Abstract

In this article, a novel Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) hybrid system that integrates active refrigeration and vapour concentration techniques is introduced. The system comprises three desiccant wheels, a vapour selective membrane, two air-to-air heat exchangers, and a Vapour Compression Cycle (VCC). The performance of the proposed system is assessed using a Python-based model for each component and subsequently integrated into an overall system model. The performance of the system is evaluated through its annual water production and specific energy consumption across nine different cities in Chile. Simulation results show that the hybrid AWH system allows for reducing the overall annual energy consumption by up to 28.7 %, as compared to a simple VCC-based system, with enhanced performance in dry climates. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed system allows for an increase of the working domain, allowing to produce drinking water under atmospheric conditions where a simple VCC-based system cannot operate. These results highlight the capabilities of hybrid AWH systems and offer essential insights and practical knowledge to facilitate the implementation of such systems.