Experimental Investigations on a Portable Fresh Water Generator Using a Thermoelectric Cooler

The main objective is to develop and experimentally investigate a thermoelectric fresh water generator (TFWG) based on the fundamental of Thermoelectric Cooling Effect by condensing the moisture from the ambient moist air. It can be made useful to the people in coastal and humid regions with relative humidity above 60% having scarcity of drinking water. A prototype of the generator consisting of a 0.7 m long cooling channel along with ten thermoelectric modules of dimension 0.04 * 0.04 m2 each placed linearly in an array is fabricated and experimented. An internal heat sink of surface area 0.2m2 and length 0.65m is placed on the cold side of the modules to enhance heat transfer rate. The observations from the experiments show that with the use of internal heat sink, the quantity of water generated per 10 hours increases by 81% as compared without internal heat sink. Electric current, air mass flow rate and humidity of moist air were varied to understand their impact on the quantity of water generated. Based upon the observed results, the quantity of water generated is directly proportional to all the three parameters in the domain of experimentation.