From Hypothesis to Headline: Reporting Results on My Atmospheric Water Harvesting Research
Vinesh k -
I still remember the scientific method we learned in our middle school science classes. Posters in classrooms mapped out the steps of the scientific method with bright arrows: “Ask a Question → Form a Hypothesis → Conduct an Experiment → Analyze Data → Report Results.”
“Report Results” always seemed like the simplest step. Back then, it meant standing in front of the class with a Powerpoint presentation and a nervous smile. I never realized that in the real world, reporting results isn’t just the last step — it’s where the research finally has a chance to make a difference.
For my final product, as I have talked about before, I am writing a research report to be included into a publication under Professor Shahnawaz Sinha. Writing it has been proving more difficult than I expected, but here are some snapshots of what I have developed so far:
ABSTRACT
Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) technologies offer a decentralized solution to water scarcity, but their economic feasibility hinges significantly on the sorbents used and their specific form factor. This study presents a comparative life-cycle cost analysis of four sorbent materials: zeolite 13X, silica gel, blue silica gel, and activated alumina in powdered and beaded forms. A standardized framework, incorporating material and energy costs over 1,000 regeneration cycles, was employed. Assumptions included uniform hardware costs, linear scaling of adsorption, and absence of performance degradation. The analysis revealed that silica gel demonstrated the most favorable life-cycle cost performance, driven primarily by its lower regeneration energy requirements. These findings underscore the critical role of energy efficiency in sorbent selection for scalable AWH systems.
INTRODUCTION
As global freshwater resources become increasingly strained, atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) has emerged as a promising method to extract potable water from ambient air. Central to the efficiency and economic viability of AWH systems is the choice of sorbent material. While prior studies have largely focused on adsorption capacity and material cost, energy requirements for sorbent regeneration represent a substantial, often overlooked component of life-cycle costs.
This study aims to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of the life-cycle costs associated with four commonly used sorbents: zeolite 13X, silica gel, blue silica gel, and activated alumina. These sorbents were also considered into two form factors: powdered and beaded. The beaded sorbents were ball-milled in order to create the powdered version. By standardizing assumptions related to sorbent degradation, scaling behavior, and hardware costs, the analysis isolates material and energy factors to determine the most cost-effective option over an extended operational period.
Similar to every other research article process, this will undergo several iterations after getting feedback from my professor and determining how to improve the writing to how to structure my information better!
I am excited to finishing the remaining portion of my final product! Thank you guys for following this journey!