Water Condenser

Abstract

A water condenser includes a fan which draws a primary airflow through an upstream refrigerant evaporator, through an air-to-air heat exchanger and in one embodiment also an air-to-water heat exchanger uses cold water collected as condensate from the evaporator, the airflow to the evaporator being pre-cooled by passing through the air-to-air heat exchanger and the air-to-water heat exchanger prior to entry into the evaporator wherein the airflow is further cooled to below its dew point so as to condense moisture onto the evaporator far gravity collection. The evaporator is cooled by a closed refrigerant circuit. The refrigerant condenser for the closed refrigerant circuit may employ the fan drawing the airflow through the evaporator or a separate fan, both of which drawing an auxiliary airflow separate from the airflow through the evaporator through a manifold whereby bath the auxiliary airflow and the airflow through the evaporator, or just the auxiliary airflow are guided through the condenser and corresponding fan.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to the field of water condensers generally and in particular to a water condenser providing for optimized controlled cooling of an ambient air flow to its dew point temperature so as to condense moisture from the ambient air to provide potable water.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]At any given moment the earth's atmosphere contains 326 million cubic miles of water and of this, 97% is saltwater and only 3% is fresh water. Of the 3% that is fresh water, 70% is frozen in Antarctica and of the remaining 30% only 0.7% is found in liquid form. Atmospheric air contains 0.16% of this 0.7% or 4,000 cubic miles of water which is 8 times the amount of water found in all the rivers of the world. Of the remaining 0.7%, 0.16% is found in the atmosphere; 0.8% is found in soil moisture; 1.4% is found in lakes; and 97.5% is found in groundwater.[0003]Nature maintains this ratio by accelerating or retarding the rates of evaporation and condensation,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]Rather than using a capillary tube metering mechanism for feeding refrigerant fluid into the refrigerant evaporator, such as is normally used for smaller refrigeration systems, the device according to the present invention, may be fitted with an automatic suction valve so as to allow for the device to adapt to varying loads created by different environments. One object is that the condensation process is to provide efficient processing of atmospheric, that is ambient air. Thus the intake air flow downstream of the air filtration may be pre-cooled, prior to entering a refrigerant evaporator used to condense moisture out of the intake air flow, by passing the intake air flow through an air-to-air beat exchanger, itself cooled by cooled air leaving the evaporator. That is, the incoming air flow is cooled before it enters the refrigerant evaporator section by passing it in close proximity in the heat exchanger to the cooled air that is leaving the refrigerant evaporator. Air-to-air heat exchangers may be constructed to be very efficient, reaching 80% efficiency, and therefore reducing the temperature of the incoming air flow towards the dew point prior to the air flow entering the refrigerant evaporator, reduces the temperature differential, or temperature drop that must obtained by passing the air over cooled surfaces in the refrigerant evaporator to obtain the dew point temperature, and thus may have a significant impact upon the efficiency of the condensation process and thus the efficiency of the device. For example the device may thus be optimized to increase the air flow rate and still be able to reduce the air flow temperature to the dew point, or the device will be able to handle very hot inflow temperatures and still reduce the dew point temperature of a reasonable air flow volume over time so as to harvest a useful amount of moisture. Sensors provide temperature, for example ambient, inlet temperatures, refrigerant evaporator inlet and refrigerant evaporator outlet temperatures, humidity, and fan speed or other air flow rate indicators to the process to optimize and balance those variables to maximize harvested moisture volume. Embodiments of the present invention may thus include varying the flow of air through the system such that the device has a prescribed amount of air passing through the refrigerant evaporator and a different flow of air passing through the refrigerant condenser of the corresponding refrigerant circuit, allowing for optimized function.

[0031]In addition to the benefits described above, the water condenser may add additional value in further processing. For example, the harvested water may be further processed so as to increase the value of the water, by adding back inorganic minerals missing or only present in small amounts in the water, so as to accommodate the perceived value of these minerals to the consumer. This process may also add organic minerals back into the water which are of benefit to the human body, rather than simply adding back inorganic minerals that the human body may not be able to properly assimilate.

[0037]The already pre-cooled primary air flow is further cooled in the first refrigeration unit below a dew point of the primary air flow so as to commence condensation of moisture in the primary air flow onto the refrigerated surfaces for gravity-assisted collection of the moisture into a moisture collector, for example a drip late or pan mounted under or in a lower part of the housing. The downstream end of the first refrigeration unit cooperates with, for passage of the primary air flow into, an upstream end of the post-refrigeration set of air conduits, for example to then enter the air-to-air heat exchanger so as to pre-cool the primary air flow before the primary air flow engages the first refrigeration unit. Because of pre-cooling by the heat exchanger, condensate may be collected with minimal power requirements. A second air-to-air heat exchanger may further increase system performance. Collectively the pre-refrigeration and post-refrigeration sets of air conduits form the first cooling stage, and collectively the plate or plates of the refrigerant evaporator form the second cooling stage.

[0042]The air flow prime mover may be selectively controllable and the processor may regulate the primary, auxiliary or combined air flow so as to minimize the air temperature of the primary air flow from dropping too far below the dew point for the primary air flow to minimize condensation within the heat exchanger, and so as to optimize or maximize the volume of moisture condensation in the refrigeration unit.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, many of the world's fresh water sources are contaminated.

According to the United Nations, 31 countries in the world are currently facing water stress and over one billion people lack access to clean water.

Half of humanity lacks basic sanitation services and water-borne pathogens kill 25 million people every year.

Furthermore, unless dramatic changes occur, soon, close to two-thirds of the world's population will be living with freshwater shortages.

Current technologies require too much energy to operate efficiently and the resultant cost of the treated water puts these technologies out-of-reach for the majority in need.

Desalination plants exist in rich nations such as the United States and Saudi Arabia but are not feasible everywhere.

The lack of infrastructure in developing nations makes large plants with high-volume production impractical, as there is no way to transport the water efficiently.

The death and misery that flow from unsafe water is overwhelming.

The poor are often forced to pay exorbitant prices for untreated water, much of it deadly,” reports William Cosgrove, director of World Water Vision, Paris.

Urban population growth will increase the demand for household water, but poorly planned water and sanitation services will lead to a breakdown in services for hundreds of millions of people.

It should be noted that while much of the prior art is based on simply extracting what can be extracted from the air using a simplistic and uncontrolled process, some water will be extracted, but with little concern for efficiency.

In the optimal condensation process if too much air is drawn through the system, the system cannot transfer enough of the total volume of air to a temperature below the dew point, therefore resulting in poor performance from the system.

As well, other issues that arise when too little air is moved through the system such as freezing and wasted energy in the overuse of “latent” beat.

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