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2013|14 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

111 Dipl.-Ing. Mike Blicker Phone +49 711 970-3539 mike.blicker@igb.fraunhofer.de Dipl.-Ing. Siegfried Egner Phone +49 711 970-3643 siegfried.egner@igb.fraunhofer.de Funding We would like to thank the Ministry of the Environment, Climate, Protection and the Energy Sector of the State of Baden-Würt- temberg and the European Union for funding the project “Devel- opment and demonstration of a technology for the sustainable generation of drinking water from air moisture – WaLu”, funding code RWB-EFRE WaLu UT180. Project partners Maschinenbau Lohse GmbH, Heidenheim  |  Michelberger Ener- gietechnik GmbH, Bodnegg  |  Melotec Kunststoffverarbeitungs GmbH, Ulm  |  IGVP, University of Stuttgart Thus the method represents an alternative to the established facilities that use cooling condensation. An advantage of the new technology is the use of thermal energy as a main source of energy for the most energy-intensive subprocess of desorption; this can be obtained from waste heat or through solar thermal energy. Even the electric energy required for the smaller loads such as the pumps and controls can be obtained from renewable sources, via photovoltaics or wind, allow- ing the plant to be used in an energy-self-sufficient way. The overall design is sustainable and CO2-neutral thanks to the use of renewable energies. In addition, no waste products are produced and all working materials are fed back into the cycle. Outlook It is intended that the successfully implemented demonstra- tion plant be tried out at different locations in the future and the technology be optimized. It is planned to realize additional pilot plants together with partners, and to further develop the technology so that it is ready for the market. The method for water extraction from air moisture could in many regions make a contribution towards supplying drinking water, in particular in the Middle East, parts of South-East Asia, the extended Mediterranean region and Africa where a safe sup- ply of drinking water is of vital significance to the population living there. Also conceivable is a transfer of the technology to applications in overcrowded areas, for example for decentral- ized drinking water production in megacities. 1 Demonstration plant. 2 Principle of sorptive water extraction from air moisture. 3 Photovoltaic unit and tower of the demonstration plant. 4 Row of valves. 5 Plant controls. 3 4 5 Contacts

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