Modeling and Numerical Analysis of Harvesting Atmospheric Water Using Copper Chloride

Abstract

Access to freshwater is becoming increasingly difficult due to a lack of sources, such as lakes, rivers, and groundwater. To resolve water scarcity, Harvesting Atmospheric Water (HAW) has emerged as a promising alternative water source, particularly for arid areas. However, the efficiency of an atmospheric water harvesting system depends on relative humidity, temperature, water sorption capacity based on the adsorption phenomenon, and other factors. This paper aims to develop a mathematical model to simulate and analyze atmospheric water harvesting using copper chloride. The simulation results show that the proposed mathematical modeling predicts well the water content. The water content reaches saturation at different times, depending on the depth. More work is underway to simulate and analyze atmospheric water harvesting using other types of salts, for example, magnesium sulfate and copper sulfate and compare the results with experimental data, as well as conducting sensitivity analysis to explore how depths, porosities, hydraulic conductivities, temperatures, and relative humidity affect moisture absorption.