Patent ID: 8506679

Claim:
A water recovery system comprising: a sorbing bed for receiving a first fluid stream and sorbing water from the first fluid stream, the sorbing bed comprising: an inlet; a sorbent; and an outlet; a desorbing bed for receiving a second fluid stream and desorbing water to the second fluid stream, the desorbing bed comprising: an inlet; a sorbent; and an outlet, wherein the sorbing bed and the desorbing bed are aligned so that an area near the outlet of the sorbing bed is aligned with an area near the inlet or the outlet of the desorbing bed, and wherein the sorbing bed and the desorbing bed are thermally connected to provide passive heat transfer from the sorbing bed to the desorbing bed; a heat pump positioned between the sorbing bed and the desorbing bed for actively transferring heat from the sorbing bed to the desorbing bed; and a controller for distributing power to the heat pump to maintain an area near the outlet of the desorbing bed at a temperature greater than an area of the sorbing bed aligned with the area near the outlet of the desorbing bed.