March 2021 Technical Noon Webinar

By Zoom Videoconferencing Technology (Registration is Required - See Details Below)
Wednesday March 17, 2021 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Moving Up the Technology Readiness Level for Atmospheric Water Harvesting

Anjali Mulchandani, Ph.D.
Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
University of New Mexico

ABSTRACT: Limited access to clean water due to natural or municipal disasters, drought or contaminated wells is driving demand for point-of-use and humanitarian drinking water technologies. Atmospheric water harvesting can provide clean drinking water off the centralized water grid by capturing water vapor present in ambient air and condensing the vapor to a liquid. Widespread application of atmospheric water harvesting is currently limited because production potential, energy requirement, best technology, and water quality as a function of climate and season are not parameterized. This presentation will address these research challenges and present a path to advance the technology readiness level. I will present geospatial maps of locations where water harvesting may be feasible, bench-scale design of novel adsorbent materials, and pilot-scale outdoor testing of water harvesting units to benchmark temporal water production, water quality and energy efficiency..

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Anjali Mulchandani leads the Environmental Resource Sustainability Group at UNM. Her research converges environmental engineering, materials science, nanotechnology, thermodynamics, and data analytics to design and predict feasibility of novel water treatment and resource recovery technologies. Her passions include designing hands-on learning tools and leading public outreach initiatives for STEM awareness and engagement among all levels of learners.

REGISTRATION:  Registration is limited to the first 100 participants. All attendees must pre-register for this webinar by Tuesday evening, 3/16/21 at 5:00 p.m. This is required to maintain a record of those attending to satisfy training requirements for PE licensure or Water/Wastewater Operator Certification. Operators will be asked for NM Operator Certification number on the online registration form. Continuing education is only available in New Mexico.

MARCH WEBINAR: Stacy Timmons, Associate Director for Hydrology Programs, NM Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources will be the speaker at the April 21, 2021 webinar. She will talk about the NM water data initiative.