive radiative cooling, dissipating the heat
infrared emissions to operate during the day. With the recent de
from the substrate to the outer space through the atmospheric window
velopments in nano-photonics and metamaterials, daytime radiative
[70,71]. In fog harvesting, the fog droplets are harvested by trapping
cooling has been achieved [71,77,84]. Raman et al. [85] demonstrated
them with mesh-like structures, allowing the droplet growth by coa
the daytime radiative cooling for the first time with a specially designed
lescence and finally collected by gravity. Thus, these techniques are
layered photonic reflector and selective emitter made up of hafnium
simple, inexpensive and work with zero additional energy requirements
dioxide (HfO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2). A temperature reduction of
[30,72]. The performance of these systems is evaluated in terms of the
approximately 5 ◦ C from the ambient during the daytime was achieved.
amount of water generated per unit area of collector per unit time. Since
In the work of Chen et al. [86], a remarkable temperature reduction of
water generation is slow with these passive techniques, the performance
up to 42 ◦ C was reported with 24-hour cycle operation. The temperature
is usually quantified per day for all practical purposes.
reduction was achieved with a selective emitter made up of layered
silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon (Si), and aluminium (Al). The emitter was
4.1. Dew harvesting
also surrounded by a vacuum chamber to reduce thermal loss and to
provide direct sunlight shielding. A zinc selenide (ZnSe) window was
The dew formation depends on several factors like ambient tem
attached to the vacuum chamber to ensure radiative heat exchange from
perature, RH, wind speed, cloud cover, material properties, etc. [71,73].
the selective emitter. A combination of vertical shade and mirror cone
The dew harvesting is dependent on the natural cooling power, usually
5
4.2. Fog harvesting
Fog harvesting, similar to dew harvesting, is also a simple, inex

pensive, and sustainable technique. It extracts water from the impaction
of visible aerosol consisting of liquid droplets against a fog capturing net
or mesh, which is usually installed in a vertical orientation. The occur
rence of fog is not common in all locations, which limits its applicability
[72,95]. At the same time, many countries with favourable topography
and climatic conditions have successfully implemented and demon
strated this technology [96–99]. The water extraction with fog har
vesters typically varies between 1.5 and 12 L/m2/day for the countries
with year-round fog occurrence [97]. In comparison, a very high
Fig. 5. Dew harvesting plant [90].
extraction rate of 30 L/m2/day at a higher elevation was reported in a
study in Oman during a favourable fog occurrence period of just two
months [100]. Therefore, fog harvesting is seasonal. Its efficiency de
was used to minimize solar irradiance on the selective emitter surface.
pends upon the nature of the collecting device, the water content in the
The schematic of the test setup used in the work [86] is as shown in
fog, wind speed, topography, altitude of the location, etc. [97,98,101].
Fig. 4. Similar efforts were taken by Zhou et al. [87] to accelerate the
The current research focuses on developing new materials for fog
condensation of water vapour during the daytime. They employed a
collection, mesh structure, bioinspired design, orientation, and effect of
layered selective emitter made up of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS),
meteorological parameters.
silver (Ag), aluminium (Al) to make the radiative cooler and integrated
The commonly used fog collecting devices are made up of Raschel
the condenser with solar water purification. The water production was
mesh, with the fog collector’s standard size as 1 m2 or 40 m2. The
found to be doubled with this integration over the conventional system.
Raschel mesh is less robust and cannot withstand high-speed wind. It is
Zamir et al. [88] proposed the concept of decoupling the dew col
also susceptible to water droplet re-entrainment to the air due to lack of
lector and emitter, enabling dew harvesting even at daytime under low
surface adhesion. Clogging or blocking the void space between mesh due
RH and cooling far below the ambient condition. Unlike conventional
to the presence of pinned water droplets is also another concern. These
passive radiative coolers, the decoupling will protect the dew from
two are the major challenges with conventional mesh (see Fig. 6a)
evaporation and convective heating due to sunlight during the daytime.
affecting fog collection efficiency. Park et al. [102] demonstrated a high
Also, the selective emission property of the emitter will be destroyed
fog collection efficiency, around 5 times more than the conventional
when dew forms on the emitter. Dong et al. [89] developed a theoretical
mesh, by improving the wettability with a surface coating, reducing the
framework to analyze a blackbody emitter’s performance and a selective
mesh wire’s radii, and properly adjusting the spacing. The newly opti
emitter. It was observed that the selective emitter could work in low RH
mized mesh collected more water than the standard mesh by allowing
arid conditions (RH = 20–40%) where the blackbody emitter usually
the fast draining of the collected droplets. Shi et al. [103] developed a
fails, extending the dew harvesting technology to dry regions. Many
new mesh architecture, termed as fog harps see (Fig. 6b), made up of
researchers have studied the feasibility of a dew harvesting plant for
vertical metallic wires running in parallel to the direction of droplet
scalable water generation [75,90–94]. The dew condensers used for this
shedding. The conventional fine and coarse mesh used for fog collection
purpose were made up of locally available materials, usually installed on
have the inherent clogging issues and escape of micro-sized droplets,
building rooftop, terrace, or ground. Since the dew yield is limited, these
respectively. Thus the new design of vertical fog harp could collect more
systems also collected rainwater, and a decent output was achieved
water by avoiding clogging and ensuring efficient drainage of droplets
without any additional energy requirement. During dew season, the
through the harps. The new harp design achieved a fog collection effi
condensation of humid air occurs at night over the collecting surface,
ciency of about 3 times more than the conventional mesh design.
collected by gravity and can meet the local needs. For example, the dew
Lee et al. [104] also demonstrated an enhanced fog collection effi
harvesting plant installed at a village in Gujarat, India (see Fig. 5) can
ciency using hydrophilic collectors made up of nanochannels and mac
process approximately 500 L of water daily and claims to produce water
rostripes with vertical array arrangement. The new arrangement helped
economical than the reverse osmosis technique, with no environmental
in the attainment of faster unidirectional droplet removal and prevented
impact.
the re-entrainment of droplets. During the comparison test with the
conventional mesh, about 50% improvement in fog collection was
attained with the new design. The modern fog harvester designs are
Fig. 6. Fog nets: a) Typical fog net, b) Fog harp design [103], c) Improved Raschel mesh [120].
6
Table 2
Summary of the main research works in passive cooling.
Ref. Technology Research focus Results Location/Test
conditions
[76] Dew Effect of shape of Hollow shaped Pessac town

harvesting the condenser on structures at Le
dew yield. showed superior Bourghail,
performance than France
planar shapes.
[79] Dew Dew yield Dew yield T = 33 ◦ C, RH
harvesting enhancement with enhancement = 40%
the micro-grooved estimated as
substrate. twice in
Fig. 7. Electrostatic fog collection prototype [122]. comparison with
smooth non-
mostly bioinspired, mimicking various organisms’ natural adaptations, grooved
substrates.
mainly native to arid regions. Several research works [105–114] re
[81] Dew Bioinspired surface 57% more water T = 20.3 ±
ported in the recent past have successfully demonstrated the possibility harvesting coating to increase harvested than a 0.5 ◦ C, RH =
of such designs for improving the performance of fog collectors. The dew harvesting non-coated plain 85.3 ± 3.6%
review works carried out in the past [115–117] opens the possibility of efficiency. surface.
[83] Dew Inducing water Water harvested Sealed
extending and exploring more natural adaptations for water harvesting.
harvesting harvesting from increased three chamber with
The effect of surface wettability on dew and fog harvesting perfor both active and fold with RH = 90%
mance was investigated experimentally by Seo et al. [118] using a passive regions of a cascading than
tubular copper surface with various wettability characteristics. They surface through the unmodified
found that the fog harvesting performance is greatly dependent on the cascading. case, at 90% RH.
[87] Dew Daytime radiative WGR improved T = 20 ◦ C, RH
water removal from the collector, for which a large contact angle is
harvesting cooling and its from 0.4 L/m2 to = 100%
required. Among the considered surface wettability characteristics, the integration with 1 L/m2, through
oil-infused copper tube surface exhibited superior performance due to a solar water purifier integration of
large receding contact angle. Knapczyk-Korczak et al. [119] deposited systems.
[88] Dew Decoupling of Theoretical T ≈ 25 ◦ C, RH
hydrophilic nanofibers in the conventional Raschel mesh to improve its
harvesting radiative emitter prediction of dew = 73 ± 4.5%
performance. The addition of hydrophilic nanofibers effectively and dew collector yield as 1.5 L/m2
increased the collection surface area of the mesh and the water droplet day in 24 hr
removal, thus enabling more water collection. An improvement in the operation.
water collection rate by 3 times than the conventional mesh was re [89] Dew Extending dew Dew harvesting T = 20–30 ◦ C,
harvesting harvesting to less possible with RH =
ported in their study. Rajaram et al. [120] also improved the perfor
humid areas using selective emitter 40,60,100%
mance of conventional Raschel mesh through the surface and condenser with even at T = 20 ◦ C
geometrical modifications (see Fig. 6c). Hydrophobic coatings were selective emitter and RH = 40%
added to the mesh to change the surface properties. A new geometry [90] Dew Feasibility of a dew Reported Kothara at
harvesting harvesting plant. maximum yield Gujarat, India
with better-capturing capacity and small pore size was developed
of 0.6 L/m2 per
through a punching process. The fog collection efficiency was increased night
by 50% with this modification than the conventional mesh. [102] Fog Developing Fog collection T = 26.4 ±
Damak and Varanasi [121] proposed a new concept to improve fog harvesting efficient fog efficiency 0.5 ◦ C, RH =
collection by injecting an electrical charge into the fog droplets. One of collectors by improved by five 100%
improving wetting times than the
the major factors limiting the performance of fog collectors is the de
characteristics, conventional one
viation of water droplets around the wire mesh due to aerodynamic drag optimizing wire with the
force. In this study, a space charge was injected using an ion emitter and radii, spacing etc. developed fog
controlled the trajectory through an imposed electric field. The electric mesh
field was established between the emitter and the collector. The imposed [103] Fog Enhancing fog Fog harvesting Room
harvesting collection with fog rate improved by temperature
electric force was much higher than the aerodynamic drag force. Thus, harp design. three times with with RH =
the charged fog droplets followed the electric field lines and directed the new design 100%
towards the collector without deviation. Cruzat and Jerez-Hanckes [104] Fog Fog collector Fog harvesting T = 21 ◦ C, RH
[122] performed a similar type of study with electrostatic fog harvest harvesting design with rate improved by = 65%
nanochannels and fifty percent in
ing. A new design was proposed, in which a radial electric field was
macrostripes to comparison with
imposed between the co-axial inner copper electrode and outer perme enhance fog conventional fog
able fog collector, as shown in Fig. 7. The study [122] also reported an collection. mesh.
improved water collection rate of about 60% than the standard fog [119] Fog Modification of Collection of Climatic
collector. A summary of the main research works in passive cooling harvesting conventional water from fog chamber with
Raschel mesh with improved by RH = 95%
based AWG is presented in Table 2. nanofibers. three times.
[120] Fog Modification of Collection of T = 24 ± 1 ◦ C,
5. Water vapour concentration harvesting conventional water from fog RH = 100%
Raschel mesh using improved by two
hydrophobic times.
In refrigeration based AWG systems, a large amount of energy is
coating and
wasted in cooling the incoming air, which is generally a mixture of water reduced pore size.
vapour and other non-condensable gases. The vapour concentration [122] Fog Electrostatic fog Fog collection Majada
method provides an alternative to separately treat the water vapour, harvesting harvesting rate improved by Blanca, Chile
reducing operational cost and energy requirement of AWG systems. The 60% than the
conventional fog
water vapour concentration can be achieved with sorption techniques or collector.
7
regenerate quickly with less heat or solar irradiation.

Li et al. [129] developed a conceptual AWG device capable of
continuously extracting moisture from the air with nano sorbent
composed of a hollow carbon sphere and lithium chloride (LiCl) salt. The
nanostructure enabled the sorbent with a higher surface area, which
resulted in better capturing of moisture and light. The conceptual AWG
device was made up of a cylinder wrapped with a nano sorbent, a
condenser unit made up of copper with a transparent lid, a supporting
frame and a small stepper motor, as shown in Fig. 8. The continuous
operation was achieved by rotating the cylinder. Thus, the sorbent could
capture and release moisture continuously, unlike other conventional
sorbent-based AWG devices. The solar beam enters through the trans
parent cap to extract moisture from the upper part of the cylinder, and in
parallel, the lower part of the cylinder captures moisture from the
ambient air. The nano-enhanced sorbent showed moisture capturing up
to 100% of its weight at 60% RH in a short span of 3 h. Also, with a solar
intensity of 1 kW/m2, desorption happened within 30 min. The multiple
Fig. 8. Continuous sorption-prototype [129]. moisture extraction and processing in this new concept attained an
output of 1.6 kg water per kg sorbent per day during the field test.
using a selective membrane. The performance of sorption-based AWG Entezari et al. [130] conducted an extensive theoretical and exper
systems is evaluated in terms of the amount of water generated per unit imental investigation with active carbon fibre (ACF) composites with
mass of the sorbent material used. lithium chloride (LiCl), calcium chloride (CaCl2), and lithium nitrate
(LiNO3) as a sorbent for AWG purpose. The experimental results indi
cated a yield of 2.9-grams of water per gram of sorbent with LiCl com
5.1. Sorption posite. The test conditions were 25 ◦ C ambient temperature and RH
70%. The temperature of desorption for LiCl composite was 80 ◦ C which
Sorption based AWG is gaining momentum among researchers due to could be quickly gained by solar irradiation. The sorbent was also tested
its capability to work in low RH conditions, where traditional AWG under 20% RH and 25 ◦ C conditions, where it was able to generate 1.18
devices are considered infeasible. The critical element of this technique g of water per gram of sorbent. The thermodynamic analysis of
is the sorbent, a material used for concentrating water vapour. In this adsorption-absorption combined ACF systems was also performed, and a
approach, a sorbent is used to capture the water vapour from the at three-phase sorption cycle was suggested for further analysis. A similar
mosphere until its saturation. The sorbent is then heated to release the investigation was conducted by Ejeian et al. [131] with ACF composites
captured water vapour, followed by condensation at ambient tempera containing LiCl and magnesium sulphate (MgSO4). The performance of
ture to form water. High water capturing capacity, fast cyclic operation the new composite was compared with the LiCl-ACF composite. The
of capturing and releasing water vapour, lower energy demand for addition of MgSO4 helped to improve mass transfer in the system, in
desorption etc., are the qualities of a good sorbent material [28,123]. crease the density of sorption, and prevent leakage in the composite. In
The materials used for sorption technology include common desiccants the test of the proposed composite under different RH, the benefit of
like silica gel, zeolite, other hygroscopic materials and the latest mate MgSO4 addition was noted by a 30% increase in sorption density under
rial advancements like metal–organic framework (MOF) and composite medium RH. The condensation process was improved by incorporating a
sorbents [123,124]. Although the conventional desiccants have high phase change material (PCM) material around the condenser. The PCM
moisture capturing ability, their inherent requirement of high temper material selected according to the climate of the test site helped in
ature for desorption limits its use under energy concern [125]. Many maintaining the condenser temperature almost constant during the
companies, together with patented enhancements, have successfully operation. The schematic of the test setup is as shown in Fig. 9. A pro
deployed this technology [126–128]. The latest research trend in sorp totype based on the proposed composite provided a yield of 0.92-gram
tion technology mainly focuses on developing new sorbents that can water per gram of composite sorbent at 35% RH in the field test.
effectively concentrate the water vapour even at very low RH and
Fig. 9. Test setup with phase change material and composite sorbent [131].
8
hygroscopic material (37% concentration) considered were LiCl, CaCl2

and lithium bromide (LiBr) with host as sand. The inclusion of the
Scheffler reflector facilitated a fixed focus concentration of solar irra
diation. The test was conducted with a semi-arid climate, and the hu
midity ratio varied from 7.6 g/kg to 13.8 g/kg during the evaluation
period. The maximum water generation obtained from LiCl, CaCl2 and
LiBr were 90, 115 and 73 mL/day, and that took place in 5.5 h, 4.5 h and
4.5 h, respectively. Kim et al. [137] demonstrated an AWG device based
on porous MOF-801 to address the non-feasibility of AWG systems at low
RH (20%). With the new MOF-801 sorbent, the productivity of 2.8 L of
water per kilogram sorbent was achieved at 20% RH in a daily cycle with
a developed conceptual device, as shown in Fig. 10. The study recom
mended MOF-801 as a viable solution for moisture extraction in places
like North Africa (RH-20%). The desorption temperature was estimated
to be around 65 ◦ C, which could be generated using simple solar col
lectors during day time.
Similar studies with the metal–organic framework (MOF) in
extracting moisture from desert regions were investigated by Fathieh
et al. [138]. Zirconium based MOF blended with graphite (MOF-801/G)
and aluminium based MOF with blended graphite (MOF 303/G) was
used as sorbent and tested in a controlled environment replicating the
climatic conditions of the Arizona desert. The MOF-801/G sorbent was
successfully used in producing 100-gram water per 1000-gram sorbent
Fig. 10. Sorption based atmospheric water generation prototype [137]. without using any active power source. Further enhancement was made
possible with MOF 303/G sorbent, which showed productivity up to
Wang et al. [132] conducted an experimental investigation with two 175-gm water per 1000-gm sorbent under similar test conditions. Terzis
solar-assisted AWG devices using ACF-CaCl2 and ACF-LiCl as sorbent. et al. [139] explored the fluidization of MOF-801 to enable a high-
They used the rolled-up structure of ACF-CaCl2 in the first AWG device frequency sorption cycle. As a result of fluidization, the distance of
and the corrugated ACF-LiCl structure for filling in the sorbent bed in the heat and mass diffusion was greatly reduced. The continuous sorption
second AWG device. Sorbent bed, solar collector and a condenser were cycle was achieved from the fluidized bed by providing cold and hot air
the main components of these AWG devices. An open-type and semi- periodically to the inlet. Moisture in the air is adsorbed when cold air
open type working concept was proposed for the two devices. The mixes with the solid particulates of MOF, and the same is desorbed when
semi-open type device with corrugated ACF-LiCl sorbent bed structure hot air mixes with the MOF. The test output was calculated as 0.33 L/
produced superior performance. The device with ACF-CaCl2 produced hour/kg-sorbent and 0.52 L/hour/kg-sorbent at RH 18% and 39%,
0.32 kg water with 2.25 kg sorbent, and the device with ACF-LiCl pro respectively. The highest achieved yield from the experiments was 10 L/
duced 11.2 kg water with 40.8 kg sorbent. Yang et al. [133] developed a day/kg of the sorbent.
portable AWG using microfluidic technology and adsorption–desorption Yao et al. [140] developed a sorbent made up of porous sodium
principle, reducing the space requirement and energy demand with polyacrylate/graphene framework (PGF) to produce clean water even
better efficiency. The microfluidic system was prepared by poly from a highly polluted atmosphere. The PGF sorbent offers excellent
dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to obtain an enhanced heat transfer area features like high sorption ability (5.20-gram water per gram of sor
together with compactness. The proposed AWG device contained a bent), high absorption of incident solar radiation (~97%), lower
condensing part with a microchannel, adsorbent, heating chamber, plug desorption temperature (~60 ◦ C), and working ability in a wide range of
and a polyimide heating film. Silica gel was used as an adsorbent in the RH than MOF. The PGF oxygen groups capture water molecules from the
heating chamber. The moisture trapped in the silica gel was removed by atmosphere and trap the impurities by van der Waals force. The pro
heating with the polyimide heating film, resulting in generation of high posed sorbent also showed remarkable sorption of 0.14-gram water per
temperature high humidity vapour which was then condensed in the gram of the sorbent at a very low RH of 15%. Li et al. [141] conducted
microchannel. tests with a composite hydrogel sorbent (Polyacrylamide (PAM)-CNT-
Kumar and Yadav [134] studied experimentally the sorption of a CaCl2). The composite sorbent’s solar radiation absorption capacity was
composite desiccant formed by the precipitation of CaCl2 salt in porous increased with the inclusion of a carbon nano tube (CNT) in the network.
saw wood. They investigated the performance of this composite desic The composite hydrogel captures 0.74-gm water per gm sorbent at RH
cant under various concentrations of CaCl2 in the AWG process. The 35%.
highest generation of water was 180 mL/kg/day at 60% CaCl2 concen Wang et al. [142] utilized the concept of interfacial solar vapour
tration. Gandhidasan and Abualhamayel [135] performed experiments generation for liquid sorbent based AWG technology. As salt concen
for an AWG system consisting of CaCl2 liquid desiccant in Saudi Arabia. tration increases in the liquid sorbent, its moisture absorption capacity
The liquid desiccant was circulated using a slow speed pump to form a also increases but increases the energy demand for desorption. There
thin layer over the absorber plate. Continuous experiments during the fore, in liquid sorbents, the salt concentration will be less than 40% by
day (average ambient temperature of 41 ◦ C) and night (average ambient weight. Here, the moisture extraction capacity of the sorbent was greatly
temperature of 31 ◦ C) were performed to find out the rate of absorption enhanced by using concentrated CaCl2 salt solution (50% by weight),
and desorption. Depending upon the flow rate of liquid desiccant, an together with graphene oxide-based aerogel with large-size pores as the
absorption rate of 2.11 L/m2/day and desorption rate of 1.15 L/m2/day solar absorber. The composite aerogel helped in reducing the bulk
was reported. It was also observed that for the same flow rate of liquid heating of salt solution, and desorption was enhanced by interfacial heat
desiccant, the night-time and daytime performance was not the same. transfer. The water vapour transport to the condenser wall was through
They suggested the need for optimization of flow rate to match the the capillary action through the large pores of composite aerogel. The
daytime with night-time performance. new concept was also demonstrated in a scaled device, and a water yield
Srivastava and Yadav [136] proposed an improved version of com of 2.89 kg/m2/day was achieved at 70% RH. Later the adsorption and
posite desiccant based AWG with Scheffler reflector. The composite desorption process was made to co-occur in a concept developed by Qi
9
Table 3
Summary of the main research works in sorption.
Ref. Type of sorbent Working conditions Performance/Capacity
[129] HCS-LiCl nano T = 22 C, RH =

◦
Sorption up to 100% of its
sorbent 60% own weight within 3 h at
RH = 60%.
Solar assisted desorption
within 30 min. under 1
kW/m2.
Batch-mode AWG device
produced 1.6 kgwater/
kgsorbent in 10 h.
[130] ACF-LiCl, ACF-CaCl2, T = 25 ◦ C, RH = 2.9 gwater/gsorbent at 70%
ACF-LiNO3 composite 70% RH with ACF-LiCl.
sorbent
[131] ACF-LiCl-MgSO4 Cold semi-arid, RH 0.9 gwater/gsorbent at 35%
composite sorbent = 25–70% RH Fig. 11. Water vapour separation with selective membrane [147].
[132] ACF-CaCl2, ACF-LiCl T = 30–33 ◦ C, RH 0.32 kg water with 2.25
= 65–85% kg ACF- CaCl2 and 11.2 kg
was around 0.5–1.8 kgwater/kgmaterial during an 8-hour test at RH
water with 40.8 kg ACF-
LiCl 20–80%, extending its potential to harvest in almost all weather con
[134] CaCl2-porous saw T = 20–30 ◦ C, 180 mLwater /kgsorbent/ ditions. They also generated a small amount of electricity when the
wood Semi-arid Climate day surface was modified with commercial carbon ink. The presence of ox
[135] CaCl2 liquid desiccant T = 31 ◦ C-41 ◦ C, 1.15 Lwater/m2/day ygen groups in the carbon ink produced a small amount of electricity
RH = 87–92%
through the electrokinetic effect. Therefore, this absorber type is a
[136] LiCl/Sand, CaCl2/ Semi-arid, Produced 90, 115 and 73
Sand, LiBr/Sand Humidity ratio = mLwater/day with LiCl, promising option for addressing both electricity and water issues among
7.6–13.8 g/kg CaCl2 and LiBr rural communities. Yang et al. [145] demonstrated a new strategy to
composites in 5.5 hr, 4.5 efficiently utilize the heat of adsorption and excess heat of solar-assisted
hr and 4.5 hr,
desorption by attaching the sorbent to a thermoelectric module. They
respectively.
[137] MOF-801 Hot arid, RH = 2.8 Lwater/kgsorbent in a used a hygroscopic aerogel, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)
20% daily cycle integrated with graphene oxide (G-PDDA) with fast sorption kinetics,
[138] MOF-801/G, MOF- T = 18–25 ◦ C, RH Produced 100 gmwater/ which facilitated multiple operating cycles. Thus, the heat from multiple
303/G = 30–50% kgsorbent with MOF-801/G operating cycles was used to generate electricity along with water
and 174 gmwater/kgsorbent
generation. In the study of Mulchandani et al. [146], the improvement in
with MOF-303/G
[139] MOF-801 T = 22 ◦ C, 23.5 ◦ C, Produced 0.33 Lwater/h/ sorption kinetics of a traditional silica gel desiccant was tested by
RH = 18%, 39% kgsorbent and 0.52 Lwater/ applying photo-thermal nano-particles over the desiccant surface. The
h/kgsorbent at RH 18% and inclusion of nano-particles enabled the silica gel to undergo multiple
39% respectively.
working cycles due to more localized heating resulting in faster
[140] Porous sodium Arid and 0.14 gwater/gsorbent
polyacrylate/ contaminated, RH
desorption. Under various RH conditions, the new desiccant showed
graphene framework = 15% around 10 working cycles in a 12-hour test period, generating around
(PGF) 0.47 gwater/gdesiccant at 40% RH. A summary of the main research works
[141] Composite hydrogel T = 22–26 ◦ C RH = 0.74 gwater/gsorbent at RH in sorption based AWG is presented in Table 3.
sorbent (PAM-CNT- 35%, 60% = 35%.
CaCl2)
[142] CaCl2 solution with T = 25 ◦ C RH = 2.89 kg/m2/day was
graphene oxide 70% achieved at 70% RH. 5.2. Membrane separation
aerogel
[143] Liquid sorbent (1- T = 25 ◦ C RH = 2.8 Lwater/m2/day Bergmair et al. [147] proposed a model of an AWG device with a
ethyl-3-methyl- 80%
imidazolium acetate)
water vapour selective membrane, as shown in Fig. 11. According to
with CFM their study, the selective membrane can reduce the energy demand for
[144] Agricultural waste- RH 20–80% 0.5–1.8 kgwater/kgmaterial extraction by more than 50%. The membrane permeation was regulated
corn stalk during 8-hour test with the help of a condenser and a vacuum pump. The driving force for
[145] G-PDDA aerogel RH 60%, T = 20 ◦ C 4.25 L water/kg sorbent
permeation is the partial pressure difference between the incoming air
during 12-hour test
streams and the permeate side. The proposed model claimed a water
production of 9190 L/day with a power consumption of 62 kW as
et al. [143]. To further improve desorption, interfacial solar heating was compared to 4450 L/day under conventional operation. The selective
also suggested with the new concept. The proposed setup contains membrane also assures water of superior quality due to initial screening
interconnected containers with the proper demarcation of adsorption in the membrane. To reduce the energy cost associated with AWG de
and desorption space. The difference in pressure and concentration in vices, Gido et al. [148] proposed a liquid desiccant system to separate
the two interconnected regions facilitated moisture flow from the water vapour from the incoming air containing non-condensable gases.
adsorption part to the desorption part. The carbon fibre membrane was A significant portion of the energy consumed in cooling the water
used as the interfacial solar absorber, and 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium vapour and non-condensable gases in refrigeration-based AWG devices.
acetate was used as the liquid sorbent. The concept was tested in a The proposed system was analyzed using a numerical model, and the
designed device, and the highest production yield of 2.8 L/m2/day was results showed electrical energy savings up to 65% compared to other
observed at 80% RH. commercial AWG devices. Later, LiCl was used as a liquid desiccant due
Gong et al. [144] fabricated and tested a moisture absorber made to its ability to regenerate moisture with low energy requirements or
with agricultural- waste corn stalk. The corn stalk was treated by solar irradiance. The non-condensable gases were removed from the
boiling, drying, and then dipping in the LiCl solution to get the desired regenerated stream using a vacuum pump. The model was evaluated for
absorbing property. The new absorber’s moisture capturing capacity different operating conditions and the energy consumption was esti
mated in the range 0.18–0.28 kWh/L. The required condensation
10
Fig. 12. a) Experimental setup b) Schematic of double slope half-cylindrical basin solar still [151].
temperature could be produced by using any refrigeration system.

Kudasheva et al. [149] demonstrated the use of inorganic aqueous
salt-based liquid membranes for the dehumidification process. Their
study observed that the performance of liquid membrane depends not
only on the nature of membrane material but also on the membrane
supporting material. The experiments with carbon black nano-particles
as supporting material showed around 12 g/h of water recovery at
75–80% RH. Unlike pressure-driven membrane systems, Qi et al. [150]
developed a polymer electrolyte membrane based on an electrochemical
process. With this new approach, the dehumidification was achieved at
RH 90% to 30% with a very low voltage. The mass transfer inside the
electrolyte was governed by electrolysis, electro-osmosis, and back
diffusion. The study [150] also observed that the back diffusion
adversely affected the efficiency, which needs to be tackled in the future.
Fig. 13. Biomass gasification powered atmospheric water generation sys
6. Recent approaches tem [156].
The issues associated with conventional AWG systems and the global
water scarcity scenario have necessitated crossing conventional ap
A fan was used at night for circulating the air for better absorption.
proaches with integrated/hybrid approaches. Recent efforts were made
by researchers to couple the solar still with AWG. Essa et al.[151] con During the daytime, the tube side vents were closed with no fan for
regeneration. A maximum yield of 467 mL/m2day for 4 m/s incoming
ducted studies on double slope half-cylindrical basin solar still (DS-
HCBSS), as shown in Fig. 12, to collect the water from the atmosphere. air velocity and 230 mL/m2 day for no fan condition was obtained. As an
advancement to this model, Elashmawy and Alshammari [153] intro
Modifications were made in the solar still by the inclusion of longitu
dinal fins and a covering of hygroscopic silica gel in the fins and basin duced a parabolic concentrator system with the TSS to enhance the
regeneration process. Together with the concentrator, the system helped
liner. During experiments, the measured ambient temperature observed
between 28 and 40 ◦ C and RH between 45 and 62%. The productivity of to extract moisture from low humid desert regions (16% RH). Under the
same test conditions, the concentrator’s device produced 0.51 L/kg
the DS-HCBSS with silica gel was enhanced about 72% and 166% when
longitudinal fins and longitudinal fins with gravels were used, respec compared to 0.13 L/kg with no concentrator.
William et al. [154] tested moisture extraction from the atmosphere
tively. Maximum productivity of 400 mL/m2 was recorded during the
measurements. The innovation lies in using silica gel in the basin rather using a solar still with trapezoidal prism geometry. The sides were
covered with transparent fibreglass, which permitted solar-assisted
than water in conventional stills and integrating solar still with AWG.
Two small vents were provided on opposite sides of the basin to permit regeneration and condensation during day time. Sand and cloth were
used as hosts for carrying the CaCl2 desiccant solution. The desiccant
cold airflow inside DS-HCBSS at night.
Similar work on the utilization of tubular solar still (TSS) for mois beds were arranged on multiple shelves to increase the sorption area.
The experiments were conducted in Cairo, Egypt, to study the perfor
ture extraction from the atmosphere was performed by Elashmawy
[152]. The tests were conducted with TSS with a rectangular trough at mance under different day and night weather conditions. The maximum
regeneration rate was 2.320 L/m2 day for cloth bed and 1.235 L/m2 day
extremely low-humidity conditions (RH = 12%) and ambient tempera
ture variation between 29 and 36 ◦ C during the daytime. Black cotton for sand bed with 30% CaCl2. Elashmawy and Alatawi [155] carried out
a similar investigation to study solar stills’ potential with trapezoidal
cloth bed filled with calcium chloride desiccant were used in the trough.
prism geometry for AWG under low RH conditions. The tests were
11
produce freshwater from the atmosphere. A mathematical model was

formulated to conduct a parametric analysis of the proposed system. The
usual collector was replaced with black spiral tubes in the modified
system, as shown in Fig. 14. The system was also equipped with a wind
turbine to harness the air flowing upwards and a hydraulic turbine to
harness downward freshwater. A solid porous surface was installed at
the top of the chimney to collect the water formed out of condensation.
The black pipes are filled with water that absorbs solar radiation during
day time, stores it, and releases it at night. The cold moist air gains the
heat of solar radiation, resulting in buoyancy-induced air flow during
night time. Ghosh et al. [161] studied the feasibility of fog harvesting
from the cooling tower plume of thermal power plants, as shown in
Fig. 15. Fog nets of various shapes were placed near the cooling tower
exit at different inclinations to the incoming fog stream. It was estimated
that from a 500 MW thermal power plant unit, fog harvesting could
recover around 40% of water. The recovered water can be utilized as a
make-up water supplement in the cooling towers without further
treatment. They also found that the water collection from the cooling
tower fog harvesting is almost 2 times higher than the other fog har
Fig. 14. Modified Solar Chimney Power Plant [160]. vesting systems. Also in this type, the number of fog days is determined
by the number of days of operation of the thermal power plant.
A new approach with VCR based AWG devices to handle low hu
midity conditions was proposed by Tu and Hwang [162]. An air pre-
treatment stage with multiple desiccant wheels made up of silica gel
was introduced to enrich the humidity of the incoming air. The heat for
regeneration was obtained from the condenser of the VCR system, and
the water vapour released from the desiccant wheel was used to increase
the humidity. Multi staging of this air pre-treatment was employed to get
a higher humidity ratio. A mathematical model was also prepared to
predict the best configuration in terms of stages required for humidifi
cation. At the best configuration predicted by the model with an ambient
temperature of 40 ◦ C and a humidity ratio of 5 g/kg, the newly proposed
AWG device could harvest 32.5 kg of water per hour with specific energy
consumption of 0.794 kWh/kg.
Heidari et al. [163] addressed the issue of high water consumption
associated with evaporative coolers. The study proposed a desiccant
wheel-based evaporative cooling system, as shown in Fig. 16. The pro
posed system is capable of generating water together with its function of
providing a cooling effect. Simulations were performed to evaluate the
new system’s performance at 60 m2 space inside a building with an
Fig. 15. Fog harvesting from cooling tower plumes [161]. indoor temperature of 25 ◦ C and 50% RH. The desiccant wheel made up
of silica gel was used to capture the moisture in incoming air and to
performed at Hail city, Saudi Arabia, with average RH values and generate dry air for room cooling. The temperature requirement for
ambient temperature as 26.5% and 28 ◦ C, respectively. The solar still desorption was generated using the heat liberated from the condenser
contained 5 shelves packed with black cotton material and CaCl2 as a and a solar boiler. The moisture was harvested with the help of a rotary
liquid desiccant. Under these extreme low RH conditions, a water gen heat exchanger. The cool return air from the conditioned space was used
eration of 1.06 L/m2 day was observed with the trapezoidal solar still. to condense the moist air separated from the desiccant wheel. The
Chaitanya et al. [156] proposed integrated biomass gasification simulations concluded that out of the total water production, around
powered AWG system, as shown in Fig. 13. Here the thermal energy of 49% was excess after supplying to the evaporative cooler, and this excess
combustion from a typical biomass gasification process was used to water could be utilized for household use.
power a vapour adsorption refrigeration cycle. They also reported that Kwan et al. [164] proposed a hybrid AWG system that utilizes the
the proposed system could produce 800–1200 L of water per 1000 kg of exhaust gas of fuel cell to enhance the water generation of a VCR-AWG
biomass, a promising technology in places like India, where biomass system. In this hybrid system, the flue gas from the fuel cell, rich in
availability is more. Ozkan et al. [157] developed a mathematical model moisture as a result of an electrochemical reaction, was fed to the VCR-
to estimate the performance of an AWG process powered by waste AWG system. The temperature of the moist flue gas was reduced by
natural gas from oil refineries, chemical plants, etc. The compressor, the exchanging heat to the ambient with a heat exchanger before entering
main power-consuming component of a VCR system, was powered by a the VCR-AWG system. A simulation model of the hybrid system was
gas engine utilizing the waste natural gas. The chilled water produced by created to conduct a parametric study. The study observed that at 75%
the VCR cycle was used to condense the incoming air’s moisture in a RH, water generation improvement by 50% was possible with a 2 kW
heat exchanger. The model predicts that 1 m3 of gas could generate up to fuel cell than the non-hybrid system. The specific energy consumption
12.6 kg of water under warm-humid conditions. Similar studies could reach as low as 0.2 kWh/L at 60% RH, justifying the hybrid sys
[158,159] were also carried out for investigating the potential of uti tem. A summary of the main research works in recent approaches for
lizing flared and landfill gas to power the AWG process. Therefore, this AWG is presented in Table 4.
type of utilization can meet a part of the onsite water requirements for Integrated systems are on the research pathway to help the AWG
other allied processes using unutilized waste gases. emerge into a scalable decentralized water generation system. Large-
Ming et al. [160] proposed a modified solar chimney power plant to scale water generation is possible with integrated systems if AWG
12
Fig. 16. Desiccant based evaporative cooling system together with water production [163].
systems are powered by hot waste gases from biomass gasification, the context of the energy demand of other technologies. Dew har
landfills, or power plants, reducing direct electric energy consumption. vesting plants have been installed in various locations to supplement
This approach opens the door for large AWG plants in the future to meet the freshwater source with practically zero additional energy
the water demands of a large community. The main issues associated consumption.
with AWG systems and possible solutions found in the literature is • The fundamental issues of fog deviation, clogging and re-
presented in Table 5. entrainment associated with traditional fog collectors have been
resolved with electrostatic fog collection and bioinspired design. The
7. Conclusions fog collection from the cooling tower plumes of power plants can
ensure scalable water generation.
Several established and emerging techniques have been proposed in • The sorption based AWG systems have shown remarkable progress in
the literature to generate water from the atmosphere. An optimum the last decade. The newly available sorbents can work even at low
choice among these techniques has to be made for its efficient operation RH 20% or less without the need for high-grade energy. The inherent
depending upon the climatic conditions. A universal technique that is issue of the slow sorption cycle is also now getting solved with the
sustainable, having a wide operational band, scalable and energy- advent of conceptual techniques facilitating fast and continuous
efficient are yet to arrive. Although AWG technology has experienced sorption. Sorption based AWG systems could emerge as a complete
tremendous advancements in the past decade, none of the AWG tech sustainable option in all climatic conditions.
nology has emerged as a viable solution to address the water-energy • Integrating passive or other systems for partially supporting active
nexus. However, most of the advancements in AWG technologies are systems could make the AWG even more energy-efficient and
in their earlier stages only, and therefore many real-time investigations attractive. Less attempts are being made in examining the scalability
and optimisation are required before their deployment in the field. The of the integrated approach for AWG systems.
parameters affecting the energy intensity (i.e. specific energy con • Most of the previous works on various AWG technologies are
sumption) of AWG systems should be the primary focus for future restricted to laboratory test conditions. More field tests are required
research and development. The performance, challenges, future per to assess the actual performance of AWG systems due to the vari
spectives and significant advancements of various AWG technologies ability of RH and ambient temperature in a day.
have been summarized in Table 6. From the present comprehensive • The commercial deployment of these advancements is still far due to
review, the following remarks are made: cost and lack of optimisation. Also, detailed and precise economic
analysis is missing in most of the studies. From the user point of view,
• Among the available AWG technologies, VCR based AWG offers capital investment, payback period, levelized cost of water etc., will
higher and scalable water generation, but at high specific energy be of significant concern.
consumption. Its performance is superior to its TEC counterpart, • The future scope of AWG is to introduce fundamentally new concepts
owing to its large cooling capacity and airflow handling. They are and investigate the possibilities of synergy between the existing
most suitable to work in hot and humid conditions, and performance systems, integrating renewable energy sources like solar photovol
suffers significantly with climate. taic and wind for continuous operation.
• Following an efficient operational strategy may reduce the energy
cost associated with AWG using active refrigeration. The Moisture Declaration of Competing Interest
Harvest Index (MHI) concept reported in the literature can be viewed
as a simple tool to assess the performance of the AWG systems by The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
active refrigeration before installing in any particular location. interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
• The passive cooling based AWG seems to be re-emerging with its the work reported in this paper.
advancements like daytime radiative cooling, deep cooling etc., in
13
Table 4
Summary of the recent approaches in atmospheric water generation.
Ref. System Type Working conditions Performance/Yield Remarks
2
[151] Tubular Solar Still-AWG with T = 28–40 C, RH =
◦
Water generation of 400 mL/m - A new design of solar still consisting of double slope top half with
silica gel 45% − 62% a cylindrical basin.
- Supported with parabolic trough to increase temperature gain.
- Inclusion of longitudinal fins and gravels in the basin.
[152] Tubular Solar Still -AWG with T = 29–36 ◦ C, RH = Water generation of 467 mL/m2.day - Tubular solar still design with rectangular basin.
CaCl2 desiccant 12% with fan and 230 mL/m2.day without - Equipped with fan on the tube side of still for increasing air
fan circulation during night.
- Increase in water yield by 50.8% and efficiency by 51.2% by
increasing air circulation.
[153] Tubular Solar Still -AWG with Low humid desert 0.51 Lwater/kgdesiccant - Tubular solar still design with rectangular basin, supplemented
CaCl2 desiccant and solar climate, RH = 16% with a parabolic solar concentrator.
concentrator - Increase in water yield by 292.4% with the addition of
concentrator.
- Addition of a solar concentrator improved the evaporation rate of
moisture from the desiccant.
[154] Trapezoidal Solar Still-AWG with T = 24–26 ◦ C, RH = 2.320 Lwater/m2 day for cloth bed - Trapezoidal prism design with fibreglass on the four sides.
CaCl2 with cloth and sand bed 60–89% 1.235 Lwater/m2 day for sand bed - Square basin arranged in multi-shelves to hold desiccant and
increase surface area.
- No external fan is used.
- Efficiency around 29.3% for cloth bed, and 17.76% for sand bed.
[155] Trapezoidal Solar Still-AWG with T = 28 ◦ C, RH = 1.06 Lwater/m2 day - Trapezoidal prism design with multi shelves.
CaCl2 with black cotton material 26.5% - Offers more desiccant-water contact area than the square prism
design.
- Compact design and can be installed on rooftops.
- Efficiency around 10% due to low RH conditions.
[156] Biomass gasification powered Indian climate Up to 1.2 Lwater/kgbiomass - Cooling capacity of the vapour adsorption system powered by
AWG biomass gasification is 10.5 kW.
- Water yield of around 800–1200 L per 1000 kg of biomass,
estimated from the thermodynamic analysis.
- Techno-economic analysis estimated higher water generation
cost than other alternatives due to the low COP-0.52 of the
vapour adsorption system.
[157] Waste natural gas-powered AWG Warm humid climate 12.6 Lwater/m3gas - Theoretical study on checking the potential and feasibility of
flared gas-based AWG systems.
- COP of VCR unit considered is 3.8.
- Condensation rate for a condenser area can reach upto 38 L/m2/
day in summer.
[162] VCR based AWG with multiple T = 40 ◦ C, Humidity WGR = 32.5 L/h, SEC = 0.794 kWh/L - VCR-adsorption-hybrid AWG system is proposed.
desiccant wheels ratio = 5 g/kgdry air - The proposed concept is a solution to apply VCR-AWG in dry
climate.
- Air can be humidified from 3 − 12 g/kg to 20–50 g/kg using the
desiccant wheels.
[164] Fuel cell-VCR-AWG hybrid T = 27 ◦ C, RH = SEC = 0.2 kWh/L at RH = 60% - Fuel cell exhaust is fed to VCR-AWG.
system 25–100% - Improvement in water generation with electro-chemical water.
- At RH = 75%, 50% improvement in water generation by 2 kW
fuel cell.
14
Table 5
Technological solutions to the current issues of atmospheric water generation systems.
Issues Possible solutions Remarks
Performance of refrigeration based AWG at - Inclusion of a preconditioning unit or a climatic chamber to - Manually operated climatic chamber is used in the ref. [36],
unfavourable climate improve psychrometric properties of air [36,49] that could be automated in future.
- Humidity enrichment with multiple desiccant wheels [162] - Optimization-based controller is used to control AWG to
maximize WGR with minimum SEC [49].
- Heating of the desiccant wheel is done by using thermal
energy from the VCR-condenser [162].
- Renewable energy driven desiccant regeneration could be
explored to integrate with conventional AWG systems.
High specific energy consumption of - Precooling the incoming air with the cool exit air from the - Under hot and dry conditions, more than 50% of the energy
refrigeration based AWG evaporator section [28,48] will be used for sensible cooling.
- Dependence on renewable energy to power AWG systems. - Water vapour selective separation is done with solid
- Removal of non-condensable gases from incoming air stream membrane [147], liquid membrane [148,149] and polymer
with selective membrane [147–150] electrolyte membrane [150].
- Using hybrid or integrated systems [156–159,164] - Less experimental investigations with selective membrane
for AWG are reported in the literature.
- Hybrid system opens new research pathways in refrigeration
based AWG for scalable production.
- Most of the studies on integrated systems reported in the
literature are limited to theoretical analysis.
Large variation between ideal water extraction - Scope of design optimization, especially with evaporator - Experimental investigations [29,30] confirmed the large
and real extraction at high RH in refrigeration [29,36]. variation in WGR at high RH.
based AWG systems - Proper liberation of the heat of condensation to avoid re- - The variation of WGR from theoretical and experimental
evaporation of water. investigation is minimum at low RH.
- Ensure dropwise condensation by providing a hydrophobic - Less investigations are conducted to check the potential loss
coating over the condensing surface [62,63]. of water generated from the condenser coils.
- Proper design to increase the condenser surface area and - Dropwise condensation can reduce the resistance to heat
residence time of air. transfer between the cooling coil and air in contact.
- An improvement of water yield upto 30% by using nano
silicon dioxide (SiO2) gel as hydrophobic coating [63]
Low performance of TEC-AWG - Better thermal management by recirculation of cold exit air - An improvement of 67% in WGR by cold exit air
to the hot side of the TEC module [63] recirculation [63].
- Periodic removal of condensed water from the cold side [62] - Periodic removal of condensed water avoids re-evaporation
- Stacking of TEC modules powered by renewable energy [61] of water droplets and additional resistance [62].
- Stacking of TEC can improve COP and cooling capacity [61].
Daytime operation and deep radiative cooling of - Using photonic reflector and selective emitter [85,87,89] - Scaling of passive radiative cooling with selective emitter is
passive dew collector - Reduce thermal loss and provide direct sunlight shielding- not yet achieved.
using a vacuum chamber [86] - Currently, the passive radiative cooling with selective
emitters, vacuum chambers etc., are costlier.
Change of selective emission property with dew - Decoupling of emitter and dew collector [88] - Theoretical water generation of 1.5 L/m2/day is predicted
formation on the emitter surface [88], higher than current theoretical maximum of 0.8 L/m2/
day.
- 24-hr operation can be ensured with decoupling technique.
- Scaling of this system needs to be explored.
- Cold air recirculation, which is not done in the work [88]
can improve water yield.
Clogging issues and escape of micro-sized - Fog harp design [103], hydrophilic collectors [104,119], - Fog harp design uses untreated metal wires without the
droplets associated with fog mesh bioinspired designs [115–117], small pore size [120] requirement of super-hydrophobic coatings.
- Most of the studies reported are limited to laboratory scale
only, at high humidity test conditions.
- Sophisticated fabrication techniques are required for bio-
inspired design.
- Practical difficulty in commercializing and scaling up of
reported fog collectors.
Deviation of water droplets around the fog mesh - Injecting electrical charge into fog droplets [121,122] - Improvement in collection efficiency by 60%.
- The test can be performed at different electrode geometries.
- Scope to develop advanced fog collectors with this
technique.
Long cycle time associated with sorption - Continuous sorption cycle [129], high frequency sorption - First ever device to perform continuous sorption [129], still
cycle by fluidized MOF [139], simultaneous in its initial stage.
adsorption–desorption [143]. - Currently, the cost of MOF sorbent is high.
- Extension of the work [139] possible by, optimizing the
process, developing new models to simulate the process.
- Sorbent material should be compatible with interfacial solar
absorber, and their combination is critical.
- Liquid sorbent is used in the work [143] and tests were
conducted at high RH conditions.
High desorption energy requirement for sorbents - Solar assisted desorption possible with advanced MOF and - Interfacial solar heating can prevent bulk heating of the
composite sorbents. sorbent.
- Using solar concentrators [136] - Scheffler reflector is used to focus solar energy for
- Harnessing waste heat from other systems. desorption in the work [136].
- Different bed designs for sorbent could be explored for
increasing the efficiency with solar collectors.
- Currently, the cost of advanced MOF and composite sorbents
are high.
(continued on next page)
15
Table 5 (continued )
Issues Possible solutions Remarks
Desorption from sorbent affected by the - Incorporate suitable PCM material to maintain constant - Small prototype with a commercial PCM is used in the work
temperature of condenser surface condenser temperature [131]. [131] to maintain constant condenser temperature.
- The sizing of the device is crucial, as small size devices can
lead to early melting of PCM and incomplete desorption.
Sorption in a highly contaminated environment - Using porous sodium polyacrylate/graphene framework - The PGF sorbent developed in the work [140] can work
(PGF) [140]. under wide humidity range (RH 15% to 100%).
- Solar assisted desorption is possible with PGF sorbent and
developed prototype can yield water upto 25 L/kg PGF
sorbent per day.
- Scalability with proper optimization could be explored.
Table 6
Performance, Challenges, Perspectives and Advancements of various Atmospheric Water Generation Technologies.
Technology Characteristic features Challenges Capacity/Energy Research gaps/Future Advancements reported in the
consumption Perspectives literature
Vapour compression - Based on well- - High specific energy - 1–4 L/kWh - Optimization and - Air preconditioning unit [36,49].
refrigeration established working consumption. depending upon modified design of - Integrated HVAC systems applied to
principle. - Increase in carbon ambient evaporator coils large buildings [41–43,47].
- Commercially footprint with usage of conditions. - Studies on effect of
available in various electrical energy - small capacity material thickness,
capacities of water generated from thermal (1–20 L/day) to coating, and thermal
generation. power plants. large capacity conductivity of
- Less infrastructure - Environmental issues (>1000 L/day) evaporator coils on
requirement. with refrigerants. water generation.
- Mostly depending on - Cannot work at sub- - New methods for water
high-grade electrical zero dew point vapour selective
energy. temperature. separation.
- Suitable for hot and - System integration with
humid climate. other techniques.
Thermoelectric - Compact and portable. - Low COP less than 1 - Very low capacity - New configurations to - Hydrophobic coatings on the water
cooling - Easily powered by - Economic concern in - Handles minimum enhance water condensing surface [62,63].
solar photovoltaic scaling up. water load generation rate and - Recirculation of exit cold air for
system. - Thermal management thermal management. thermal management [63].
- Less infrastructure of the system.
requirement.
- Minimum investment
and easy to fabricate.
Passive radiative - No external power - Requires large area of - Less than 0.8 L/ - Research and - Deep and daytime radiative cooling
cooling source required. collector for significant m2/day development in [85,86].
- Require high ambient water generation. - Being completely nanophotonics and - Decoupling of dew collector and
RH and clear sky - Water generation is passive, energy metamaterials. emitter [88].
conditions. inconsistent. consumption is a - Coupling with active
- Ease of installation and - Cost of selective minor concern. cooling systems.
deployment. emitters and - More bio-inspired
metamaterials are high. designs
- Carrying away of dew
by the wind, reducing
water yield.
Fog harvesting - Appropriate only for - Water droplet re- - 1.5–12 L/m2/day - Improved fog mesh - Various geometric and surface
highly humid locations entrainment. designs to avoid water modifications [102–104,118–120].
with frequent fog - Clogging in fog mesh. droplet re-entrainment, - Electrostatic fog harvesting
occurrence. - Requires highly clogging the void space [121,122].
- Less space requirement sophisticated between mesh etc. - Fog harvesting from cooling tower
than the passive dew fabrication methods for - More bio-inspired plumes of power plants [161].
collectors due to advanced fog mesh. designs.
vertical placement of
fog mesh.
- More infrastructure
requirements to install
the high capacity fog
mesh.
Sorption - Can work as passive - Slow sorption cycle. - 1–2.8 kg/day/m2 - Recovery and efficient - Concept of continuous sorption
(solar assisted) as well - Multiple sorption (at low RH utilization of latent heat [129].
as active system. cycles in a day. conditions with from sorption beds. - High frequency sorption cycle [139].
- Can work even at low - High cost of advanced solar assisted - Addressing the trapping - Interfacial solar heating with
ambient RH (15–20%). sorbents. desorption) of airborne contaminants sorption [142,143].
- Potential to grow as a - Contamination of the in the sorption beds. - Novel sorbents
scalable and sorbent bed by air- - Enhancement of sorption [137,138,140,141,144]
sustainable system. borne pollutants. kinetics of sorbent
materials.
- Nighttime sorption cycle
with thermal storage.
(continued on next page)
16
Table 6 (continued )
Technology Characteristic features Challenges Capacity/Energy Research gaps/Future Advancements reported in the
consumption Perspectives literature
- Inexpensive sorbents
made up of agro-waste.
Atmospheric water - Water generation can - Occurrence of leakage - Electrical energy - Improvement in mass - Water vapour selective separation
generation assisted be enhanced for the flow. savings up to 65% transfer performance of with solid membrane system [147].
with selective same power input. - Power demand of membranes. - Liquid membrane [148,149].
separation of water - Can be coupled with vacuum pump. - Lack of experimental - Polymer electrolyte membrane
vapour active refrigeration - Requirement of studies and calculation [150].
system to reduce maintaining optimum of levelized cost of water.
energy cost. pressure gradients.
- Maintenance cost is - Cost and service life of
high due to additional membranes.
components like
membrane, vacuum
pump, desiccants etc.
Hybrid/Integrated - Enhanced water - Management of water- - Better performance - Precise economic - AWG systems integrated with solar
System generation rate. energy nexus. than the analysis and the stills [151–155]
- More infrastructure standalone system. calculation of levelized - Feasibility study of large scale AWG
requirement. - Scalability of the cost of water. units powered with: biomass
- High capital cost and system is possible. gasification [156], waste natural gas
maintenance cost. from oil refineries [157], flared and
- More components and landfill gas [158,159].
reliability issue. - Solar chimney power plant [160].
- VCR based AWG integrated with
multiple desiccant wheels [162].
- Fuel cell-active AWG hybrid system
[164]
Acknowledgements [18] Thakkar H, Sankhala A, Ramana PV, Panchal H. A detailed review on solar
desalination techniques. Int J Ambient Energy 2020;41:1066–87.
[19] Subramani A, Jacangelo JG. Emerging desalination technologies for water
One of the authors (GR) gratefully acknowledges the financial treatment: A critical review. Water Res 2015;75:164–87. https://doi.org/
assistance in the form of a research fellowship due to the Indian Institute 10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.032.
of Technology Delhi for the study. Sincere thanks are also due to Er. G C [20] Alkhudhiri A, Darwish N, Hilal N. Membrane distillation: A comprehensive
review. Desalination 2012;287:2–18.
Tiwari, Director, Green Curation, New Delhi, for providing the technical [21] Mendoza-Escamilla JA, Hernandez-Rangel FJ, Cruz-Alcántar P, Saavedra-
support for the study. The fruitful comments and suggestions made by Leos MZ, Morales-Morales J, Figueroa-Diaz RA, et al. A feasibility study on the
different referees are highly appreciated, making the manuscript valu use of an atmospheric water generator (AWG) for the harvesting of fresh water in
a semi-arid region affected by mining pollution. Appl Sci 2019;9.. https://doi.
able to the readers. org/10.3390/app9163278.
[22] Runze D, Qingfen M, Hui L, Gaoping W, Wei Y, Guangfu C, et al. Experimental
References investigations on a portable atmospheric water generator for maritime rescue.
J Water Reuse Desalin 2020;10:30–44. https://doi.org/10.2166/WRD.2020.048.
[23] Hamed AM, Kabeel AE, Zeidan E-S-B, Aly AA. A technical review on the
[1] World Economic Forum. The Global Risks Report 2019:1–114.
extraction of water from atmospheric air in arid zones. JP. J Heat Mass Transf
[2] United Nations University. Global Water Crisis: The facts. 2019.
2010;4:213–28.
[3] Black M. The atlas of water: mapping the World’s most critical resource. Univ of
[24] Elsarrag E, Al HY. Experimental investigations on water recovery from the
California Press; 2016.
atmosphere in arid humid regions. CIBSE Tech Symp DeMontfort Univ 2011:
[4] World Health Organisation. Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and
1–12.
hygiene 2000–2017: special focus on inequalities. World Health Organization;
[25] El-Ghonemy AMK. Fresh water production from/by atmospheric air for arid
2019.
regions, using solar energy. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2012;16:6384.
[5] Mekonnen MM, Sustainability HAY. Four billion people facing severe water
[26] Humphrey JH, Brown J, Cumming O, Evans B, Howard G, Kulabako RN, et al. The
scarcity. Sci Adv 2016;2.. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500323.
potential for atmospheric water harvesting to accelerate household access to safe
[6] Faeth P, Sovacool BK. Capturing synergies between water conservation and
water. Lancet Planet Heal 2020;4:e91–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196
carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector. CNA Anal Solut Virginia 2014.
(20)30034-6.
[7] Faeth P, Sovacool BK, Thorkildsen Z, Rao A, Purcell D, Eidsness J, et al. A clash of
[27] Salehi AA, Ghannadi-Maragheh M, Torab-Mostaedi M, Torkaman R,
competing necessities. CNA Anal Solut Virginia 2014.
Asadollahzadeh M. A review on the water-energy nexus for drinking water
[8] Burek P, Satoh Y, Fischer G, Kahil MT, Scherzer A, Tramberend S, et al. Water
production from humid air. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2020;120:109627.
Futures and Solution. Fast Track Initiative 2016.
[28] Tu Y, Wang R, Zhang Y, Wang J. Progress and expectation of atmospheric water
[9] Boretti A, Rosa L. Reassessing the projections of the World Water Development
harvesting. Joule 2018;2:1452–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.07.015.
Report. Npj Clean Water 2019;2.. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-019-0039-9.
[29] Bagheri F. Performance investigation of atmospheric water harvesting systems.
[10] Ercin AE, Hoekstra AY. Water footprint scenarios for 2050: A global analysis.
Water Resour Ind 2018;20:23–8.
Environ Int 2014;64:71–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2013.11.019.
[30] Peeters R, Vanderschaeghe H, Rongé J, Martens JA. Energy performance and
[11] United Nations. World Water Development Report 2020. UN-Water 2020. http
climate dependency of technologies for fresh water production from atmospheric
s://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2020/
water vapour. Environ Sci Water Res Technol 2020.
(accessed August 23, 2020).
[31] Atmospheric Water Generator by GENAQ. A new water supply alternative. n.d.
[12] Maddocks A, Young RS, Reig P. Ranking the World’s Most Water-Stressed
http://www.genaq.com/water/ (accessed August 25, 2020).
Countries in 2015;2040:1–9.
[32] Maithriaqua n.d. https://www.maithriaqua.co.in/ (accessed August 25, 2020).
[13] Schneider SH. Encyclopedia of climate and weather, vol. 1. Oxford University
[33] VayuJal – Water from air – anytime, anywhere n.d. https://vayujal.com/
Press; 2011.
(accessed August 25, 2020).
[14] Graham S, Parkinson C, Chahine M. The water cycle. NASA Earth Obs 2010.
[34] Air-O-Water Atmospheric Water Generator technology n.d. https://www.
[15] Gido B, Friedler E, Broday DM. Assessment of atmospheric moisture harvesting by
airowater.com/technology (accessed August 25, 2020).
direct cooling. Atmos Res 2016;182:156–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
[35] Tu R, Hwang Y. Reviews of atmospheric water harvesting technologies. Energy
atmosres.2016.07.029.
2020;117630.
[16] Vuollekoski H, Vogt M, Sinclair VA, Duplissy J, Järvinen H, Kyrö E-M, et al.
[36] Patel J, Patel K, Mudgal A, Panchal H, Sadasivuni KK. Experimental investigations
Estimates of global dew collection potential on artificial surfaces. Hydrol Earth
of atmospheric water extraction device under different climatic conditions.
Syst Sci 2015;19:601–13.
Sustain Energy Technol Assess 2020;38:100677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
[17] Beysens D. Estimating dew yield worldwide from a few meteo data. Atmos Res
seta.2020.100677.
2016;167:146–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2015.07.018.
17
[37] Patel K, Patel J, Raval H. Potential Study of Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) [67] Eslami M, Tajeddini F, Etaati N. Thermal analysis and optimization of a system
for Humid Climatic Conditions of Eastern States in India. Smart Innov. Syst. for water harvesting from humid air using thermoelectric coolers. Energy Convers
Technol., vol. 161, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH; Manag 2018;174:417–29.
2020, p. 239–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9578-0_21. [68] Irshad K, Almalawi A, Habib K, Zahir MH, Ali A, Islam S, et al. Experimental study
[38] Habeebullah BA. Potential use of evaporator coils for water extraction in hot and of a thermoelectric air duct dehumidification system for tropical climate. Heat
humid areas. Desalination 2009;237:330–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. Transf Eng 2020:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2020.1777008.
desal.2008.01.025. [69] Sharpe L, Burhanuddin N, Majcan T, Rebolledo J. Increasing the efficiency of a
[39] Zolfagharkhani S, Zamen M, Shahmardan MM. Thermodynamic analysis and Peltier device by assessing the thermal performance of liquid-cooled
evaluation of a gas compression refrigeration cycle for fresh water production microchannel heat sinks. PAM Rev 2020;7..
from atmospheric air. Energy Convers Manag 2018;170:97–107. https://doi.org/ [70] Vall S, Castell A. Radiative cooling as low-grade energy source: A literature
10.1016/j.enconman.2018.05.016. review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2017;77:803–20.
[40] Talib AJ, Khalifa AHN, Mohammed AQ. Performance study of water harvesting [71] Zhao D, Aili A, Zhai Y, Xu S, Tan G, Yin X, et al. Radiative sky cooling:
unit working under iraqi conditions. Int J Air-Conditioning Refrig 2019;27: Fundamental principles, materials, and applications. Appl Phys Rev 2019;6:
1950011. 21306.
[41] Magrini A, Cattani L, Cartesegna M, Magnani L. Integrated systems for air [72] Jarimi H, Powell R, Riffat S. Review of sustainable methods for atmospheric
conditioning and production of drinking water–Preliminary considerations. water harvesting. Int J Low-Carbon Technol 2020;15:253–76.
Energy Procedia 2015;75:1659–65. [73] Khalil B, Adamowski J, Shabbir A, Jang C, Rojas M, Reilly K, et al. A review: Dew
[42] Magrini A, Cattani L, Cartesegna M, Magnani L. Production of water from the air: water collection from radiative passive collectors to recent developments of
the environmental sustainability of air-conditioning systems through a more active collectors. Sustain Water Resour Manag 2016;2:71–86.
intelligent use of resources. The advantages of an integrated system. Energy [74] Beysens D. Dew water. River Publishers 2018.
Procedia 2015;78:1153–8. [75] Sharan G. Harvesting dew with radiation cooled condensers to supplement
[43] Magrini A, Cattani L, Cartesegna M, Magnani L. Water production from air drinking water supply in semi-arid. Int J Serv Learn Eng Humanit Eng Soc Entrep
conditioning systems: Some evaluations about a sustainable use of resources. 2011;6:130–50.
Sustainability 2017;9:1309. [76] Beysens D, Brogginib F, Milimouk-Melnytchoukc I, Ouazzanid J, Tixiere N. New
[44] Algarni S, Saleel CA, Mujeebu MA. Air-conditioning condensate recovery and architectural forms to enhance dew collection. Chem Eng 2013;34:79–84.
applications—Current developments and challenges ahead. Sustain Cities Soc [77] Hossain MM, Gu M. Radiative cooling: principles, progress, and potentials. Adv
2018;37:263–74. Sci 2016;3:1500360.
[45] Al-Farayedhi AA, Ibrahim NI, Gandhidasan P. Condensate as a water source from [78] Tomaszkiewicz M, Abou Najm M, Beysens D, Alameddine I, El-Fadel M. Dew as a
vapor compression systems in hot and humid regions. Desalination 2014;349: sustainable non-conventional water resource: a critical review. Environ Rev 2015;
60–7. 23:425–42.
[46] Eades WG. Energy and water recovery using air-handling unit condensate from [79] Royon L, Bintein PB, Lhuissier H, Mongruel A, Beysens D. Micro grooved surface
laboratory HVAC systems. Sustain Cities Soc 2018;42:162–75. improve dew collection 2016.
[47] Cattani L, Magrini A, Cattani P. Water extraction from air by [80] Bintein P-B, Lhuissier H, Mongruel A, Royon L, Beysens D. Grooves accelerate
refrigeration—experimental results from an integrated system application. Appl dew shedding. Phys Rev Lett 2019;122:98005.
Sci 2018;8:2262. [81] Al-Khayat O, Hong JK, Beck DM, Minett AI, Neto C. Patterned polymer coatings
[48] Radermacher RK, Fawzi H. Device for collecting water from air 2006. increase the efficiency of dew harvesting. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2017;9:
[49] Bahrami M, Bagheri F. Hybrid atmospheric water generator 2018. 13676–84.
[50] Chen Y, Zhang X, Yin Y. Experimental and theoretical analysis of liquid desiccant [82] Guadarrama-Cetina J, Mongruel A, Medici M-G, Baquero E, Parker AR, Milimouk-
dehumidification process based on an advanced hybrid air-conditioning system. Melnytchuk I, et al. Dew condensation on desert beetle skin. Eur Phys J E 2014;
Appl Therm Eng 2016;98:387–99. 37:109.
[51] Khalil A. An experimental study on multi-purpose desiccant integrated vapor- [83] Ang BTW, Zhang J, Lin GJ, Wang H, Lee WSV, Xue J. Enhancing water harvesting
compression air-conditioning system. Int J Energy Res 2012;36:535–44. through the cascading effect. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019;11:27464–9.
[52] Mansuriya K, Patel VK, Raja BD, Mudgal A. Assessment of liquid desiccant [84] Liu J, Zhou Z, Zhang J, Feng W, Zuo J. Advances and challenges in
dehumidification aided vapor-compression refrigeration system based on thermo- commercializing radiative cooling. Mater Today Phys 2019;11:100161.
economic approach. Appl Therm Eng 2020;164:114542. [85] Raman AP, Abou Anoma M, Zhu L, Rephaeli E, Fan S. Passive radiative cooling
[53] Tu YD, Wang RZ, Ge TS. New concept of desiccant-enhanced heat pump. Energy below ambient air temperature under direct sunlight. Nature 2014;515:540–4.
Convers Manag 2018;156:568–74. [86] Chen Z, Zhu L, Raman A, Fan S. Radiative cooling to deep sub-freezing
[54] Tu YD, Wang RZ, Ge TS, Zheng X. Comfortable, high-efficiency heat pump with temperatures through a 24-h day–night cycle. Nat Commun 2016;7:1–5.
desiccant-coated, water-sorbing heat exchangers. Sci Rep 2017;7:40437. [87] Zhou M, Song H, Xu X, Shahsafi A, Xia Z, Ma Z, et al. Accelerating vapor
[55] Chai S, Sun X, Zhao Y, Dai Y. Experimental investigation on a fresh air condensation with daytime radiative cooling. New Concepts Sol. Therm. Radiat.
dehumidification system using heat pump with desiccant coated heat exchanger. Convers. II, vol. 11121, International Society for Optics and Photonics; 2019, p.
Energy 2019;171:306–14. 1112107.
[56] Cui S, Qin M, Marandi A, Steggles V, Wang S, Feng X, et al. Metal-Organic [88] Zamir Y, Drechsler N, Howell J. Deep Radiative Cooling Passive Dew Collection.
Frameworks as advanced moisture sorbents for energy-efficient high temperature ArXiv 2019:arXiv-1909..
cooling. Sci Rep 2018;8:1–9. [89] Dong M, Zhang Z, Shi Y, Zhao X, Fan S, Chen Z. Fundamental Limits of the Dew-
[57] Vivekh P, Kumja M, Bui DT, Chua KJ. Recent developments in solid desiccant Harvesting Technology. Nanoscale Microscale Thermophys Eng 2020;24:43–52.
coated heat exchangers – A review. Appl Energy 2018;229:778–803. https://doi. [90] Sharan G, Roy AK, Royon L, Mongruel A, Beysens D. Dew plant for bottling water.
org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.08.041. J Clean Prod 2017;155:83–92.
[58] Chen X, Riffat S, Bai H, Zheng X, Reay D. Recent progress in liquid desiccant [91] Sharan G, Clus O, Singh S, Muselli M, Beysens D. A very large dew and rain ridge
dehumidification and air-conditioning: A review. Energy Built Environ 2020;1: collector in the Kutch area (Gujarat, India). J Hydrol 2011;405:171–81.
106–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbenv.2019.09.001. [92] Clus O, Lekouch I, Muselli M, Milimouk-Melnytchouk I, Beysens D. Dew, fog and
[59] Zhao D, Tan G. A review of thermoelectric cooling: materials, modeling and rain water collectors in a village of S-Morocco (Idouasskssou). Desalin Water
applications. Appl Therm Eng 2014;66:15–24. Treat 2013;51:4235–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2013.768323.
[60] Twaha S, Zhu J, Yan Y, Li B. A comprehensive review of thermoelectric [93] Lekouch I, Muselli M, Kabbachi B, Ouazzani J, Melnytchouk-Milimouk I,
technology: Materials, applications, modelling and performance improvement. Beysens D. Dew, fog, and rain as supplementary sources of water in south-western
Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2016;65:698–726. Morocco. Energy 2011;36:2257–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
[61] Milani D, Abbas A, Vassallo A, Chiesa M, Al BD. Evaluation of using energy.2010.03.017.
thermoelectric coolers in a dehumidification system to generate freshwater from [94] Lekouch I, Lekouch K, Muselli M, Mongruel A, Kabbachi B, Beysens D. Rooftop
ambient air. Chem Eng Sci 2011;66:2491–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. dew, fog and rain collection in southwest Morocco and predictive dew modeling
ces.2011.02.018. using neural networks. J Hydrol 2012;448:60–72.
[62] Hand CT, Peuker S. An experimental study of the influence of orientation on [95] Kaseke KF, Wang L. Fog and dew as potable water resources: Maximizing
water condensation of a thermoelectric cooling heatsink. Heliyon 2019;5:e02752. harvesting potential and water quality concerns. GeoHealth 2018;2:327–32.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02752. [96] Korkmaz S, Kariper İA. Fog harvesting against water shortage. Environ Chem Lett
[63] He W, Yu P, Hu Z, Lv S, Qin M, Yu C. Experimental study and performance 2020;18:361–75.
analysis of a portable atmospheric water generator. Energies 2020;13:73. https:// [97] Fessehaye M, Abdul-Wahab SA, Savage MJ, Kohler T, Gherezghiher T, Hurni H.
doi.org/10.3390/en13010073. Fog-water collection for community use. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2014;29:
[64] Shourideh AH, Bou Ajram W, Al Lami J, Haggag S, Mansouri A. A comprehensive 52–62.
study of an atmospheric water generator using Peltier effect. Therm Sci Eng Prog [98] Batisha AF. Feasibility and sustainability of fog harvesting. Sustain Water Qual
2018;6:14–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2018.02.015. Ecol 2015;6:1–10.
[65] Liu S, He W, Hu D, Lv S, Chen D, Wu X, et al. Experimental analysis of a portable [99] Klemm O, Schemenauer RS, Lummerich A, Cereceda P, Marzol V, Corell D, et al.
atmospheric water generator by thermoelectric cooling method. Energy Procedia Fog as a fresh-water resource: overview and perspectives. Ambio 2012;41:
2017;142:1609–14. 221–34.
[66] Kadhim TJ, Abbas AK, Kadhim HJ. Experimental study of atmospheric water [100] Abdul-Wahab SA, Al-Damkhi AM, Al-Hinai H, Al-Najar KA, Al-Kalbani MS. Total
collection powered by solar energy using the Peltier effect. IOP Publ 2020;671: fog and rainwater collection in the Dhofar region of the Sultanate of Oman during
12155. the monsoon season. Water Int 2010;35:100–9.
18
[101] Domen JK, Stringfellow WT, Camarillo MK, Gulati S. Fog water as an alternative [135] Gandhidasan P, Abualhamayel HI. Investigation of humidity harvest as an
and sustainable water resource. Clean Technol Environ Policy 2014;16:235–49. alternative water source in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Water Environ J 2010;
[102] Park K-C, Chhatre SS, Srinivasan S, Cohen RE, McKinley GH. Optimal design of 24:282–92.
permeable fiber network structures for fog harvesting. Langmuir 2013;29: [136] Srivastava S, Yadav A. Water generation from atmospheric air by using composite
13269–77. desiccant material through fixed focus concentrating solar thermal power. Sol
[103] Shi W, Anderson MJ, Tulkoff JB, Kennedy BS, Boreyko JB. Fog harvesting with Energy 2018;169:302–15.
harps. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018;10:11979–86. [137] Kim H, Yang S, Rao SR, Narayanan S, Kapustin EA, Furukawa H, et al. Water
[104] Lee J, So J, Bae W, Won Y. The Design of Hydrophilic Nanochannel-Macrostripe harvesting from air with metal-organic frameworks powered by natural sunlight.
Fog Collector: Enabling Wicking-Assisted Vertical Liquid Delivery for the Science 2017;356:430–4.
Enhancement in Fog Collection Efficiency. Adv Mater Interfaces 2020:1902150. [138] Fathieh F, Kalmutzki MJ, Kapustin EA, Waller PJ, Yang J, Yaghi OM. Practical
[105] Sarkar D, Mahapatra A, Som A, Kumar R, Nagar A, Baidya A, et al. Patterned water production from desert air. Sci Adv 2018;4:3198.
Nanobrush Nature Mimics with Unprecedented Water-Harvesting Efficiency. Adv [139] Terzis A, Ramachandran A, Wang K, Asheghi M, Goodson KE, Santiago JG. High-
Mater Interfaces 2018;5:1800667. frequency water vapor sorption cycling using fluidization of metal-organic
[106] Song Y, Liu Y, Jiang H, Li S, Kaya C, Stegmaier T, et al. A bioinspired structured frameworks. Cell Reports Phys Sci 2020;1:100057.
graphene surface with tunable wetting and high wearable properties for efficient [140] Yao H, Zhang P, Huang Y, Cheng H, Li C, Qu L. Highly efficient clean water
fog collection. Nanoscale 2018;10:16127–37. production from contaminated air with a wide humidity range. Adv Mater 2020;
[107] Park K-C, Kim P, Grinthal A, He N, Fox D, Weaver JC, et al. Condensation on 32:1905875.
slippery asymmetric bumps. Nature 2016;531:78–82. [141] Li R, Shi Y, Alsaedi M, Wu M, Shi L, Wang P. Hybrid hydrogel with high water
[108] Wen C, Guo H, Bai H, Xu T, Liu M, Yang J, et al. Beetle-inspired hierarchical vapor harvesting capacity for deployable solar-driven atmospheric water
antibacterial interface for reliable fog harvesting. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces generator. Environ Sci Technol 2018;52:11367–77.
2019;11:34330–7. [142] Wang X, Li X, Liu G, Li J, Hu X, Xu N, et al. An interfacial solar heating assisted
[109] Ju J, Yao X, Yang S, Wang L, Sun R, He Y, et al. Cactus stem inspired cone-arrayed liquid sorbent atmospheric water generator. Angew Chemie Int Ed 2019;58:
surfaces for efficient fog collection. Adv Funct Mater 2014;24:6933–8. 12054–8.
[110] Cao M, Ju J, Li K, Dou S, Liu K, Jiang L. Facile and large-scale fabrication of a [143] Qi H, Wei T, Zhao W, Zhu B, Liu G, Wang P, et al. An interfacial solar-driven
cactus-inspired continuous fog collector. Adv Funct Mater 2014;24:3235–40. atmospheric water generator based on a liquid sorbent with simultaneous
[111] Gürsoy M, Harris MT, Carletto A, Yaprak AE, Karaman M, Badyal JPS. Bioinspired adsorption-desorption. Adv Mater 2019;31:1903378.
asymmetric-anisotropic (directional) fog harvesting based on the arid climate [144] Gong F, Li H, Zhou Q, Wang M, Wang W, Lv Y, et al. Agricultural waste-derived
plant Eremopyrum orientale. Colloids Surfaces A Physicochem Eng Asp 2017;529: moisture-absorber for all-weather atmospheric water collection and electricity
959–65. generation. Nano Energy 2020;104922.
[112] Park JK, Kim S. Three-dimensionally structured flexible fog harvesting surfaces [145] Yang K, Pan T, Pinnau I, Shi Z, Han Y. Simultaneous generation of atmospheric
inspired by Namib Desert Beetles. Micromachines 2019;10:201. water and electricity using a hygroscopic aerogel with fast sorption kinetics. Nano
[113] Li C, Liu Y, Gao C, Li X, Xing Y, Zheng Y. Fog harvesting of a bioinspired Energy 2020;105326.
nanocone-decorated 3D fiber network. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019;11: [146] Mulchandani A, Malinda S, Edberg J, Westerhoff P. Sunlight-driven atmospheric
4507–13. water capture capacity is enhanced by nano-enabled photothermal desiccants.
[114] Dong H, Wang N, Wang L, Bai H, Wu J, Zheng Y, et al. Bioinspired electrospun Environ Sci Nano 2020;7:2584–94.
knotted microfibers for fog harvesting. Chem PhysChem 2012;13:1153–6. [147] Bergmair D, Metz SJ, De Lange HC, Van Steenhoven A. System analysis of
[115] Zhang S, Huang J, Chen Z, Lai Y. Bioinspired special wettability surfaces: from membrane facilitated water generation from air humidity. Desalination 2014;
fundamental research to water harvesting applications. Small 2017;13:1602992. 339:26–33.
[116] Gurera D, Bhushan B. Passive water harvesting by desert plants and animals: [148] Gido B, Friedler E, Broday DM. Liquid-desiccant vapor separation reduces the
lessons from nature. Philos Trans R Soc A 2020;378:20190444. energy requirements of atmospheric moisture harvesting. Environ Sci Technol
[117] Malik FT, Clement RM, Gethin DT, Krawszik W, Parker AR. Nature’s moisture 2016;50:8362–7.
harvesters: a comparative review. Bioinspir Biomim 2014;9:31002. [149] Kudasheva A, Liu Y, Ito A. Aqueous salt solution liquid membranes, supported by
[118] Seo D, Lee J, Lee C, Nam Y. The effects of surface wettability on the fog and dew nanoparticles, for water extraction from the atmosphere via air dehumidification.
moisture harvesting performance on tubular surfaces. Sci Rep 2016;6:1–11. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2018;93:2851–9.
[119] Knapczyk-Korczak J, Szewczyk PK, Ura DP, Berent K, Stachewicz U. Hydrophilic [150] Qi R, Li D, Zhang L-Z. Performance investigation on polymeric electrolyte
nanofibers in fog collectors for increased water harvesting efficiency. RSC Adv membrane-based electrochemical air dehumidification system. Appl Energy
2020;10:22335–42. 2017;208:1174–83.
[120] Rajaram M, Heng X, Oza M, Luo C. Enhancement of fog-collection efficiency of a [151] Essa FA, Elsheikh AH, Sathyamurthy R, Manokar AM, Kandeal AW, Shanmugan S,
Raschel mesh using surface coatings and local geometric changes. Colloids et al. Extracting water content from the ambient air in a double-slope half-
Surfaces A Physicochem Eng Asp 2016;508:218–29. cylindrical basin solar still using silica gel under Egyptian conditions. Sustain
[121] Damak M, Varanasi KK. Electrostatically driven fog collection using space charge Energy Technol Assess 2020;39:100712.
injection. Sci Adv 2018;4:eaao5323.. [152] Elashmawy M. Experimental study on water extraction from atmospheric air
[122] Cruzat D, Jerez-Hanckes C. Electrostatic fog water collection. J Electrostat 2018; using tubular solar still. J Clean Prod 2020;249:119322.
96:128–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elstat.2018.10.009. [153] Elashmawy M, Alshammari F. Atmospheric water harvesting from low humid
[123] Zhou X, Lu H, Zhao F, Yu G. Atmospheric water harvesting: A review of material regions using tubular solar still powered by a parabolic concentrator system.
and structural designs. ACS Mater Lett 2020. J Clean Prod 2020;256:120329.
[124] Hanikel N, Prévot MS, Yaghi OM. MOF water harvesters. Nat Nanotechnol 2020: [154] William GE, Mohamed MH, Fatouh M. Desiccant system for water production
1–8. from humid air using solar energy. Energy 2015;90:1707–20.
[125] Boriskina SV, Raza A, Zhang T, Wang P, Zhou L, Zhu J. Nanomaterials for the [155] Elashmawy M, Alatawi I. Atmospheric water harvesting from low-humid regions
water-energy nexus. Mrs Bull 2019;44:59. of hail city in Saudi Arabia. Nat Resour Res 2020:1–12.
[126] Uravu Labs n.d. http://www.uravulabs.com/eva.php (accessed September 15, [156] Chaitanya B, Bahadur V, Thakur AD, Raj R. Biomass-gasification-based
2020). atmospheric water harvesting in India. Energy 2018;165:610–21.
[127] Aqua Sciences Inc - Making Water Virtually Anywhere on the Planet. Make [157] Ozkan O, Wikramanayake ED, Bahadur V. Modeling humid air condensation in
potable water from the air, atmosferic water generators. n.d. http://www. waste natural gas-powered atmospheric water harvesting systems. Appl Therm
aquasciences.com/tech_eng.shtml (accessed September 15, 2020). Eng 2017;118:224–32.
[128] SunToWater Water Generator. Making Water from Air. n.d. https://suntowater. [158] Wikramanayake ED, Bahadur V. Flared natural gas-based onsite atmospheric
com/ (accessed September 15, 2020). water harvesting (AWH) for oilfield operations. Environ Res Lett 2016;11:34024.
[129] Li R, Shi Y, Wu M, Hong S, Wang P. Improving atmospheric water production [159] Wikramanayake ED, Ozkan O, Bahadur V. Landfill gas-powered atmospheric
yield: Enabling multiple water harvesting cycles with nano sorbent. Nano Energy water harvesting for oilfield operations in the United States. Energy 2017;138:
2020;67:104255. 647–58.
[130] Entezari A, Ejeian M, Wang RZ. Extraordinary air water harvesting performance [160] Ming T, Gong T, de Richter RK, Wu Y, Liu W. A moist air condensing device for
with three phase sorption. Mater Today Energy 2019;13:362–73. sustainable energy production and water generation. Energy Convers Manag
[131] Ejeian M, Entezari A, Wang RZ. Solar powered atmospheric water harvesting with 2017;138:638–50.
enhanced LiCl/MgSO4/ACF Composite. Appl Therm Eng 2020;115396. [161] Ghosh R, Ray TK, Ganguly R. Cooling tower fog harvesting in power plants – A
[132] Wang JY, Liu JY, Wang RZ, Wang LW. Experimental investigation on two solar- pilot study. Energy 2015;89:1018–28.
driven sorption based devices to extract fresh water from atmosphere. Appl [162] Tu R, Hwang Y. Performance analyses of a new system for water harvesting from
Therm Eng 2017;127:1608–16. moist air that combines multi-stage desiccant wheels and vapor compression
[133] Yang T, Wang B, Li S. Design and Thermodynamic Study on Microfluidic cycles. Energy Convers Manag 2019;198:111811.
Atmospheric Water-generator. Chinese Hydraul Pneum 2017:10.. [163] Heidari A, Roshandel R, Vakiloroaya V. An innovative solar assisted desiccant-
[134] Kumar M, Yadav A. Experimental investigation of solar powered water based evaporative cooling system for co-production of water and cooling in hot
production from atmospheric air by using composite desiccant material “CaCl2/ and humid climates. Energy Convers Manag 2019;185:396–409.
saw wood”. Desalination 2015;367:216–22. [164] Kwan TH, Shen Y, Hu T, Pei G. The fuel cell and atmospheric water generator
hybrid system for supplying grid-independent power and freshwater. Appl Energy
2020;279:115780.
19

Energy Conversion and Management: G. Raveesh, R. Goyal, S.K. Tyagi

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Energy Conversion and Management: G. Raveesh, R. Goyal, S.K. Tyagi

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Energy Conversion and Management: G. Raveesh, R. Goyal, S.K. Tyagi

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Energy Conversion and Management 239 (2021) 114226

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect