A Lotus Seedpods‐Inspired Interfacial Solar Steam Generator with Outstanding Salt Tolerance and Mechanical Properties for Efficient and Stable Seawater Desalination
Haodong Ma,
Lingjie Yu,
Zhenzhen Li
et al.
Abstract:Interfacial solar steam generators (ISSGs) can capture solar energy and concentrate the heat at the gas–liquid interface, resulting in efficient water evaporation. However, traditional ISSGs have limitations in long‐term seawater desalination processes, such as limited light absorption area, slow water transport speed, severe surface salt accumulation, and weak mechanical performance. Inspired by lotus seedpods, a novel ISSG (rGO‐SA‐PSF) is developed by treating a 3D warp‐knitted spacer fabric with plasma (PSF… Show more
Getting distilled water through solar energy is a green and sustainable way to purify water. The reduction of the evaporation enthalpy by hydrogels greatly improves the efficiency of water purification....
Getting distilled water through solar energy is a green and sustainable way to purify water. The reduction of the evaporation enthalpy by hydrogels greatly improves the efficiency of water purification....
“…The calculation equation for the weight increment ( W i ) is as by eq .25ex2ex Wnormali=mnormalw−mnormaldmd m d : the weight of the sample in the dry state (g); m w : the weight of the sample in the wet state (g).…”
Given
the green developments in interfacial solar steam generation
(ISSG), a biobased evaporator with excellent photothermal conversion
efficiency is urgently needed to address the freshwater shortage.
However, it is still challenging that biobased evaporators like wood
and bamboo are underutilized due to the capillary actions in different
channel directions. Herein, we investigated the channel structural
properties of bamboo veneer evaporators for contrast analysis between
bamboo transverse sections (BTR) and bamboo tangential sections (BTA).
The one-step torrefaction method was used to improve the optical absorption
of bamboo lignin in the 200–2500 nm band. Owing to the perpendicular
channel design, the BTR evaporator conducting straight energy loss
to the bulk water restricts the performance. The BTA evaporator’s
parallel channel design with a micronano unit presents better photothermal
management (surface temperature could reach 57.1 °C under 1 kW/m2 illumination), leading to efficient evaporation performance
(1.425 kg/m2 h). These findings contribute to our cognition
of solar-driven water transport and suggest a parallel channel ISSG
design to develop efficient biobased ISSG in freshwater produce from
seawater or sewage.
“…Seawater desalination is an open-source incremental technology to realize the utilization of water resources, which can increase the total amount of fresh water without being affected by spacetime and climate. [1][2][3] Although many scientific research institutions are carrying out research on seawater desalination; high energy consumption and brine management are still great challenges. Therefore, there is still room for further improvement in the field of seawater desalination technologies.…”
The conventional sea water desalination technologies are not yet adopted worldwide, especially in the third world countries due to their high capital cost as well as large energy requirement. To solve this issue in a sustainable way an interfacial solar water evaporation device is designed and proposed in this article using the branches of Prunus serrulata (PB). The PB has abundant microchannels and shows excellent photothermal conversion capability after carbonization. Moreover, the easy access to raw materials and the facile fabrication process makes the solar water evaporating device very cost effective for seawater desalination application. Experiments show that in the presence of the fabricated evaporator the evaporation rate of water can reach 3.5 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun, which is superior to many similar experimental devices. In addition, its advantages, such as effective sewage purification capability, low cost, and environmental friendliness, make this evaporator highly competitive in the extensive promotion of this technology and can be considered as a new sustainable solution for seawater desalination with great application potential and prospects.
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