Atmospheric Water Generator

Demonstrating Atmospheric Water Generation pilot plant utilising Metal-Organic Framework Composites

Most of the world takes water for granted. However, water availability is becoming less predictable. The pressures of an increasing population, industrialization in the Third World and climate change are stressing resources. Additionally, the geopolitics of water allocation and security are of increasing concern.

A Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) atmospheric water generator (AWG) can offer a solution to water scarcity. MOFs are crystalline adsorbents known to have very high porosities, tuneable chemistry, and thermal and mechanical stability. This technology can be used to provide a secure and reliable supply of potable water off the grid, with minimum energy input or generation of waste. Our current technology has a daily water production capacity of at least 1 L/kg of MOF, at 40 % RH and 25 ºC, with typical energy use of around 3 kWh/L of water produced. CSIRO owns the intellectual property in the production and processing of the MOF as well as the device design. There is confirmed interest from multiple customer segments, who all request a scaled-up pilot plant. Potable water production in remote communities, agriculture and green hydrogen production are the most attractive potential sectors for the technology.

The technical work proposed in this program will combine innovation in MOF composites, with novel engineering and design approaches to have a production-ready device with the capacity to deliver 100L per day of potable water. A working prototype will be developed with an emphasis on improving energy efficiency and a pathway will be created to allow for the delivery of a commercial product. At the conclusion of the SIEF project we plan to deploy the technology in multiple environments to demonstrate its cost-effectiveness and robustness with potential end users.