Solar vapor generation is a renewable
and hopeful technology for
obtaining freshwater from underground water, dyeing wastewater, and
seawater. Herein, hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets grown on
cotton fabric (Mn-CF) have been developed for solar-driven water evaporation.
Black MnO2 nanosheets and nanoflowers are in situ chemically
deposited on cotton fabric (CF), which leads to a solar absorption
ability as high as 95% from 300 to 2500 nm. Due to the synergistic
effect of the super-hydrophilic CF and hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets, Mn-CF results in a water evaporation rate of 1.40 kg
m–2 h–1 with the photothermal
conversion efficiency of 87.48% under 1 sun illumination (1 kW m–2). During the desalination test, Mn-CF can be renewed
by washing off the steamed salts through a simple ultrasonication
or hand-washing. Moreover, Mn-CF remains stable after 40 cycles, each
lasting 1 h under 1 sun irradiation. A Mn-CF-based solar steam generator
(Mn-CF-SSG) enables to effectively purifying simulated dyeing wastewater
and seawater using natural sunlight. The cost of preparing 1 m2 Mn-CF is about $1.5. This work provides a simple method to
prepare flexible and washable Mn-CF-SSG with low-cost and high efficiency
that has huge potential for practical application of seawater desalination.
Nowadays, freshwater shortage, energy crisis and environmental pollution are the three major threats to human beings. Herein, we develop a photothermal material based on bagasse for solar steam generation to relieve freshwater crisis and mitigate environmental pollution caused by bio-waste. The mainly functional part of the solar driven steam generator in this paper is bagasse-based photothermal aerogel (B-PTA), which composes of carbonized bagasse (CB) and bagasse-derived cellulose ber (BDCF). The B-PTA with CB can effectively absorb solar (~95%) and has an excellent light-to-heat ability. The B-PTA with DBCF has super-hydrophilicity, water transport and retention ability. Depending on the excellent light absorption and 3D water passageway, the B-PTA gives a water evaporation rate of 1.36 kg m -2 h -1 , and can achieve a photothermal conversion e ciency of 77.34% under 1-sun illumination (1 kW m -2 ). The B-PTA has excellent stability that the e ciency without signi cant decrease after 20 cycles. In addition, the B-PTA can effectively desalt seawater and purify dye wastewater with natural sunlight. Therefore, turning bio-waste into valuable photothermal material for solar steam generation is possible. Due to the merits of low cost, scalability, environmental friendliness, B-PTA has the potential for real-world water puri cation.
Nowadays, freshwater shortage, energy crisis and environmental pollution are the three major threats to human beings. Herein, we develop a photothermal material based on bagasse for solar steam generation to relieve freshwater crisis and mitigate environmental pollution caused by bio-waste. The mainly functional part of the solar driven steam generator in this paper is bagasse-based photothermal aerogel (B-PTA), which composes of carbonized bagasse (CB) and bagasse-derived cellulose fiber (BDCF). The B-PTA with CB can effectively absorb solar (~95%) and has an excellent light-to-heat ability. The B-PTA with DBCF has super-hydrophilicity, water transport and retention ability. Depending on the excellent light absorption and 3D water passageway, the B-PTA gives a water evaporation rate of 1.36 kg m–2 h–1, and can achieve a photothermal conversion efficiency of 77.34% under 1-sun illumination (1 kW m–2). The B-PTA has excellent stability that the efficiency without significant decrease after 20 cycles. In addition, the B-PTA can effectively desalt seawater and purify dye wastewater with natural sunlight. Therefore, turning bio-waste into valuable photothermal material for solar steam generation is possible. Due to the merits of low cost, scalability, environmental friendliness, B-PTA has the potential for real-world water purification.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.