Effect of Coil Evaporator Positions on Freshwater Production and Heat Transfer Rate

Abstract

Human life cannot be separated from water; therefore, water must be fulfilled because it is a basic human need. In the dry season, several regions in Indonesia experience a clean water crisis. This crisis needs to be overcome with methods or equipment that can produce water. Various methods for obtaining clean water were carried out in previous research, but not all methods were suitable for the current condition of Indonesia's territory. One method that could be used in all positions and situations and was suitable for household scales was an air-water harvester machine using a cooling machine. However, this method resulted in less freshwater production. Therefore, the authors were interested to examine the effect of the evaporator positions on the freshwater production and heat transfer rates. This research was carried out experimentally with the working fluid refrigerant R134a. The compressor used was a rotary type 1 PK compressor. This study varied the positions of the coil evaporator, namely the vertical position, the 45° position, and the horizontal position. The highest freshwater production and heat transfer rate were attained using the vertical position. The maximum freshwater production and heat transfer rate were 0.641 kg and 127.17 W respectively.