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US-20260125286-A1 - Water Harvester

US20260125286A1US 20260125286 A1US20260125286 A1US 20260125286A1US-20260125286-A1

Abstract

Sorbent compositions that are useful in the adsorption of water from the atmosphere. In particular embodiments, the sorbent compositions can be disposed alone as a sorbent layer or can be disposed as a sorbent layer on a substrate material, which can be reconfigured as a plurality of structural components that are useful in the assembly water capture modules disposed within an adsorption/desorption structure of a water harvester.

Inventors

  • Pavlo Kravchenko
  • Ievgen KAPUSTIN

Assignees

  • WATER HARVESTING, INC

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250624

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method of making a water harvester, comprising: preparing a sorbent composition, including: a sorbent of about 10 wt. % to about 60 wt. %; a polymer binder of about 5 wt. % to about 30 wt. %; a rheology modifier of about 0.25 wt. % to about 5.0 wt. %; and a solvent comprising the remaining wt. %, wherein said solvent dissolves or emulsifies said polymer binder; and producing a sorbent panel including a substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising disposing a plurality of sorbent panels in spatially fixed relation defining a fluid flow path between adjacent pairs of said plurality of sorbent panels.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of sorbent panels consists of said substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition.
  4. 4 - 5 . (canceled)
  5. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising disposing said substantially solvent-free sorbent layer on one side or both sides of a substrate material.
  6. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition has a thickness of less than 350 μm.
  7. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition does not self-adhere.
  8. 9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising winding said solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition into a roll, wherein said layer of substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition does not self-adhere.
  9. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent comprises about 75 wt. % to about 85 wt. % of said substantially solvent-free layer of said sorbent composition.
  10. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent has a water uptake capacity of about 0.1 grams water per gram of sorbent to about 2 grams of water per gram.
  11. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent in said layer of substantially solvent-free sorbent composition exhibits a loss of water uptake capacity of less than 15 percent as compared to said sorbent outside of said of substantially solvent-free layer of sorbent composition.
  12. 13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent comprises one or more of: a silica gel, a molecular sieve, a micropore zeolite, and a metal organic framework.
  13. 14 - 16 . (canceled)
  14. 17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said solvent comprises one or more of: water, ethyl acetate, and ethyl alcohol.
  15. 18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent composition further comprises a dispersant of about 0.25 wt. % to about 5.0 wt. %.
  16. 19 . (canceled)
  17. 20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent composition further comprises a plasticizer of about 1.0 wt. % to about 8.0 wt. %.
  18. 21 . (canceled)
  19. 22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said sorbent composition further comprises a surfactant of about 1.0 wt. % to about 3.0 wt. %.
  20. 23 . (canceled)

Description

I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION Sorbent compositions useful in the adsorption of water from a process fluid flow. In particular embodiments, the sorbent compositions can be disposed alone as a sorbent composition layer or can be disposed as a sorbent composition layer on a substrate material, either of which can be reconfigured as a plurality of structural components that are useful in the assembly water capture modules that can be disposed in an adsorption/desorption structure of a water harvester. II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Sorbents include materials that adsorb water from the atmosphere and desorb water from the sorbent consistent with a corresponding sorbent isotherm. Sorbents can be obtained as finely divided particles which need to be converted into sorbent compositions and form factors useful as structural components in the production of water harvesters. However, conventional dry sorbent compositions have a relatively low sorbent content of 30 weight percent (“wt. %”) to 60 wt. % and/or the sorbent can have greater than 15 percent (“%”) loss in water adsorption capacity within the dry sorbent composition. Additionally, conventional sorbent compositions must be applied to and may not be used as structural components discrete from a supporting substrate material. Moreover, current sorbent compositions may not sufficiently adhere to substrate materials or may not demonstrate sufficient elasticity on substrate materials to be reconfigured into structural components useful in the production of water capture modules used in water harvesters. There would be a substantial advantage in sorbent compositions exhibiting a range of discrete isotherm steps each having a relatively high sorbent content in the dry sorbent composition of about 65 wt. % to about 85 wt. % with less than 15% loss in water adsorption capacity of the sorbent in the dry sorbent composition. Additionally, there would be a substantial advantage in sorbent compositions which can be disposed in sorbent layers useful as structural components without being applied to a substrate material. Moreover, there would be a substantial advantage in sorbent compositions which after application to a substrate material can be reconfigured into structural components useful in the assembly of water capture modules which can be disposed in the adsorption/desorption structure of a water harvester. III. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a broad object of particular embodiments of the invention can be provision of sorbent compositions useful in the production of sorbent panels including a sorbent composition layer, wherein the sorbent composition comprises: a sorbent of about 10 wt. % to about 60 wt. %, the sorbent having a water uptake capacity of about 0.2 grams water per gram of sorbent to about 2 grams of water per gram of sorbent, a polymer binder of about 5 wt. % to about 30 wt. %; and a solvent comprising the remaining wt. % of the sorbent composition, wherein said solvent dissolves or emulsifies the binder. In particular embodiments, each of the plurality of sorbent panels can comprise only the dry state of the sorbent composition layer. In particular embodiments, the sorbent composition layer can be disposed on one or both sides of a substrate material. In particular embodiments, the sorbent composition layer can be wound into a roll without the sorbent composition layer self-adhering in the roll. Another broad object of the invention can be the production of water capture modules including a plurality of sorbent panels disposed in spatially fixed relation defining an fluid flow path between adjacent pairs of the plurality of sorbent panels, wherein each of the plurality of sorbent panels includes a sorbent composition disposed in a sorbent composition layer, wherein the sorbent composition includes at least: a sorbent of about 10 wt. % to about 60 wt. %, wherein said sorbent having a water uptake capacity of about 0.2 grams water per gram of sorbent to about 2 grams of water per gram of sorbent, a polymer binder of about 5 wt. % to about 30 wt. %, and a solvent comprising the remaining wt. % of the sorbent composition, wherein the solvent dissolves or emulsifies the binder and/or disperses the sorbent. Another broad object of the invention can be the production of a water harvester including an adsorption/desorption structure, wherein a plurality of water capture modules can be disposed in the adsorption/desorption structure, and wherein the adsorption/desorption structure switches at least one water capture module from an adsorption mode in which the plurality of sorbent panels adsorb water from a process fluid flow passing through said water capture module to a desorption mode in which said plurality of sorbent panels desorb water into a heated flid flow. In particular embodiments, the adsorption/desorption structure shifts at least one water capture module from a desorption mode in which said plurality of sorbent panels desorb water into a heated