Effect of Air Filtration on Water Quality During Atmospheric Water Harvest in the Southwest United States

Author

A.J. Barney, University of New MexicoFollow

Publication Date

Summer 7-15-2024

Abstract

Access to sustainable drinking water is a concern across the globe. Atmospheric water harvest (AWH) offers a potential supplemental drinking water source. However, the sources and processes affecting AWH water quality are not well understood and must be thoroughly studied to consistently utilize AWH for drinking water. The objective of this research is to assess how removing particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM10 in the air used to produce AWH with air-filters affects the water quality of AWH. AWH samples were collected simultaneously with three identical dehumidifiers, utilizing three different air-filter configurations (no-filter, MERV8, and MERV12) in Albuquerque, NM from March 31^st through May 18^th, 2024 and analyzed for the presence of common water quality parameters including turbidity, total organic carbon (TOC), inorganic ions, and metals. No-filter samples demonstrated turbidity between 1.48-10.92 NTU, TOC between 0.946-3.453 mgC/L, Ammonia between 0.324-0.834 mg/L, Al between 23.553-156.638 μg/L, Mn between 23.553-156.638 μg/L, Fe between and 1.368-51.003 μg/L, challenging the notion that AWH is pure. MERV8 air-filters, which target PM10, demonstrated a daily average removal of 15.1% for turbidity, 20.6% for Al, and 25.9% for Mn. MERV12 air-filters, which target both PM10 and PM2.5, demonstrated a daily average removal of 37.7% of turbidity, 9.5% of Al, 41.0% of Mn, and 50.2% of Fe. These results indicated air-treatment can be utilized to remove turbidity and metals in AWH, and air-filters designed with higher efficiency increase this removal. However, turbidity, TOC, and ammonia after air-filtration still approached or exceeded regulatory limits or recommendations for all samples.

Keywords

Atmospheric Water Harvest, Air-Filtration, Water Quality, Particulate Matter, Contaminant Removal

Sponsors

UNM Center for Water & the Environment, PepsiCo, New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Civil Engineering

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Civil Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Anjali Mulchandani

Second Committee Member

Dr. Andrew Schuler

Third Committee Member

Dr. Jose Cerrato

Fourth Committee Member

Dr. Allyson McGaughey

Recommended Citation

Barney, A.J.. "Effect of Air Filtration on Water Quality During Atmospheric Water Harvest in the Southwest United States." (2024). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ce_etds/338