IMPROVEMENT OF THERMOELECTRIC BASED ATMOSPHERIC WATER GENERATOR USING NANOSTRUCTURED SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACE

• Main Author: Pratama Wahab, Fajar
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/69009
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Water scarcity has been one of the substantial issues for upcoming years even though water is considered one of the most abundant molecules on the earth. One of the technologies that can be utilized to overcome this global issue is the atmospheric water generator (AWG) which converts water vapor from air to its liquid phase by applying a condensation process. There are a few ways to produce a cold surface for promoting the condensation process, and thermoelectric cooling is one of them. A thermoelectric cooler has many advantages such as being portable and reliable. However, thermoelectric cooling-based AWG technology has several downsides such as a low water harvesting rate. To overcome this drawback, the condensation mode on the condensation surface can be improved. Dropwise condensation mode is preferred in atmospheric water generators due to the high heat transfer rate. One of the methods to promote dropwise condensation is by modifying the condensation surface to be superhydrophobic. This research aims to improve the performance of a thermoelectric cooling-based atmospheric water generator by implementing a nanostructured superhydrophobic surface as its condensation surface. The performance will be compared to an atmospheric water generator with polished copper as its condensation surface. The results show that the superhydrophobic condensation surface has a higher water harvesting rate and lower unit power consumption.