The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of utilizing atmospheric water generation systems (AWG) in the agricultural sector by implementing a liquid desiccant-based moisture harvesting system. The system was modeled using an adiabatic simulation approach to evaluate the performance of the system in terms of moisture removal rate during the dehumidification process. Additionally, an economic analysis was conducted to compare the costs and payback period of three different water extraction scenarios for the agricultural sector in Jordan. The scenarios considered the Levelized Cost of Water (LCOW) and payback period over a 20-year life cycle. The results of the study showed that the average annual water extracted during the tomato cultivation period was 2,198 m³ and 1,451 m³ for the strawberry cultivation period. The payback period for non-subsidized water selling prices was between 6 and 12 years and between 3 and 4 years if water was purchased from artesian wells. The LCOW for the different scenarios ranged from 1.92 USD/m³ to 2.91 USD/m³, depending on the type of crop and the desiccant solution used. Overall, the study demonstrated that the implementation of an AWG system in the agricultural sector can be a viable option with a reasonable payback period and cost-competitive LCOW.

Title

Journal of Cleaner Production

Publisher

Elsevier

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

11.1

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

414

Year

2023

Pages

137587