Use of condensed water from air conditioning systems

Abstract

Facing the growing demand for water, discussions on environmental sustainability and conservation of this resource have become increasingly important. Among the possibilities for water conservation, air conditioning systems have potential applicability because, during their operation, water is generated via the condensation of air humidity, which is normally discarded. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the water released by air conditioning equipment (condensed water) installed in the Laboratory of Water Analysis (LAnA) qualitatively and quantitatively, in order to verify its potential for use in the laboratory itself. For this, the quality of the water produced by three air conditioners was compared water quality parameters found in the literature, as well as with water produced by a distiller and an ultra-purifier, both used in the LAnA. Water quality was evaluated using physicochemical parameters (i.e. pH, electrical conductivity, resistivity, alkalinity, turbidity, apparent color and hardness) and microbiological parameters (i.e. total coliforms, Escherichia coli and heterotrophic bacteria). The average water flow produced by the three monitored air conditioners was 3.08 L/hour, which is higher than the daily consumption by the LAnA, indicating that its use would be quantitatively propitious. The physicochemical and microbiological analyses found that, condensed water can be used in the routine activities of LAnA. However, for its use as reagent-grade water, a prior treatment would be necessary, mainly due to the presence of heterotrophic bacteria.

Keywords

• reagent-grade water
• air conditioning
• water use
• laboratory