Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for the collection of water and more specifically to improved systems and methods for extracting water from water vapor, for example from the atmosphere and different embodiments of the invention are amenable to humid and arid environments alike. The present invention also relates to a system for collecting atmospheric water that is integrated with hot water and cool air generating systems for domestic or commercial applications.

[0002] In particular, the present disclosure relates to a water collection system comprising at least one reaction chamber comprising at least one desiccant; a heating means at least partially surrounding or at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber; at least one air inlet on the at least one reaction chamber; at least one air outlet on the at least one reaction chamber; at least one condenser in communication with the at least one air outlet; at least one fan connected to the at least one air inlet. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular aspect or field of endeavour.

Background of the Invention

[0003] The following discussion of the prior art is provided to place the invention in an appropriate technical context and enable the advantages of it to be more fully understood.

It should be appreciated, however, that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should not be considered as an express or implied admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

[0004] Ambient air contains a variable quantity of water vapor. Thus, the general atmosphere is a potential water source. Extracting this water from the surrounding atmosphere presents several technical challenges. Many attempts to extract water from atmospheric air have typically fallen short of the desirable criteria, including efficiency in the amount of water produced per amount of energy used, extracting the greatest possible percentage of the moisture available in the air under local conditions and producing acceptable quantities of water at all times of the day throughout the various weather, seasonal and climatic conditions. Accordingly, atmospheric water vapor is an essentially untapped source of an increasingly scarce commodity. [0005] Refrigeration systems have been known for some time. Vapor-compression cycle refrigeration systems are most common today, but other types of refrigeration are possible including gas absorption and heat pumps. A refrigeration system may provide one or more closed-loop circuits for a refrigerant medium. If the refrigeration system uses a vapor- compression cycle, it may include a compressor, evaporator, expansion valve and condenser. For example, a compressor may compress a refrigerant from a saturated vapor state to a superheated vapor state. A condenser may then remove the superheated condition from the refrigerant vapor and then condense the refrigerant to a saturated liquid state. [0006] Across an expansion valve, the refrigerant may become mixed states of liquid and vapor. Moreover, an evaporator may convert the refrigerant back to saturated vapor. During this cyclical process, an external surface of the evaporator will become cold. Some form or variation of this process may be used in refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning systems. Most refrigeration systems have some cooling element, through which air passes to shed heat and reach a lower temperature. In a vapor compression cycle refrigeration system, the cooling surface of the cooling element will be an exterior surface of the evaporator. An evaporator having a temperature of at most a dew point of air contacting the evaporator will cause liquid water to condense on an exterior surface of the evaporator. [0007] Whenever the cooling element has a temperature at or less than the local dew point of the air, water vapor in the air will tend to condense into droplets of liquid water. When a cooling element has a temperature at or less than the freezing point of water, such as in a freezer, water vapor in the air will tend to condense and then freeze into ice.

[0008] In many residential and commercial refrigeration systems, this condensation is considered undesirable and some refrigeration systems even have features for ameliorating such condensation. However, the principles causing condensation can be used to produce liquid water from water vapor in atmospheric air. Exemplary methods of water production and accompanying apparatus are described in U.S. Patent Number 6,343,479, entitled “Potable Water Collection Apparatus” which issued on 5 February 2002 and U.S. Patent Number 7,121,101, entitled “Multipurpose Adiabatic Potable Water Production Apparatus and Method” which issued on 17 October 2006.

[0009] These exemplary patented methods and devices present viable means of extracting liquid water from atmospheric air, including apparatus for transforming atmospheric water vapor into potable water and particularly for obtaining drinking-quality water through the formation of condensed water vapor on surfaces maintained at a temperature at or below the dew point for a given ambient condition. The surfaces upon which the water vapor is condensed are kept below the dew point by a refrigerant medium circulating through a closed fluid path, which includes refrigerant evaporation apparatus, thereby providing cooling of air flowing through the device and refrigerant condensing apparatus to complete the refrigeration cycle. It is desirable to increase efficiency of a water production system by increasing the efficiency of an associated refrigeration system and to provide efficient and economical water production during conditions when the ambient wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures indicate high relative humidity or less than ideal atmospheric conditions.

[0010] International Patent Publication WO 2010/039493 describes an apparatus for extracting water from air. A refrigeration system is defined by a closed-loop path for a refrigerant. The refrigeration system includes an evaporator and a sub-cooler. The evaporator is operable to cause liquid water to condense on an exterior surface of the evaporator. A water basin defines an inner volume and is positioned proximal to the evaporator for collecting water from the exterior surface of the evaporator.

[0011] The sub-cooler is positioned inside the inner volume of the water basin. Optionally, a mechanism is provided to maintain a selected water level in the water basin so that the sub-cooler remains submerged in water during operation. The sub-cooler may thus increase the operating efficiency of the water production system as compared with a system that does not use a water-cooled sub-cooler. The operating efficiency may be measured as either an amount of water condensed on the evaporator’s exterior surface per time, or an amount of water condensed per unit input energy.

[0012] Other representative prior art includes US 8,876,956, KR 20140122357 and US 2011/0232485.

[0013] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.

[0014] It is an object of at least one preferred form of the present invention to provide a water capturing system and method, or to at least provide a useful alternative to comparable systems of the prior art base.

[0015] Although the invention will be described with reference to specific examples it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms. Definitions

[0016] In describing and defining the present invention, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the invention only and is not intended to be limiting. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains.

[0017] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise”, “comprising” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to”.

[0018] As used herein, the phrase “consisting of’ excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim. When the phrase “consists of’ (or variations thereof) appears in a clause of the body of a claim, rather than immediately following the preamble, it limits only the element set forth in that clause; other elements are not excluded from the claim as a whole. As used herein, the phrase “consisting essentially of’ limits the scope of a claim to the specified elements or method steps, plus those that do not materially affect the basis and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed subject matter.

[0019] With respect to the terms “comprising”, “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’, where one of these three terms are used herein, the presently disclosed and claimed subject matter may include the use of either of the other two terms. Thus, in some embodiments not otherwise explicitly recited, any instance of “comprising” may be replaced by “consisting of’ or, alternatively, by “consisting essentially of’.

[0020] Other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients or reaction conditions used herein are to be understood as modified in all instances by the term “about”, having regard to normal tolerances in the art. The examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In what follows, or where otherwise indicated, “%” will mean “weight %”, “ratio” will mean “weight ratio” and “parts” will mean “weight parts”.

[0021] The term “substantially” as used herein shall mean comprising more than 50% by weight, where relevant, unless otherwise indicated.

[0022] The recitation of a numerical range using endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, 5, etc.). [0023] The terms “preferred” and “preferably” refer to embodiments of the invention that may afford certain benefits, under certain circumstances. However, other embodiments may also be preferred, under the same or other circumstances. Furthermore, the recitation of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the invention. [0024] It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0025] The term “relative humidity” (RH) is the amount of water vapour present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. Relative humidity may also be defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the applicable system. The same amount of water vapor results in higher relative humidity in cool air than warm air. A related parameter is the dew point.

[0026] The terms “humid air” (description) and “incident air” (claims) are intended to be synonymous. It will be appreciated that for the purposes of the present invention, incident air (i.e., atmospheric air) is inherently humid, with varying degrees of relative humidity depending upon the location at which the incident air is taken from the atmosphere and fed to the method, apparatus and/or system of the invention.

[0027] The term “dew point” is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor. When further cooled, the airborne water vapour will condense to form liquid water (dew). When air cools to its dew point through contact with a surface that is colder than the air, water will condense on the surface. When the temperature is below the freezing point of water, the dew point is called the frost point, as frost is formed rather than dew. The measurement of the dew point is related to humidity. A higher dew point means there is more moisture in the air.

[0028] The term “solar array” (also known as concentrated solar power, concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) means systems that generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a receiver. The energy may be used as thermal energy or may be used to generate electricity. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat (solar thermal energy), which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction. Solar arrays may operate only when the sun shines or may run over 24-hour periods by the use of molten salts or storing thermal energy in thermal storage blocks, such as graphite or other material, so that the heat can be released over the periods when the sun is not shining. Solar arrays may be formed of concentric parabolic mirrors that follow the sun’s path or may be mirrored troughs that focus the light to a central portion. As used in this specification, the term “solar array” also encompasses photovoltaic cells for generating electricity from the sun.

[0029] The term “thermal energy” is intended to mean any source of energy related to heat. Non-limiting examples include geothermal energy, waste heat (for example from a power station, refinery, smelter, server farms, etc.) and other sources of heat. More specifically, “geothermal energy” is thermal energy generated and stored in the earth. Geothermal power is cost-effective, reliable, sustainable and environmentally-friendly, and has historically been linked to land areas on or near tectonic plate boundaries, for instance, California, New Zealand, Iceland and Japan.

[0030] The term “waste heat” means any thermal energy that may be discharged from a chemical or physical process, which is typically vented to the atmosphere. Waste heat occurs in almost all mechanical and thermal processes. Sources of waste heat include for example hot combustion gases discharged to the atmosphere, heated water released into environment, heated products exiting industrial processes, and heat transfer from hot equipment surfaces. The most significant amounts of waste heat are being lost in the industrial and energy generation processes, for example, in power generation, metallurgical processes, refining, compression of gasses, chemical processing, cooling, server farms, or in exhaust streams from any of the above.

[0031] The person skilled in the art would appreciate that the embodiments described above are exemplary only and that the electrical characteristics of the present application may be configured in a variety of alternative arrangements without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention.

[0032] Although example embodiments of the disclosed technology are explained in detail herein, it is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated. Accordingly, it is not intended that the disclosed technology be limited in its scope to the details of construction and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosed technology is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Summary of the Invention

[0033] While previous atmospheric water capture devices and systems rely upon using condensers operating at or below the dew point of the water, this has severe limitations. For example, ambient temperature may force any compressor operating to cool a coolant in the condenser to be below the dew point of the air to operate at sub-optimal conditions.

[0034] In general, the higher the ambient temperature, the less efficient the compressors are at reducing the temperature of the liquid in the condenser to below the dew point. The dew point is directly related to the ambient temperature and the relative humidity. Some previous inventors have attempted to skirt this issue by creating micro-climates that regulate the atmosphere in the location where the water is condensed to thereby control the dew point. However, this requires significant energy and may not be viable in situation where larger amounts of water are required.

[0035] Accordingly, the present invention relies on heat, preferably sourced from a solar thermal array, or alternatively geothermal heat or thermal energy, or alternatively waste heat, such as, from thermal power generation or server farms, to remove the water from the desiccant. This produces a super- saturated air water mixture which is then condensed on a condenser. The super- saturated water/air mixture means that the dew point is no longer critical to condensation. The condenser may operate at a higher temperature relative to prior art systems such that the present system may operate at ambient temperature and/or may require no or very little cooling.

[0036] Prior art systems cool the air and the water in the air so that the water air mixture falls below the dew point and the water condenses out of the air. Any cooling to the condenser in the present invention is only cooling the water that has been separated from the air by the desiccant, which means the energy required to operate the cooling is less than prior art systems that rely on using condensation type water capture.

[0037] Thus, in a broad form, the present invention provides a water collection system comprising the following essential and/or preferable features:

[0038] at least one reaction chamber comprising at least one desiccant;

[0039] a heating means at least partially surrounding or at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber;

[0040] at least one air inlet on the at least one reaction chamber;

[0041] at least one air outlet on the at least one reaction chamber; [0042] at least one condenser in communication with the at least one air outlet;

[0043] at least one fan connected to the at least one air inlet; and

[0044] electricity-generating means associated with at least one integer identified above. In preferred embodiments, the electricity-generating means can be any one or more source/s of thermal energy. In especially preferred embodiments, the thermal energy is geothermal energy.

[0045] In preferred embodiments, the at least one fan may suck or blow the air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan sucks air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan blows air through the system.

[0046] In preferred embodiments, the heating means can be any one or more source/s of thermal energy. In especially preferred embodiments, the thermal energy is geothermal energy.

[0047] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an energy and water capture system adaptable for use in domestic or commercial applications, the system comprising an energy loop and a water capture loop, the water capture loop comprising:

[0048] means for effecting a water absorption step, itself comprising:

[0049] providing incident air to a reaction chamber, the air having an initial relative humidity, wherein the reaction chamber provided with at least one desiccant;

[0050] associating the incident air with the desiccant, wherein the desiccant functions to lower the relative humidity of the incident air over a predetermined period, thereby providing dried air and spent desiccant; and [0051] exhausting the dried air to the atmosphere;

[0052] means for effecting a desiccant regeneration step, itself comprising:

[0053] providing heating means at least partly communicable with the reaction chamber to provide heating thereto; and

[0054] regenerating the spent desiccant by heating via the heating means to generate steam and regenerated desiccant;

[0055] means for effecting a steam condensation step, itself comprising:

[0056] the steam being passed into a condenser, the condenser being communicable with the reaction chamber, and subsequently condensed to water; and [0057] harvesting the water,

[0058] wherein the energy loop is in electrical communication with the water capture loop such that water harvested therefrom is heated or cooled according to user demand, with energy exhausted from the heating or cooling operation applied in a respective cooling or heating operation in the domestic or commercial operation.

[0059] In an embodiment, the energy loop is off-grid.

[0060] In an embodiment, the off-grid energy loop derives thermal energy from renewable means selected from a solar array, a mirrored array or a solar thermal array, geothermal energy, waste heat (for example from a power station, refinery, smelter, server farms, etc.), or any other one or more source/s of heat.

[0061] In an embodiment, the system further comprises means for exhausting the dried air to the atmosphere via the condenser.

[0062] In an embodiment, the incident air is provided to the reaction chamber via fanning or pumping means.

[0063] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is at least partly-filled with the desiccant.

[0064] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber has at least one air inlet, for providing the incident air; and at least one air outlet, for exhausting the dried air and communicating the steam to the condenser.

[0065] In an embodiment the system further comprises means for conducting the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing further incident air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools and/or becomes re-spent.

[0066] In an embodiment the system further comprises means for conducting the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing the dried air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools prior to commencing of a further cycle.

[0067] In an embodiment the system further comprises compression means to compress the incident air prior to providing it to the reaction chamber.

[0068] In an embodiment the steam is purged by a stream of incident air and/or dried air.

[0069] In an embodiment, the at least one air inlet is a plurality of air inlets to enable sufficient flow of the incident air into the reaction chamber.

[0070] In an embodiment, the at least one air outlet is a plurality of air outlets to enable sufficient flow of the dried air to the atmosphere and/or sufficient flow of the steam to the condenser.

[0071] In an embodiment the at least one air inlet is attached to a distributer plate to diffuse the incident before or as it is provided to the reaction chamber. [0072] In an embodiment the reaction chamber is an enclosed cylinder with the at least one air inlet and the at least one air outlet located at opposite or distal ends of the cylinder. [0073] In an embodiment the heating means is in the form of a heating jacket or element, at least partially surrounding each of the at least one reaction chamber, or is at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber.

[0074] In an embodiment the heating means is at least partially integrally formed with the reaction chamber and/or the desiccant.

[0075] In an embodiment the heating means is in the form of a heating coil or element, or is adapted to move a heating medium such as superheated steam through the desiccant. [0076] In an embodiment, heating during the desiccant regeneration step is effected at an increasing rate of between about 1 °C/min to about 100 °C/min.

[0077] In an embodiment the system is adapted for continuous or substantially continuous operation.

[0078] In an embodiment the system further comprises electricity-generating capacity at one or more of the water absorption step, the desiccant regeneration step or the steam condensation step.

[0079] In an embodiment the cooling and heating operation in the commercial or domestic operation is selected from: heating water, cooling water, heating air, cooling air and powering appliances.

[0080] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for collecting atmospheric water, the method comprising deploying a water capture loop as defined according to the first aspect of the present invention. In an embodiment, there is provided a method of dehumidifying air for use in domestic or commercial appliances, the method comprising deploying a water capture loop as defined according to the first aspect of the present invention

[0081] In an embodiment, the dried air is exhausted to the atmosphere via the condenser.

[0082] In an embodiment, the incident air is provided to the reaction chamber via fanning or pumping means.

[0083] In an embodiment, the incident air is atmospheric air.

[0084] In an embodiment, the heating means derives thermal energy from renewable means selected from a solar array, a mirrored array or a solar thermal array. Preferably, the heating means derives thermal energy from a solar thermal array. In another embodiment, the heating means derives thermal energy from geothermal energy, waste heat (e.g., refinery, power station, smelter, server farms, etc., as defined above) or any other one or more source/s of heat.

[0085] In an embodiment, the heating means may also be used to circulate a cooling fluid for removing heat from the system. In an embodiment, the heating means uses a hot and cold oil circuit to heat or cool the system. In an embodiment, any excess heat drawn from the system by using the cooling fluid is recovered for use in the system.

[0086] In an embodiment, the system further comprises a cooling means to circulate a cooling fluid for removing heat from the system.

[0087] In an embodiment, the cooling means is in the form of a cooling jacket, at least partially surrounding each of the at least one reaction chamber or is at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber.

[0088] In an embodiment, the cooling means is at least partially integrally formed with the reaction chamber and/or the desiccant.

[0089] In an embodiment, the cooling means is in the form of a cooling coil, or is adapted to move a cooling medium through the desiccant.

[0090] In an embodiment, the system is operable only during sunlight hours and is not connected to any external power supply (it is “off grid”). In an embodiment, the system is operable during day and night hours and is not connected to any external power supply (it is “off grid”). In an alternative, embodiment, the system is connected to an external power supply. In an alternative embodiment, the external power supply is one or more of a mains power supply, a battery, a fuel cell, a wind turbine, a tidal generator, a solar cell or any energy source sufficient to enable 24-hour operation.

[0091] In an embodiment, the system is operable overnight to load the desiccant using ambient air. In an embodiment, the incident air is passed over the desiccant overnight at low speed and/or volume. In an embodiment, the system uses batteries, fuel cells, or supercapacitors to provide electricity to run the at least one fan to load the desiccant.

[0092] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is at least partly-filled with the desiccant.

[0093] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber has at least one air inlet, for providing the incident air; and at least one air outlet, for exhausting the dried air and communicating the steam to the condenser.

[0094] In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing further incident air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools and/or becomes re-spent.

[0095] In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing the dried air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools prior to commencing of a further cycle of the method. [0096] In an embodiment, the method further comprises providing compression means to compress the incident air prior to providing it to the reaction chamber. It is well understood that compressing air heats the air. Therefore, by sucking the air through the at least one fan, instead of blowing the air (compressing it), there can be increases in efficiencies, for example, at least 5% additional loading of water on the desiccant.

[0097] In an embodiment, the at least one fan is optionally in fluid connection with an intercooler. The intercooler, in use, removes excess heat that may be introduced into the system by compression or from the at least one fan. In an embodiment, the heat from the intercooler is recovered for use in the system, for example, the heating means.

[0098] In an embodiment, the at least one fan is a variable speed fan, which changes speed proportional to the relative humidity level of the humid air.

[0099] In an embodiment, the at least one air inlet is a plurality of air inlets enable sufficient flow of the incident air into the reaction chamber.

[00100] In an embodiment, the at least one air outlet is a plurality of air outlets to enable sufficient flow of the dried air to the atmosphere and/or sufficient flow of the steam to the condenser.

[00101] In an embodiment, the at least one air inlet is attached to a distributer plate to diffuse the incident before or as it is provided to the reaction chamber.

[00102] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is an enclosed cylinder with the at least one air inlet and the at least one air outlet located at opposite or distal ends of the cylinder. [00103] In an embodiment, the heating means is in the form of a heating jacket or element, at least partially surrounding each of the at least one reaction chamber or is at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber.

[00104] In an embodiment, the heating means is at least partially integrally formed with the reaction chamber and/or the desiccant.

[00105] In an embodiment, the heating means is in the form of a heating coil or element, or is adapted to move a heating medium such as superheated steam through the desiccant. [00106] In an embodiment, the step of heating during the desiccant regeneration step is effected at an increasing rate of between about 1 °C/min to about 100 °C/min. In an embodiment, the step of heating during the desiccant regeneration step is effected at a rate sufficient to ensure the desiccant’s integrity is maintained.

[00107] In an embodiment, the method is adapted for continuous or substantially continuous operation.

[00108] In an embodiment, the method has electricity-generating capacity at one or more of the water absorption step, the desiccant regeneration step or the steam condensation step. [00109] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for collecting atmospheric water, the apparatus comprising:

[00110] means for effecting a water absorption step, itself comprising:

[00111] providing incident air to a reaction chamber, the air having an initial relative humidity, wherein the reaction chamber provided with at least one desiccant;

[00112] associating the incident air with the desiccant, wherein the desiccant functions to lower the relative humidity of the incident air over a predetermined period, thereby providing dried air and spent desiccant; and [00113] exhausting the dried air to the atmosphere;

[00114] means for effecting a desiccant regeneration step, itself comprising:

[00115] providing heating means at least partly communicable with the reaction chamber to provide heating thereto; and

[00116] regenerating the spent desiccant by heating via the heating means to generate steam and regenerated desiccant;

[00117] means for effecting a steam condensation step, itself comprising:

[00118] the steam being passed into a condenser, the condenser being communicable with the reaction chamber, and subsequently condensed to water; and [00119] harvesting the water.

[00120] In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises means for exhausting the dried air the atmosphere via the condenser.

[00121] In an embodiment, the incident air is provided to the reaction chamber via fanning or pumping means.

[00122] In an embodiment, the incident air is atmospheric air.

[00123] In an embodiment, the heating means derives thermal energy from renewable means selected from a solar array, a mirrored array or a solar thermal array. Preferably, the heating means derives thermal energy from a solar thermal array. In another embodiment, the heating means derives thermal energy from geothermal energy, waste heat (e.g., refinery, power station, smelter, server farms, etc.) or any other one or more source/s of heat.

[00124] In an embodiment, the solar thermal energy is stored in a thermal energy storage unit, which may be underground.

[00125] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is at least partly-filled with the desiccant.

[00126] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber has at least one air inlet, for providing the incident air; and at least one air outlet, for exhausting the dried air and communicating the steam to the condenser.

[00127] In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises means for conducting the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing further incident air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools and/or becomes re-spent.

[00128] In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus further comprises means for conducting the step of actively cooling the heated regenerated desiccant by passing the dried air over the heated regenerated desiccant until it cools prior to commencing of a further cycle of the method.

[00129] In an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises compression means to compress the incident air prior to providing it to the reaction chamber.

[00130] In an embodiment, the steam is purged by a stream of incident air and/or dried air.

[00131] In an embodiment, the at least one air inlet is a plurality of air inlets enable sufficient flow of the incident air into the reaction chamber.

[00132] In an embodiment, the at least one air outlet is a plurality of air outlets to enable sufficient flow of the dried air to the atmosphere and/or sufficient flow of the steam to the condenser.

[00133] In an embodiment, the at least one air inlet is attached to a distributer plate to diffuse the incident before or as it is provided to the reaction chamber.

[00134] In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is an enclosed cylinder with the at least one air inlet and the at least one air outlet located at opposite or distal ends of the cylinder. [00135] In an embodiment, the heating means is in the form of a heating jacket or element, at least partially surrounding each of the at least one reaction chamber, or is at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber.

[00136] In an embodiment, the heating means is at least partially integrally formed with the reaction chamber and/or the desiccant.

[00137] In an embodiment, the heating means is in the form of a heating coil or element, or is adapted to move a heating medium such as superheated steam through the desiccant. [00138] In an embodiment, the step of heating during the desiccant regeneration step is effected at an increasing rate of between about 1 °C/min to about 100 °C/min.

[00139] In an embodiment, the apparatus is adapted for continuous or substantially continuous operation.

[00140] In an embodiment, the apparatus has electricity-generating capacity at one or more of the water absorption step, the desiccant regeneration step or the steam condensation step.

[00141] According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for collecting atmospheric water, the system comprising operatively associating a plurality of apparatus as defined according to the second aspect of the present invention.

[00142] In an embodiment, the plurality of water collection apparatus are associated in series or in parallel.

[00143] Preferred embodiments of the method, apparatus and system aspect are now described interchangeably. That is, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described can be applied to each of the method, apparatus or system aspects of the invention.

[00144] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one fan comprises a filter, screen or baffle. In preferred embodiments, the at least one fan may suck or blow the air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan sucks air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan blows air through the system.

[00145] In an embodiment, the at least one fan is a variable speed fan, which changes speed proportional to the relative humidity level of the humid air. For example, faster speeds and/or greater air flow may be more advantageous to operate in areas with low relative humidity, where the water content in each cubic metre of air is low. Conversely, slower speeds and/or lower air flow may be more advantageous to operate in areas with low relative humidity, where the water content in each cubic metre of air is high.

[00146] In a preferred embodiment, envisaged for humid environments such as, e.g., Darwin, NT, Australia (relative humidity -75% or above), the at least one fan collects ambient humid air from the atmosphere and drives (i.e., blows or sucks) the humid air into the at least one reaction chamber through the at least one air inlet; the humid air passes through the at least one desiccant in the at least one reaction chamber to generate at least one water-charged (spent) desiccant and dry air; the dry air exits the at least one reaction chamber through the at least one air outlet; when the at least one water-charged desiccant reaches a predetermined level of water content, the at least one heating means heats the at least one reaction chamber above the desorption temperature of the at least one desiccant and to a regeneration temperature of the at least one desiccant; water is removed from the reactor through the at least one air outlet and condensed on the at least one condenser. [00147] The water may be removed from the reactor using a purge stream. Preferably, the purge stream is selected from ambient air, dry air, humid air, or a mixture thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the purge stream is pressurised, preferably to a pressure of at least about 1 bar, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,

25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or at least about 30 bar. In a preferred embodiment, the purge stream is recirculated from the system.

[00148] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one reaction chamber is a plurality of reaction chambers each comprising at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet as described above. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are formed integrally within the reaction chamber defining discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are arranged in parallel, such that a substantially equal amount of humid air flows into each of the reaction chambers. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are connected in parallel, such that a substantially equal amount of humid air flows into each of the reaction chambers. In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are arranged in series, such that humid air enters a first reaction chamber via the at least one air inlet and flows out of the at least one air outlet and then to the second reaction chamber via the at least one air inlet of the second reaction chamber and out of the at least one air outlet of the second chamber, etc.

[00149] In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are connected in series, such that humid air enters a first reaction chamber via the at least one air inlet and flows out of the at least one air outlet and then to the second reaction chamber via the at least one air inlet of the second reaction chamber and out of the at least one air outlet of the second chamber, etc. In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers is arranged such that the humid air flows through the plurality of reactors in series.

[00150] In an embodiment, the each of the discrete separate compartments may be heated sequentially, separately, or together. In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is a vertical reaction chamber. In an embodiment, the reaction chamber is a horizontal reaction chamber. In an embodiment, when the reaction chamber is a vertical reaction chamber, the discrete separate compartments are arranged substantially above one another.

[00151] In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers are banks of reaction chambers configured to produce a predetermined amount of water per unit time (hour, day, month, year, etc.). In a preferred embodiment envisaged on a commercial scale, the system comprises a plurality of banks of reaction chambers. In a preferred embodiment, each reaction chamber in the banks of reaction chambers may be divided up into a plurality of discrete separate compartments. In an embodiment, the discrete separate compartments are arranged in a vertical stack substantially above one another.

[00152] In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into at least four discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into at least six discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into at least eight discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into at least ten discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into at least twelve discrete separate compartments. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction chamber is divided up into fourteen or more discrete separate compartments.

[00153] In a preferred embodiment, the desiccant is a liquid desiccant, which is sprayed inside the or each of the reaction chambers such that the humid air is stripped of its water and the wet liquid desiccant is collected at the bottom of the reaction chamber.

[00154] In a preferred embodiment, each of the at least one reaction chambers are operable at an elevated pressure. In another preferred embodiment, each of the banks of reaction chambers are operable at an elevated pressure. In a preferred embodiment, the elevated pressure is above ambient pressure, preferably at least about 1 bar, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or at least about 30 bar. In embodiments comprising more than one reaction chamber, it will be appreciated that each of the reaction chambers is operable at different or unique pressures, including atmospheric.

[00155] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant comprises two or more different desiccants. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant is selected to provide a predetermined water absorption profile (see, e.g., https://www.sorbentsystems.com/desiccants_charts.html). In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant absorbs at least about 10% of its own weight in water, preferably 11,

12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 29, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, or at least about 60%. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined level of water content is between 10 and 40% by weight. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined water content is the maximum achievable with the relative humidity of the ambient humid air. In another preferred embodiment, the predetermined level of water content is at an equilibrium with the water content of the ambient humid air.

[00156] In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined absorption profile is selected to maximise water absorption based on a relative humidity of the humid air. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined absorption profile is selected to reduce time in which the at least one desiccant can be regenerated. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined absorption profile is selected to increase the time in which the at least one desiccant can be regenerated. In an alternative embodiment, the at least one desiccant comprises the same desiccants with different predetermined water absorption profiles. In an alternative embodiment, the at least one desiccant comprises different desiccants with different predetermined water absorption profiles. In an alternative embodiment, the at least one desiccant comprises different desiccants with substantially equivalent predetermined water absorption profiles.

[00157] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant is selected from a water absorbing gel, sodium aluminosilicate, silicon dioxide, calcium oxide, clay, a zeolite, calcium sulfate, or any combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant is a silica gel. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant is a 3-4 A molecular sieve. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one desiccant is a montmorillonite clay, preferably halloysite.

[00158] In alternative embodiments, it will be appreciated that the one or more desiccants can be selected from any industrially-applicable desiccant - including those that are not regenerable. A non-exhaustive listing of such desiccants may comprise activated alumina, aerogel, benzophenone, bentonite clay, calcium chloride, calcium oxide, calcium sulfate (drierite), cobalt(II) chloride, copper(II) sulfate, lithium chloride, lithium bromide, magnesium sulfate, magnesium perchlorate, molecular sieves, phosphorus pentoxide, potassium carbonate, potassium hydroxide, silica gel, sodium, sodium chlorate, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfate, sucrose and sulfuric acid. It will be appreciated that in embodiments where the spent desiccant is not regenerable, significant competitive advantage may be compromised; a regenerable desiccant is thereby preferred according to the invention.

[00159] Most desiccants are irregular in shape. Heating and/or cooling such desiccants can be challenging as heat dissipation can be problematic or may lead to inefficiencies.

This may be overcome by increasing the efficiency of the heating means or by increasing the surface area available for heating the desiccant, for example, by locking the desiccant in a rigid, non-reactive, porous matrix. Such a matrix would increase heating and cooling efficiency, but without affecting the performance of the desiccant.

[00160] It is known to those of skill in the art that the water absorption step into desiccants, such as silica gel, is an exothermic reaction. As such, the desiccant in the system of the invention increases in temperature as the water is absorbed. The absorption capabilities of various desiccants contemplated for use in the invention can be dependent on the temperature of operation such that the desiccant efficiency may decrease or increase as the temperature increases. In an embodiment, the at least one reaction chamber further comprises a cooling means. In an embodiment, the cooling means is formed integrally with the heating means. In an embodiment, any heat removed by the cooling means is recovered for use in the system.

[00161] The cooling means, in use, removes any excess heat of absorption and may also be used to cool the desiccant after it has been heated to release the absorbed water. In an embodiment, the heating means and the cooling means are the same and the heating or cooling may be applied by circulating a hot or cold fluid through the heating means. In an embodiment, the heat from the cooling means is recovered for use in the system. In an embodiment, the heating means and the cooling means are separate and may be used separately or sequentially.

[00162] In an alternative embodiment, the desiccant is a liquid desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the liquid desiccant is an aqueous solution comprising a solid desiccant, which may be a supersaturated solution. The solution contains any suitable absorption material or salt selected from the group comprising LiCl, CaCh, CaBn, Li Bn. MgCh, NaCl, an alkali acetate (such as sodium or potassium acetate), sulfates or combinations thereof.

[00163] In one embodiment the concentration of the absorption material in the liquid desiccant is at least 30weight% (wt%), or at least 32weight% or at least 35 weight%. In one preferred embodiment the salt concentration is 30-50wt% preferably 33-46wt%. In another preferred embodiment, the concentration is 30weight%, at least 33wt%, or at least 34wt%, or at least 35wt% such as 33-35wt% or 34-35wt%. In another embodiment the concentration is preferably 40-50 wt% more preferably 43-47 weight% even more preferably 45-46 weight%. In another embodiment the concentration is at least 65 weight%, preferably 67-70weight%.

[00164] In a preferred embodiment, the liquid desiccant is a water miscible desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the water miscible desiccant is a gycol, preferably ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, or tetraethylene gycol.

[00165] In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of less than 90%, preferably about 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, or less than about 15% relative humidity. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an arid environment, for instance, at the bottom of Australia’s Northern Territory or on the Nullarbor Plain. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of less than about 40%.

[00166] In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of less than about 30%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of less than about 20%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of about 40%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of about 30%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of about 20%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an ambient relative humidity of about 10% or even less.

[00167] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one inlet comprises a plurality of air inlets each adapted to ensure flow of the humid air over substantially all of the at least one desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one inlet is in communication with at least one distributer plates. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of air inlets are adapted to deliver air to different points spaced apart or proximal within each reaction chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one inlet is adapted to receive an airflow of at least about 50 m ³ /s, preferably at least about 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, 450, 475, or 500 m ³ /s.

[00168] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one outlet is adapted to receive an air flow of at least about 50 m ³ /s, preferably at least about 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, 450, 475, or 500 m ³ /s. In a preferred embodiment, the inlet and outlet are adapted to receive the same, or similar rate of airflow.

[00169] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means at least partially surrounds each of the at least one reaction chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is at least partially formed integrally within the at least one reaction chamber. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is entirely inside the at least one reaction chamber. This embodiment reduces the number of perforations required in the chamber to increase the efficiency of the heating means.

[00170] In a particular preferred embodiment, the heating means further comprises heat fins, blades, or fingers adapted to dissipate heat into the desiccant.

[00171] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is adapted to provide a heating rate of about 1 to about 100 degrees centigrade per minute. In preferred embodiments, the heating rate may be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,

23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46,

47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70,

71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94,

95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 °C/min.

[00172] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is a boiler providing super-heated steam. In an alternative embodiment, the super-heated steam is in communication with an electricity generator before being used to heat each of the at least one reaction chambers.

In an alternative embodiment, the boiler is a heat exchanger in communication with a solar array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a photovoltaic array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a mirrored array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a concentrated solar array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a concentrated solar thermal array.

[00173] In an embodiment, the solar thermal energy is stored in a thermal energy storage unit, which may be underground. The solar thermal array will only function when the sun is in the sky. However, not all of the thermal energy captured by the concentrated solar thermal array will be useable in the system of the invention during the day. Therefore, the excess heat energy can be stored in a thermal energy storage unit to store the thermal energy to be used during a night-time cycle of the system of the invention. In a preferred embodiment, excess thermal energy is stored in a thermal energy unit that has sufficient thermal mass for the system to operate overnight. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal energy unit is in the form of an oil or other medium sufficient to store thermal energy. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal energy unit is operable at a temperature of at least 150 degrees centigrade up to about 400 °C. In a preferred embodiment, the thermal energy unit is operable at a temperature of at least 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380, 390 or 400 °C. [00174] In a preferred embodiment, when the desiccant is a liquid desiccant, the desiccant may be regenerated by boiling off the water to be collected on a condenser. The thermal energy required to regenerate the desiccant may be piped through the liquid desiccant, or formed integrally with a regeneration chamber, such that the liquid desiccant is continuously regenerated. The regeneration chamber is in fluid communication with the or each of the reaction chambers and is also in communication with at least one condenser to capture the water. The dry liquid desiccant is then sprayed into the or each of the reaction chambers and recirculated into the system.

[00175] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is an electric heating element. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is a circulating hot oil, salt solution or other material selected to have a boiling point higher than that of water and preferably above the regeneration temperature of the at least one desiccant.

[00176] In an alternative embodiment, the heating means derives its energy from electricity or from a solar array. In a preferred embodiment, the electricity is derived from a photovoltaic cell. In a preferred embodiment, the electricity is derived from renewable sources, such as solar, hydro, geothermal, tidal, wind or other sources and combinations thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the electricity is obtained from a mains connection or from a battery.

[00177] In especially preferred embodiments, the heating means derives its energy from a geothermal source. Any applicable association of the geothermal source with the heating means is contemplated with the over-arching preference being that the heating means is actuated by renewable means.

[00178] In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is a solar array. In an alternative embodiment, the solar array heats a heat retention medium via solar radiation to a temperature above the regeneration temperature of the at least one desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a photovoltaic array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a mirrored array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a concentrated solar array. In a preferred embodiment, the solar array is a concentrated solar thermal array. [00179] In an alternative embodiment, the solar array is connected to a heat exchanger which provides heat to each of the at least one reaction chambers. In a preferred embodiment, the heat exchanger heats water to provide super-heated steam to provide heat to each of the at least one reaction chambers. In a preferred embodiment, super-heated steam is passed through an electricity generator prior to providing heat to the system. [00180] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means directly heats oil. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is an electrical oil heater. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is a parabolic trough mirrored solar array that directly heats oil for use in the system. The oil circulates through the parabolic trough mirrored solar array and provides heat into the system to regenerate the desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the oil circulates through the parabolic trough mirrored solar array and provides heat into the system. In a preferred embodiment, the oil circulates through the parabolic trough mirrored solar array and provides heat into the system and into a thermal energy storage unit.

[00181] In a preferred embodiment, the heating means is adapted to provide heat sequentially to each of the at least one reaction chambers such that only one reaction chamber is being heated at any one time. In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is adapted to provide heat sequentially to each of banks of reaction chambers such that one bank of reaction chambers is being heated at any one time. In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is adapted to provide heat sequentially to each of the banks of reaction chambers such that one of the reaction chambers in each of the bank of reaction chambers is being heated at any one time.

[00182] In an embodiment, each bank of reaction chambers is operated independently of the others. In an embodiment, each bank of reaction chambers performs its heating cycle concurrently on an equivalent or near-equivalent reaction chamber in each bank of reaction chambers. In an embodiment, each bank of reaction chambers performs its heating cycle concurrently on a different reaction chamber in each bank of reaction chambers.

[00183] In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is adapted to heat all of the at least one reaction chambers in each bank of reaction chambers. In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is adapted to heat each bank of reaction chambers sequentially such that one bank of reaction chambers is being heated at any one time. [00184] In an alternative embodiment, the heating means is adapted to heat every reaction chamber at the same time.

[00185] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one condenser comprises a coolant selected from the group comprising water, brine solution, sea water, ammonia, perfluorocarbon or similar, refrigerant or other such material sufficient to cool the condenser below the dew point of the water exiting the at least one reaction chamber after heating by the at least one heating means. In a preferred embodiment, each of the at least one reaction chambers has a unique condenser. In a preferred embodiment, each of the banks of reaction chambers has a unique condenser. In a preferred embodiment, the condenser may be a closed loop or open loop condenser. In a preferred embodiment, the condenser is a closed loop condenser.

[00186] In an alternative embodiment, the condenser is actively cooled. Alternatively, the condenser is passively cooled.

[00187] In a preferred embodiment, each of the banks of reaction chambers are integrally connected to a single condenser. In a preferred embodiment, the operational temperature of the at least one condenser is at least below 60 degrees centigrade, preferably 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18 , 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, -10, -11, or below -12 degrees centigrade. [00188] In a preferred embodiment, the coolant is used without cooling. In a preferred embodiment, the coolant is sea water and is used without cooling. In a preferred embodiment, the coolant is cooled by passing through a cooling medium. In a preferred embodiment, the cooling medium is a liquid gas, preferably liquid nitrogen or liquid air. In an alternative embodiment, the cooling medium is a refrigeration unit.

[00189] In a preferred embodiment, water collected on each of condensers is collected in a water catchment basin. In a preferred embodiment, the water catchment basin is in fluid connection with at least one water storage area.

[00190] In a preferred embodiment, an electricity generator is in communication with each of at least one air outlets and thereby to the at least one condenser.

[00191] In a preferred embodiment, each of the at least one fan is adapted to provide an air flow of at least about 50 m ³ /s, preferably at least about 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, 450, 475 or 500 m ³ /s. In a preferred embodiment, each of the at least one fan is connected to a compressor adapted to compress the humid air to a pressure of at least about 1 bar, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, or at least about 30 bar.

[00192] In a preferred embodiment, the system further comprises at least one sensor adapted to measure one or more of relative humidity, pressure, temperature, flow rate, water content, or time in the system at a given timepoint. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one sensor is at least one temperature sensor located with the desiccant to monitor absorption and desorption temperatures. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one sensor is a relative humidity sensor and is located on the at least one inlet and/or the at least one fan. In a preferred embodiment, at least one sensor is a relative humidity sensor and is located on the at least one inlet and/or the at least one fan; and at least one second sensor is a relative humidity sensor located on or at the at least one outlet. In a preferred embodiment, the system further comprises a mass balance to measure the mass of water absorbed in the desiccant. In a preferred embodiment, the relative humidity sensors are in communication with one another to calculate the water absorbed in the desiccant. In an embodiment, the relative humidity sensors are in communication with one another to calculate the water absorbed in the desiccant and then to control the heating and/or cooling means to optimise absorption and/or desorption of water in the system.

[00193] In an embodiment, the heating means and/or cooling means is configured to automatically turn on and/or turn off when the relative humidity reaches a predetermined level. In a preferred embodiment, the heating means and/or cooling means are configured to automatically turn on and/or turn off when the at least one temperature sensor reaches a predetermined level.

[00194] In an embodiment, the system further comprises a control system, preferably a computer control system. The control system is adapted to control the various components of the system of the invention to maximise water capture and efficiencies. Such a control system may be in connection with the at least one sensor to modify any one of air flow, speed, or temperature; heating temperature; cooling temperature; duration of any heating or cooling; condensing temperature or flow rate of coolant; to control optimal conditions for water capture and desiccant regeneration. Such a control system may be in communication with the mass balance to determine when the desiccant has absorbed enough water to activate the at least one heating means or to provide an estimate of the amount of water available for capture in the desiccant. The control system may automatically control the system with little to no human interaction or with remote human interaction. In an embodiment, the system is automatic. In an embodiment, the system is controlled remotely.

[00195] In a further embodiment, the system further comprises communication means. The communication means are adapted to communicate with one or more of other equivalent systems, electrolysers, remote operators, and the like to optimise production and/or be controlled remotely. The communication means are also adapted to report to a central storage system the amount of water captured per day or to provide an estimate of the amount of water captured per day. The communication means may be wireless or wired and may be operable over a radio, internet enabled or cellular network. The communication means are also adapted to enable remote operation, reporting, or correction of the operating parameters of the system.

[00196] In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature of the at least one desiccant is above the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure, i.e., 100 °C. In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature is at least about 100 degrees centigrade, preferably 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165,

170, 175, 180, 185,190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, 235, 240, 245, 250, 255, 260, 265, 270, 275, 280, 285, 290, 295, 300, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325, 330, 335, 340, 345 or at least about 350 degrees centigrade. In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature is between about 120 and 160 degrees centigrade. In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature is between about 120 and 140 degrees centigrade. In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature is between about 175 and 315 degrees centigrade. In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration temperature is between about 200 and 250 degrees centigrade.

[00197] Regeneration of the desiccant may be carried out by increasing the temperature, lowering the molar concentration of the adsorbate or lowering of the system pressure. During the desorption of water vapor from silica, the temperature must be above 100 °C; a regeneration temperature of between 150 °C and 175 °C is preferred. However, in respect of silica gel or another desiccant applying a colour-based water content indicator, it should be noted that the colour indicator may be damaged at such temperatures. Accordingly, a regeneration temperature for silica gel with colour indicator specified by 120 °C and should not exceed 140 °C.

[00198] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that loading/unloading absorption/desorption processes many be conducted in series or in parallel, depending upon the specific arrangement of system components. For example, it may be advantageous to load the or each of the reaction chambers in parallel during an adsorption cycle in order to achieve a high feed flow rate of air, while keeping the pressure drop below a particular pressure, for example 2-8 kPa, particularly 4 kPa, and/or to unload and regenerate the desiccant by heating each of the reaction chambers n series during the desorption cycle, in order to enable high desorption air flow rates which enable high heat transfer, while not reducing the water vapour concentration considerably in the condenser feed gas. Heating each of the discrete separate compartments sequentially is particularly preferred when the reaction chamber is a vertical reaction chamber, for example, when the discrete separate compartments are arranged substantially above one another. Specifically, sequential heating the separate compartments within the reaction chamber sequentially from the bottom upwards serves to at least partially pre-heat at least one chamber above that receiving direct heating. This may result in substantial power savings of up to about 50%. [00199] In a preferred embodiment, the system generates an excess of electricity through the electricity generator to that required to run the system. In a preferred embodiment, the system produces at least about 10% more, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170,

175, 180, 190, 195 or at least about 200% more. In another embodiment, the system generates about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9% excess electricity.

[00200] In a preferred embodiment, the system is connected to an electrolyser to generate hydrogen. In a preferred embodiment, the system generates enough electricity for at least about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,

75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98,

99 or 100% of the energy requirements of the electrolyser. Typically, in practice, depending upon the environment in which it is deployed, it is envisaged that the system will generate about 5-60% of the energy requirements of the electrolyser.

[00201] In a preferred embodiment, hydrogen from the electrolyser is used in an ammonia plant, preferably a green ammonia plant. In a preferred embodiment, the hydrogen from the electrolyser is used in a methanation plant. In a preferred embodiment, the hydrogen from the electrolyser is used as a fuel source.

[00202] In a preferred embodiment, the system is adapted to be moveable on a skid. In a preferred embodiment, the system is adapted to be approximately the same size as a 20 ft or 40 ft shipping container. In other preferred embodiments, the system, built to a commercial scale is not movable without first dismantling the component pieces.

[00203] In a preferred embodiment, the system is adapted to be in communication with one or more of a hot water supply, cold water supply, and / or dry air supply. In a preferred embodiment, the system is adapted for domestic or commercial operation, preferably domestic.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[00204] Certain preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[00205] Figure 1 is a chart depicting a relatively simple form of the invention, as described herein.

[00206] Figure 2 is a chart representing a form of the invention having accompanying electricity generation capacity.

[00207] Figure 3 is a chart showing a form of the invention having multiple reaction chambers arranged in parallel.

[00208] Figure 4 is a chart showing a form of the invention having multiple reaction chambers arranged in series.

[00209] Figure 5 is a chart representing a form of the invention having multiple banks of reaction chambers and envisaged as being applicable to an industrial or commercial scale operation.

[00210] Figure 6 is a perspective diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing a plurality of reaction chambers operatively associated with each other.

[00211] Figure 7 shows a proposed arrangement of adsorption sections in an adsorption tower, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. For example, it may be advantageous to run the adsorption sections in parallel during the adsorption cycle in order to achieve a high feed flow rate of air, whilst keeping the pressure drop below a preferred pressure and/or run the adsorption sections in series during the desorption cycle, in order to enable high desorption air flow rates which enable high heat transfer, whilst not reducing the water vapour concentration considerably in the condenser feed gas.

[00212] Figure 8 shows a conceptual 3D model of a pilot plant corresponding to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Heating each of the discrete separate compartments sequentially is particularly preferred when the reaction chamber is a vertical reaction chamber, for example, when the discrete separate compartments are arranged substantially above one another It will be appreciated that sequential heating from the bottom upwards serves to at least partially pre-heat at least one chamber above that receiving direct heating. This may result in substantial power savings.

[00213] Figure 9 shows an adaptation of the system to be in communication with one or more of a hot water supply, cold water supply, and / or dry air supply.

[00214] Figure 10 shows an adaptation of the system to be in communication with one or more of a hot water supply, cold water supply, and / or dry air supply.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[00215] The skilled addressee will understand that the invention comprises the embodiments and features described herein, as well as all combinations and/or permutations of the disclosed embodiments and features.

[00216] In a preferred embodiment, the at least one fan comprises a filter, screen, or baffle. These may be preferable in order to deploy the system of the invention in arid or dusty environments, such as deserts. In preferred embodiments, the at least one fan may suck or blow the air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan sucks air through the system. In one embodiment, the at least one fan blows air through the system. [00217] The water captured by the system of the invention may require treatment in order to be used for its intended purpose, such as drinking, for an electrolyser or other use. In a preferred embodiment, the system comprises a water treatment unit. Such a unit may alter the pH of the water, filter the water, add fluoride or chlorine, add salts, remove particulates, skim, or otherwise treat the water so it is ready for its desired purpose. In other embodiments, the water obtained via the system of the invention may be potable as-is. [00218] With reference to Figure 1, a fundamental form of the inventive water collection system 10 comprises a reaction chamber 11 at least partially-filled with a desiccant 12 and comprises an air inlet 13 through which humid air 14 is fed into the reaction chamber and an outlet 18 connected to condenser 20. Heating means 15 at least partially surround the reaction chamber 11 or is formed integrally inside the reaction chamber 11.

[00219] Heating means 15 provides heat 16 to the reaction chamber 11. The fan 17 drives humid air 14 into the reaction chamber 11. In use, the desiccant 12 absorbs water present in the air until the desiccant is saturated with water and consequently spent. Once moisture has been removed the humid air 14 the subsequent dry air 21 exits the reaction chamber via outlet 18 into the condenser 20 and thereby exits to atmosphere. Once desiccant 12 has been spent, heating means 15 applies heat 16 to the reaction chamber 11 to generate steam 19 which condenses to water 22 in the condenser. Removing water from desiccant 12 regenerates the desiccant 12 such that it is ready to absorb more water.

[00220] The heated regenerated desiccant 12 is cooled by passing humid air 14 over desiccant 12 until it cools and reaches saturation again. The process is then repeated until a further quantity of water is obtained. Optionally, fan 17 further comprises a compressor to compress the humid air prior to passing it through the inlet 13. Steam 19 may also optionally be purged by a stream of ambient air, dry air, humid air or a mixture thereof. Preferably, the purge stream is dry air 21 or humid air 14 (not shown).

[00221] The air inlet 13 and the air outlet 18 may be comprised of a plurality of inlets or outlets to enable sufficient air flow into the reaction chamber 11. The air inlets may be placed at the bottom of the reaction chamber or at any location around the chamber to ensure that sufficient airflow of the humid air through the desiccant is achieved. The air inlets may be located on the periphery of the reaction chamber or via channels or internal air delivery sleeves that deliver the humid air to the desiccant relatively efficiently. The air inlets may also be attached to a distributer plate to diffuse the air prior to or as it enters the chamber.

[00222] The reaction chamber 11 may be of any shape or construction. Preferably, the reaction chamber 11 is an enclosed cylinder with the air inlet 13 and air outlet 18 located at opposite or distal ends of the cylinder.

[00223] The heating means 15 may at least partially surround the reaction chamber 11. In an embodiment, the heating means 15 is in the form of a heating jacket or element or may be at least partially formed integrally within the reaction chamber 11 and through the desiccant 12, for example, a heating coil or element. Preferably, the heating means 15 is super-heated steam or hot oil. The heating coil or element may be substantially inside the reaction chamber or may pass through the walls of the reaction chamber, or may at least partially surround the reaction chamber.

[00224] Referring now to Figure 2, in the inventive system 30, steam 19 may optionally be fed through an electricity generator 31 to generate electricity 32 prior to entering the condenser 20. The electricity generator 31 may be a steam turbine or a binary turbine or any other means of capturing excess heat or energy from steam 19 prior to entering the condenser 20. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the electricity generator 31 may also be in communication with heating means 15 so that the heat 16, preferably in the form of super-heated steam, is first passed through the electricity generator 31 to generate electricity 32.

[00225] Figure 3 shows an inventive system 40 comprising a plurality of reaction chambers arranged in parallel. The humid air 14 simultaneously or sequentially in short order enters each of the first reaction chamber 41, second reaction chamber 42 and third reaction chamber 43 each of which is filled with desiccant 12. In use, humid air 14 may flow through each of the reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 simultaneously or sequentially in short order.

[00226] In one embodiment depicted Figure 3, humid air 14 is passed through each of the reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 sequentially such that only one reaction chamber is actively absorbing moisture at any one time. Alternatively, the humid air 14 may pass through all of the reaction chambers except for the reaction chamber that is being heated by the heating means 15.

[00227] Optionally, as shown, each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 may be in electrically-generating communication with first electricity generator 44, second electricity generator 45 and third electricity generator 46, respectively, to generate electricity 32 from the steam 19. Optionally, reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 may be in communication with a single electricity generator (not shown) and thereby to the condenser 20. Although not shown in Figure 3, each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 may have its own fan 17 driving humid air 14 into the respective reaction chamber/s. Alternatively, the fan 14 may be adapted to force air through only a single reaction chamber 41 or 42 or 43, sequentially. Chambers 41, 42, 43, once heated by heat 16 to regenerate desiccant 12, may be each cooled by passing air through the chambers 41, 42, 43 at ambient temperature or below. [00228] Referring now to Figure 4, the inventive system 50 is similar to system 40 (Figure 3) except the humid air 14 is passed in series through each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 such that a portion of the moisture in the humid air 14 is removed by the desiccant in each reaction chamber. The humid air 14 enters a first reaction chamber 41, exits through the outlet 18 to a second reaction chamber 42 via a second air inlet 52. Humid air 14 the exits the second reaction chamber 42 through a second air outlet 54 to a third reaction chamber 43 by a third air inlet 55.

[00229] Once the heating means 15 has applied heat 16 to the first reaction chamber 41, the steam 19 exits through a steam outlet 51 to a first electricity generator 44 and thereby to the condenser 20 to generate water 22. Similarly, once the heating means 15 has applied heat 16 to the first reaction chamber 42, the steam 19 exits through the second steam outlet 53 to the second electricity generator 45 and thereby to the condenser 20 to generate water 22. Further still, once the heating means 15 has applied heat 16 to the third reaction chamber 43, the steam 19 exits through the third steam outlet 56 to the third electricity generator 46 and thereby to the condenser 20 to generate water 22. Although not shown, each of the steam outlets 51, 53, 56 may be in communication with a single electricity generator and then to the condenser 20.

[00230] With reference to Figure 5, the inventive system 60 is similar to system 40 (Figure 3), but is comprised of multiple banks of reaction chambers 61, 62, 63 and 64. A first bank of reaction chambers 61 is comprised of multiple reaction chambers: a first reaction chamber 41, a second reaction chamber 42 and a third reaction chamber 43 each of which is filled with the desiccant 12. A second bank of reaction chambers 62 also comprises a first reaction chamber 41, a second reaction chamber 42 and a third reaction chamber 43 each of which is filled with the desiccant 12.

[00231] A third bank of reaction chambers 63 and a (n+l)th bank of reaction chambers 64 are arranged in a similar manner as banks of reaction chambers 61 and 62. Each bank of reaction chambers 61, 62, 63, 64 may have the same number of reaction chambers or a different number of reaction chambers. Each bank of reaction chambers may be configured to produce a predetermined quantity of water, such as 0.1 or 1 megalitres, such that building larger systems for producing known amounts of water is a simple matter of incorporating a set number of banks of reaction chambers in the array set out in the system 60.

[00232] In use, each of the reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 and the (n+l)th reaction chamber 68 may be heated individually by the heating means 15, which is shown in the system 60 as a heat exchanger 66; this draws its thermal energy from a solar array 65. Alternatively, the thermal energy may be derived from a geothermal source or from waste heat, such as from thermal power generation or server farms. As would be understood by those of skill in the art, the solar array 65 may be replaced by a boiler or heating element to provide super heated steam or heat to heat exchanger 66. The heat 16 is in the form of super-heated steam or other heated media and may be used to drive a steam turbine, Stirling engine, or binary turbine as an electricity generator 31 to produce electricity 32 for a power grid 62. The steam 19 from each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43, 68 or from each of banks of reactions chambers 61, 62, 63, 64 may also be used to generate electricity 31 before passing to the condenser 20 and to provide electricity to the power grid 67.

[00233] One key advantage to the present invention is the potential for multiple points of electricity generation within the system such that the energy produced may be enough to run the system, preferably with some electricity left over for either returning to the power grid or to be used in downstream applications, such as an electrolyser to produce hydrogen, green ammonia production, a carbonation reactor or any other downstream energy requirement.

[00234] While the system of the invention may work more efficiently at higher relative humidity, the system of the invention is suited for use in arid environments with lower relative humidity (e.g., on Australia’s Nullarbor Plain). In circumstances where the relative humidity is low (i.e., below about 50%), the air flow through the reaction chambers may be increased to allow for the lower water content in the humid air.

[00235] In some embodiments, the air from each reaction chamber may be passed into the next reaction chamber until all the moisture is removed from the air. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an average ambient relative humidity of less than 90%, preferably 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5% or less relative humidity. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an arid environment. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an average ambient relative humidity of less than about 40%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an average ambient relative humidity of less than about 30%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an average ambient relative humidity of less than about 20%. In a preferred embodiment, the system is operable in an average ambient relative humidity of about 10%.

[00236] Referring now to Figure 6, with reference to system 70, fans 17 feed humid air 14 into each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43. The humid air may be fed into reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 sequentially, independently, or simultaneously. Each bank of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43 may be viewed as being a first bank of reaction chambers 61 and a second bank of reaction chambers 62 as set out in Figure 5 and described above. The dry air may exit the system via an exhaust stack 71, but may also be circulated as the purge gas back into each of reaction chambers 41, 42, 43.

[00237] Referring now to Figure 9, system 60, 70 is formed integrally with a domestic or commercial installation 900. Such a system delivers water, hot water, and/or dry humid air into a domestic or commercial environment. System 60, 70 derives solar thermal energy from solar collector 91 and/or electricity from either grid connection 92 or solar cells (not shown). System 60,70 draws in humid air 14 and generates hot water, which is passed into hot water storage tank 93. The hot water may be fed directly into domestic supply for the end user or stored in tank 93 for later use. Additionally or alternatively, the hot water may be passed into an absorption chiller 94 to recover any thermal energy and to generate cold water, which may be stored in cold water storage tank 95 or fed directly into supply for the end user. Any recovered thermal energy may be returned to system 60,70 or vented via a radiator or similar. Tanks 93 and/or 95 may be preferably stored in an elevated position to generate pressure in the water circuit.

[00238] Humid air 14 may be taken from external of the structure 96 or from inside the structure 96 to dehumidify the internal environment. Cold water tank 95 and/or absorption chiller 94 are in fluid communication with air conditioning unit 97, which provides cooling to structure 96. The cold water cools the air to provide cooling to the structure. Hot water tank 93 may also be in fluid communication with air conditioning unit 97 to remove excess heat into the storage tank for use in the structure 96. An intercooler (not shown) may be optionally used to remove any heat from humid air 14 or from the resultant dry air. The heat captured from the intercooler may be used elsewhere in the system or vented via a radiator or similar. Dry air from system 60,70 may also be fed into air conditioner 97 to reduce the amount of energy required to cool the air in the air conditioner. Water generation by the system of the invention may be supplemented by water collection of rainwater in rainwater tank 98 or by collection of condensate from air conditioning unit 97. Tank 98 may be preferably stored in an elevated position to generate pressure in the water circuit.

[00239] Referring now to Figure 10, system 60,70 is formed integrally with a domestic or commercial installation which is a total off grid energy and water solution 1000. In solution 1000, electricity is provided from solar cells 101 or wind (not shown), which are optionally connected to ancillary equipment, such as charge controller 102, batteries 103, and/or an invertor 104, adapted to control the electrical load delivered to any appliances located in structure 96. Solution 1000 also comprises hydrogen generation via electrolyser 105 that delivers hydrogen to storage tank 106. Hydrogen from tank 106 may be fed into fuel cell 107 to produce electricity, burnt in catalytic burner 108, fed into fuel cell electric vehicles, or used in domestic appliances, such as, cookers, eutectic fridges/freezers and the like. Any excess heat produced by fuel cell 107 or electrolyser 105 may be recovered for use in system 60,70 or vented via a radiator or similar. Solution 1000 is completely off grid and provides renewable energy means to provide water, heat, hot water, electricity, and cooling to a domestic or commercial operation. Such a system would not require any connection to external energy supplies and, with appropriate battery and/or thermal storage, can provide 24-hour operation.

[00240] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is amenable to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.