Can we save water, by recovering the water from saturated air(almost saturated with water )?

Question

We know there is lot of water wastage from cooling towers, can we develop a system which recover water from these towers.
Do u have any ideas?

Answer 1

I suppose it's what you consider waste.

A cooling tower is used to reject heat from a system at a lower temperature than if you were just using air. For example, a tower might allow cooling at 85 degree condenser temperature rather than 105 degrees in an AC system. So you save maybe 25% energy by using a cooling tower.

So what you're suggesting would require another 8300 BTU's per gallon condensed - the same energy that was just rejected from the system that was cooled - which wouldn't make much sense. You would also have to use even more energy (because you'd also be cooling the air the water was in) to get that water back.

So it would use less energy to just install an air cooled system in the first place, if water conservation was your goal.

Answer 2

To mechanically do this would waste a lot of energy when the re-condensation of this water is carried out naturally by the 'Water cycle' of the earth which is .. Heating, Evaporation, Cooling, Condensing, Heating ..et.

In an air conditioning unit, the refrigeration system condenses the moisture in the air.

Answer 3

Ultimately, the amount of water left in the air
has more to do with the planet temperature
than the local source.

That is, if the humidity is high around a
water tower, then water in local oceans or
lakes in that area will not evaporate.

However, the HEAT that you're putting into the
air is an issue.

However, if you've converted water to steam,
if you condense it, you have something that is
likely to be considerably purer than lake water
(and certainly purer than ocean water).

That water is therefore more valuable water than
the local standing stuff. You can imagine collecting
it and using for medical purposes or adding just the
right minerals to make superb potable water.

Answer 4

We already have a very good system to recover the water from saturated air....it is called rain.

Answer 5

yeah

if you have a difference of temp

you can use that for heating or cooling

by condensation, you can get water that way too

good clean water

Answer 6

Actually, they've done that already.

It's basically a dehumidifier that collects the water in a food grade container.