High-Density Sorbent Pellets for Water Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sorbent rotor devices have limited capacity due to the low unit cell density of conventional sorbent materials like silica gel and zeolites, which restricts their performance in dehumidification and water capture processes.
Innovation Solution
Developing sorbent pellets with high unit cell density (>0.8 g/cm3) made from metal-organic materials, such as porous metal-organic frameworks, that can be packed more densely into a rotor cartridge, enhancing the sorbent material's loading capacity without altering the device design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional sorbent materials (silica gel, zeolites) are used in thin layers on substrate, then surface area is maximized for water capture, but the overall amount of sorbent material is limited due to low unit cell density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of sorbent material density by using high-density metal-organic frameworks with unit cell densities of 0.8-1.5 g/cm³ compared to conventional 0.2-0.7 g/cm³ materials. This parameter change enables significantly more sorbent material (5-10 times more) to be packed into the same rotor cartridge volume, directly resolving the contradiction between quantity of substance and water capture performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite metal-organic framework materials that combine metal nodes with organic linkers to create a porous structure with high unit cell density. These composite materials achieve both high density (0.8-1.5 g/cm³) and high surface area, allowing maximum sorbent material quantity while maintaining excellent water capture performance.
2Quantity of substance
If sorbent material is packed more densely to increase capacity, then the amount of sorbent material increases, but kinetic performance may be adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating pellets with optimized internal pore distribution and porosity gradients. The high-density metal-organic framework pellets are engineered to have uniform pore structures that facilitate rapid mass transport, ensuring that even at high packing densities (0.8-1.5 g/cm³), the local properties maintain fast kinetics for water capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes porous metal-organic framework materials with carefully controlled pore sizes and distributions. The porous structure provides numerous pathways for water vapor to access active sites rapidly, maintaining fast kinetics even when the material is packed densely. The porosity is optimized to balance high surface area with efficient mass transport.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The high-density sorbent pellets significantly increase the sorbent material's capacity within the same device size, improving performance in dehumidification, desalination, and water purification processes while maintaining fast kinetics and stability.
Implementation Method 1
the humidity in the air is absorbed or adsorbed by the sorbent material incorporated within the rotor structure
Implementation Method 2
the sorbent material has a unit cell density of at least 0.8 g/cm3
Data Source
AI summary
A sorbent pellet comprising a sorbent material. The sorbent pellet is suitable for use in a sorbent rotor device, for example to capture water or water vapour from a gaseous or liquid composition comprising water or water vapour. The sorbent material has a unit cell density of at least 0.8 g/cm3 and may therefore be considered to be a high density sorbent material. A plurality of sorbent pellets may provide a high capacity media for a sorbent rotor device, which may be particularly effective in dehumidification, desalination or water purification processes. Also disclosed are a cartridge for a sorbent rotor device, a sorbent rotor device for capturing water from a liquid or gaseous composition comprising water, a method of capturing water from a composition comprising water and/or water vapour, and a use of a sorbent material having a density of at least 0.8 g/cm3 in pellet form to capture water from air.