Trigeneration of photovoltage, thermovoltage, and water via atmospheric water harvesting

Haoran Li, Huixin Zhang, Yinzhen Li, Wei Zhang, Lei Zhang, Xiaojuan Niu, Yan Li and Wenpeng Hong

Energy, 2025, vol. 321, issue C

Abstract: Solar-driven co-generation of water and electricity has garnered considerable attention due to its potential environmental benefits. However, the current hybrid systems face challenges in low solar efficiency and water productivity. This paper presents a novel integrated hybrid system (referring to WECS) for the trigeneration of photovoltage, thermovoltage, and condensate water with the assistance of atmospheric water harvesting. A stacked photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (PV-TEG) is bonded together by a moisture absorbent (MA). The MA leverages the moisture absorption in darkness and then absorbs the waste heat conducting from the PV-TEG for evaporation in light. The evaporated vapor is collected by a coppery condenser under the MA. In this WECS configuration, a notable condensation water yield of 1.03 kg m−2 h−1 and an exceptional condensation power of 698 W m−2 is obtained. Moreover, the electricity generation efficiency of the PV panel is enhanced by ∼16 % compared to a standalone PV panel under 1 sun illumination. Importantly, the utilization of MA in WECS results in a 1.48-fold increase in the output power of TEG compared to utilizing a commercial heat sink. These findings underscore the crucial role of attaching MA to the cold end of the TEG in augmenting the overall electricity generation performance of the WECS.

Keywords: Atmospheric water harvesting; Thermoelectric generation; Photovoltaic conversion; Solar water and electricity production; Solar energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225011259
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:321:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225011259

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135483

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().