An atmospheric water extraction system and working method based on spectral modulation

Abstract

An atmospheric water extraction system and working method based on spectral modulation. The system consists of a wet water-absorbing particle tower, a fresh water desorption chamber, a particle pump, a dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber, and a solar concentrator. The present invention utilizes the spectral modulation effect of particles to adjust the solar spectrum to the near-infrared band with good water radiation performance, realizing the atmospheric water extraction process driven by solar energy. Spectral modulation particles with a core-shell structure are used to automatically separate the spectral modulation particles from the water-absorbing particles by using magnetism. Different distribution densities of the spectral modulation particles on the conveyor belt are selected to cope with different solar irradiations, ensuring the desorption process of water.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of atmospheric water extraction, and particularly relates to an atmospheric water extraction system and a working method based on spectral modulation. Background Art

[0002] 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but fresh water resources are extremely limited. According to relevant data, the total global water resource storage is approximately 1,386,000,000 km 3 , and fresh water resources only account for 3% of it. Currently, for fresh water resources that are relatively easy for humans to utilize, including river water, fresh lake water, and shallow groundwater, they only account for 0.3% of the world's fresh water resources, which is equivalent to 0.007% of the global total water storage. As an important part of the biosphere water cycle, the water in the atmosphere stores a large amount of water vapor. Under the irradiation of the sun, the water vapor evaporated from the sea surface is transported to the interior of the continent by air currents. As the altitude continuously increases, clouds gather and form rain. The rainwater converges into rivers and then flows back to the sea again.

[0003] Atmospheric fresh water is a huge renewable reservoir, and its wide content is sufficient to meet the needs of every human. Facing the problem of shortage of fresh water resources, the technology of capturing water from the atmosphere has received extensive attention. Existing atmospheric water extraction technologies generally have disadvantages such as small water production and long water production cycles, and it is difficult to meet the usage requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Considering the limitations of existing atmospheric water extraction technologies such as small water production and long water production cycles, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an atmospheric water extraction system and a working method based on spectral modulation, which utilize solar spectral modulation technology to achieve the rapid evaporation and desorption process of water in the water-absorbing particles, and obtain directly usable fresh water.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] An atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation, which is composed of a wet water-absorbing particle tower 1, a fresh water desorption chamber 2, a particle pump 3, a dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4, and a solar concentrator 5.

[0007] The wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 includes a water-absorbing particle collection platform, a wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber, control valves, and related pipelines; the water-absorbing particle collection platform is arranged obliquely at an angle of 30° with the horizontal direction at the upper part. The top of the water-absorbing particle collection platform is connected to the dry particle outlet pipeline of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4, and a particle inlet control valve is arranged at the bottom of the water-absorbing particle collection platform; the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber is located below the water-absorbing particle collection platform and is closely connected. A wet particle outlet pipeline and a valve are arranged at the bottom of the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber;

[0008] The main body of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 is a horizontally placed closed triangular prism. Its two side faces are respectively the light-facing side wall surface and the backlight side wall surface, the bottom surface is the product recovery surface, and the interior is the desorption space. The light-facing side wall surface is the radiation heating surface, which is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is opaque to light and is provided with an interface connected to the wet particle outlet pipeline. The lower part uses a transparent material as the solar energy receiving window. The backlight side wall surface is the radiation cooling surface, responsible for condensing water vapor. The product recovery surface is provided with two outlets. The one close to the backlight side wall surface is the fresh water outlet, which is connected to the water collection tank. The bottom of the water collection tank is provided with a fresh water outlet. In the direction close to the light-facing side wall surface, a water-absorbing particle recovery port is arranged on the side where the particles drop on the conveyor belt and is connected to the particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 through a pipeline with a particle transfer pump. The desorption space is the place where the wet water-absorbing particles are desorbed of fresh water. It is provided with two particle conveyor belts arranged up and down facing the solar energy receiving window, responsible for transporting the wet water-absorbing particles and the spectral modulation particles. The running directions of the two conveyor belts are opposite.

[0009] The particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 is connected to the water-absorbing particle recovery port of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 through a pipeline, and the water-absorbing particle outlet is connected to the water-absorbing particle collection platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 through a pipeline. The top of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 is provided with a water-absorbing particle replenishment port for replenishing water-absorbing particles.

[0010] The solar concentrator 5 projects the direction of concentrated light towards the solar energy receiving window of the fresh water desorption chamber 2.

[0011] An atmospheric water extraction system and method based on spectral modulation specifically include the following steps:

[0012] Step 1: Water extraction at night

[0013] The dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 releases dry water-absorbing particles to the water-absorbing particle collection platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1. After adsorbing the water condensed by the water-absorbing particle collection platform, the particle inlet control valve is opened, and the wet water-absorbing particles are sent to the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber for temporary storage.

[0014] Step 2: Solar-driven fresh water evaporation

[0015] The particle outlet valve of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 is opened to release the wet water-absorbing particles into the fresh water desorption chamber 2. During the falling process of the wet water-absorbing particles, they absorb solar radiation, and the temperature rises. When approaching the upper particle conveyor belt, the water in the wet water-absorbing particles absorbs the near-infrared thermal radiation emitted by the spectral modulation particles, the temperature rises again, and evaporation to the environment begins, leaving the water-absorbing particles; the water-absorbing particles fall onto the upper particle conveyor belt, continue to fall downward through the conveyor, and go through the above process again, the temperature continues to rise, and they fall onto the lower particle conveyor belt. The wet water-absorbing particles complete fresh water desorption and are converted into dry water-absorbing particles; the evaporated water vapor moves to the backlight side wall surface, condenses upon encountering it, and falls along the wall surface to the water collection tank of the fresh water desorption chamber 2.

[0016] Step 3: Recycling of water-absorbing particles

[0017] The dry water-absorbing particles are conveyed by the lower particle conveyor belt, fall into the water-absorbing particle recovery port, and are sent back to the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 through the particle pump 3.

[0018] The surface radiation characteristics of the water-absorbing particle collection platform surface of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 are that the emissivity in the atmospheric window band is > 0.98, and the absorptivity in the non-atmospheric window band is less than 0.1.

[0019] The control valve of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 adopts time pulse control to open and close the state, and then releases the wet water-absorbing particles into the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber.

[0020] The solar energy receiving window on the light-facing side wall surface of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 uses a glass material with a light transmittance > 0.95.

[0021] The backlight side wall surface of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 is coated with a radiation heat dissipation coating, the thickness range is 0.1 mm - 0.5 mm, the thermal radiation emissivity of the coating surface is > 0.95, and the reflectivity > 0.9.

[0022] The bottom conveyor chain of the particle conveyor belt in the fresh water desorption chamber 2 uses iron with a surface coating for antioxidant protection. The upper surface of the upper particle conveyor belt rotates away from the water-absorbing particle recovery port direction, and the upper surface of the lower particle conveyor belt rotates towards the water-absorbing particle recovery port direction. The lower particle conveyor belt relies on magnetism to closely attract the spectral modulation particles to ensure that they always adhere to the lower particle conveyor belt without falling off.

[0023] The spectral modulation particles inside the fresh water desorption chamber 2 have a core-shell structure, the particle size is 0.1 - 1000 μm, the distribution density range is 0 - 1, the inner core is neodymium iron boron, and the shell side is Dy 3+ 、Yb 3+, a nano - coating with a doping concentration of Li8Bi2(MoO4)7 being (0.01 - 0.1)%:(0.005 - 0.03)%:1; the spectral modulation particles adjust the solar visible light spectrum to the near - infrared band (900 – 1200nm), and the water radiation absorption performance is better in this band.

[0024] The water - absorbing particles inside the fresh - water desorption chamber 2 are prepared from water - absorbing resin, and the particle size range is 1 - 10mm.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0026] The present invention utilizes the spectral modulation effect of particles to adjust the solar spectrum to the near - infrared band with good water radiation performance, realizing the atmospheric water - intake process driven by solar energy. The spectral modulation particles with a core - shell structure are used, and the magnetic property is utilized to automatically separate the spectral modulation particles from the water - absorbing particles. Different distribution densities of the spectral modulation particles on the conveyor belt are selected to cope with different solar irradiations to ensure the desorption process of water. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the atmospheric water - intake system based on spectral modulation of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the spectral modulation particles. Detailed Embodiment

[0029] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0030] As Figure 1 shown, an atmospheric water - intake system based on spectral modulation consists of a wet water - absorbing particle tower 1, a fresh - water desorption chamber 2, a particle pump 3, a dry water - absorbing particle storage chamber 4, and a solar concentrator 5.

[0031] The wet water - absorbing particle tower 1 includes a water - absorbing particle collecting platform, a wet water - absorbing particle storage chamber, control valves, and related pipelines; the water - absorbing particle collecting platform is inclined at an angle of 30° with the horizontal direction and arranged at the upper part. The top of the water - absorbing particle collecting platform is connected to the dry - particle outlet pipeline of the dry water - absorbing particle storage chamber 4, and a particle inlet control valve is arranged at the bottom of the water - absorbing particle collecting platform; the wet water - absorbing particle storage chamber is located below the water - absorbing particle collecting platform and is closely connected, and a wet - particle outlet pipeline and valve are arranged at the bottom of the wet water - absorbing particle storage chamber;

[0032] The main body of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 is a horizontally placed closed triangular prism. Its two side faces are respectively the light-facing side wall surface and the backlight side wall surface, the bottom surface is the product recovery surface, and the interior is the desorption space. Its light-facing side wall surface is the radiation heating surface, which is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is opaque to light and is provided with an interface connected to the wet particle outlet pipeline, and the lower part uses a transparent material as the solar energy receiving window; the backlight side wall surface is the radiation cooling surface, responsible for condensing water vapor; the product recovery surface is provided with two outlets. The one close to the backlight side wall surface is the fresh water outlet, which is connected to the water collection tank, and the bottom of the water collection tank is provided with a fresh water outlet. In the direction close to the light-facing side wall surface, a water-absorbing particle recovery port is arranged on the side where the particles fall on the conveyor belt and is connected to the particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 through a pipeline with a particle transfer pump; the desorption space is the place where the wet water-absorbing particles carry out fresh water desorption. It is provided with two particle conveyor belts arranged up and down facing the solar energy receiving window, responsible for transporting water-absorbing particles and spectral modulation particles, and the two conveyor belts run in opposite directions;

[0033] The particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 is connected to the water-absorbing particle recovery port of the fresh water desorption chamber 2 through a pipeline, and the water-absorbing particle outlet is connected to the water-absorbing particle collection platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 through a pipeline; a water-absorbing particle replenishment port is arranged at the top of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 for replenishing water-absorbing particles;

[0034] The solar concentrator 5 projects the direction of the concentrated light towards the solar energy receiving window of the fresh water desorption chamber 2.

[0035] Implementation case:

[0036] As Figure 1 shown, a working method of an atmospheric water intake system based on spectral modulation specifically includes the following steps:

[0037] Step 1: Water intake at night

[0038] The dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 releases dry water-absorbing particles to the water-absorbing particle collection platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1. The temperature difference between the surface of the water-absorbing particle collection platform and the environment is 10 - 15 °C. After adsorbing the water condensed by the water-absorbing particle collection platform, the particle inlet control valve is opened, and the flow rate is 0.1 kg / s. The wet water-absorbing particles are sent to the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber for temporary storage;

[0039] Step 2: Solar-driven fresh water evaporation

[0040] The particle outlet valve of the wet water-absorbing particle tower 1 is opened to release the wet water-absorbing particles into the fresh water desorption chamber 2. During the falling process of the wet water-absorbing particles, they absorb solar radiation, and the temperature rises to about 50 °C. When approaching the upper particle conveyor belt, the water in the wet water-absorbing particles absorbs the near-infrared thermal radiation (900 - 1200 nm) emitted by the water absorption spectral modulation particles (distribution density of 0.3), and the temperature rises to about 70 °C again and starts to evaporate into the environment, leaving the water-absorbing particles; the water-absorbing particles fall onto the upper particle conveyor belt, continue to fall downward through the conveyor and undergo the above process again, the temperature continues to rise to 90 °C, and then fall onto the lower particle conveyor belt. The wet water-absorbing particles complete the fresh water desorption and are converted into dry water-absorbing particles; the evaporated water vapor moves to the backlight side wall surface, condenses upon encountering it, and falls along the wall surface into the water collection tank of the fresh water desorption chamber 2.

[0041] Step 3: Recycling of water-absorbing particles

[0042] The dry water-absorbing particles are conveyed by the lower particle conveyor belt, fall into the water-absorbing particle recovery port, and are sent back to the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber 4 through the particle pump 3.

Claims

1. An atmospheric water intake system based on spectral modulation, characterized in that: The system consists of a wet water-absorbing particle tower (1), a fresh water desorption chamber (2), a particle pump (3), a dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4), and a solar concentrator (5). The wet water-absorbing particle tower (1) includes a water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform, a wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber, control valves, and related pipelines. The water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform is arranged obliquely at an angle of 30° to the horizontal direction at the upper part. The top of the water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform is connected to the dry particle outlet pipeline of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4), and a particle inlet control valve is set at the bottom of the water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform. The wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber is located below the water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform and is closely connected. A wet particle outlet pipeline and valve are set at the bottom of the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber. The main body of the fresh water desorption chamber (2) is a horizontally placed closed triangular prism. The two side faces are divided into a light-facing side wall surface and a backlight side wall surface, the bottom surface is a product recovery surface, and the interior is a desorption space. Its light-facing side wall surface is a radiation heating surface, which is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is opaque to light and is provided with an interface connected to the wet particle outlet pipeline, and the lower part uses a transparent material as a solar receiving window. The backlight side wall surface is a radiation cooling surface, responsible for condensing water vapor. The product recovery surface is provided with two outlets. The one close to the backlight side wall surface is the fresh water outlet, which is connected to a water collection tank. A fresh water outlet is set at the bottom of the water collection tank. In the direction close to the light-facing side wall surface, a water-absorbing particle recovery port is set on the side where the particles fall on the conveyor belt and is connected to the particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4) through a pipeline with a particle transfer pump. The desorption space is a place where wet water-absorbing particles are desorbed with fresh water. There are two particle conveyor belts arranged up and down facing the solar receiving window, responsible for transporting water-absorbing particles and spectral modulation particles, and the running directions of the two conveyor belts are opposite. The particle inlet of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4) is connected to the water-absorbing particle recovery port of the fresh water desorption chamber (2) through a pipeline, and the water-absorbing particle outlet is connected to the water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower (1) through a pipeline. A water-absorbing particle supplement port is set at the top of the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4) for supplementing water-absorbing particles. The solar concentrator (5) projects the concentrated light towards the solar receiving window of the fresh water desorption chamber (2). The bottom transmission chain of the particle conveyor belt in the fresh water desorption chamber (2) is made of iron with a surface coating for antioxidation. The upper surface of the upper particle conveyor belt rotates in a direction away from the water-absorbing particle recovery port, and the upper surface of the lower particle conveyor belt rotates in a direction close to the water-absorbing particle recovery port. The lower particle conveyor belt closely attracts the spectral modulation particles by magnetism to ensure that they always adhere to the lower particle conveyor belt without falling off. The spectral modulation particles inside the fresh water desorption chamber (2) have a core-shell structure, with a particle size of 0.1 - 1000 μm. The inner core is neodymium iron boron, and the shell side is Dy 3+ , Yb 3+ , and a nano-coating with a doping concentration of (0.01 - 0.1)%: (0.005 - 0.03)%: 1 of Li8Bi2(MoO4)7; the spectral modulation particles adjust the solar visible light spectrum to the near-infrared band of 900 - 1200 nm, and the water has good radiation absorption performance in this band.

2. The atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation according to claim 1, wherein: The surface radiation characteristics of the water-absorbing particle collection and leveling platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower (1) are that the emissivity in the atmospheric window band is >0.98, and the absorptivity in the non-atmospheric window band is less than 0.

1.

3. The atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control valve of the wet water-absorbing particle tower (1) controls the opening and closing state by time pulses, and then releases the wet water-absorbing particles into the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber.

4. The atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation according to claim 1, wherein: The solar receiving window on the light-facing side wall surface of the fresh water desorption chamber (2) uses a glass material with a light transmittance >0.

95.

5. The atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation according to claim 1, wherein: The backlight side wall surface of the fresh water desorption chamber (2) is coated with a radiative heat dissipation coating, with a thickness range of 0.1 mm - 0.5 mm, the thermal radiation emissivity of the coating surface > 0.95, and the reflectivity > 0.

9.

6. The atmospheric water extraction system based on spectral modulation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The water-absorbing particles inside the fresh water desorption chamber (2) are prepared from water-absorbing resin, with a particle size range of 1 - 10 mm.

7. A working method of an atmospheric water intake system based on spectral modulation according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: Step 1: Water intake at night The dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4) releases dry water-absorbing particles to the water-absorbing particle collection platform of the wet water-absorbing particle tower (1). After adsorbing the water condensed by the water-absorbing particle collection platform, the particle inlet control valve opens, and the wet water-absorbing particles are sent to the wet water-absorbing particle storage chamber for temporary storage. Step 2: Solar-driven fresh water evaporation The particle outlet valve of the wet water-absorbing particle tower (1) opens, releasing the wet water-absorbing particles into the fresh water desorption chamber (2). During the falling process of the wet water-absorbing particles, they absorb solar radiation and the temperature rises. When approaching the upper particle conveyor belt, the water in the wet water-absorbing particles absorbs the near-infrared thermal radiation emitted by the spectral modulation particles, and the temperature rises again, starting to evaporate into the environment and leaving the water-absorbing particles; the water-absorbing particles fall onto the upper particle conveyor belt, continue to fall after being conveyed, and go through the above process again, with the temperature continuing to rise. They fall onto the lower particle conveyor belt, and the wet water-absorbing particles complete fresh water desorption and are converted into dry water-absorbing particles; the evaporated water vapor moves to the backlight side wall surface, condenses, and falls along the wall surface into the water collection tank of the fresh water desorption chamber (2). Step 3: Recovery of water-absorbing particles The dry water-absorbing particles are conveyed by the lower particle conveyor belt, fall into the water-absorbing particle recovery port, and are sent back to the dry water-absorbing particle storage chamber (4) through the particle pump (3).

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