More from less: improving solar steam generation by selectively removing a portion of evaporation surface

Gao, Ting; Wang, Yida; Wu, Xuan; Pan, Wei‐Ping; Yang, Xiaofei; Li, Qin; Zhang, Zhezi; Zhang, Dongke; Owens, Gary; Xu, Haolan

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2022.07.004

Cited by 154 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…In order to assess the potential humidity regulation of 3D foams, their dehumidification and humidification in closed environments were simulated based on COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6. 69 The model environments were set up considering fluid flow (liquid water and water vapor) in air and porous medium, water vapor transportation, and heat transfer. In the 2D geometry, the three rectangles reflect a 3D foam-3 array (1.7 × 2 cm 2 for each foam) and the outer square (20 × 20 cm 2 ) represents a closed space.…”

Section: T H I S C O N T E N T Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Hygroscopic and Photothermal All-Polymer Foams for Efficient Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Passive Humidity Management, and Protective Packaging

Lin

Shao

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Environmental humidity and thermal control are of primary importance for fighting global warming, growing energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting is an emerging technology with great potential in clean water production and passive cooling applications. However, sorption-based humidity management and their hybrid applications are limited due to the lack of energywise designs of hygroscopic materials and devices. Herein, all polymeric 3D foams are developed and evaluated as hygroscopic and photothermal materials. The gas-foaming method generates closed-cell structures with interconnected hydrophilic networks and wrinkled surfaces, expanding hygroscopic, photothermal, and evaporating areas of the 3D foams. These unique advantages lead to efficient water vapor sorption in a wide broad relative humidity (RH) range of 50−90% and efficient water release in a wide solar intensity (0.4−1 sun) and temperature range (27−80 °C). The reversible moisture sorption/release in 50 adsorption/desorption cycles highlights the excellent durability of the 3D foams compared to conventional inorganic desiccants. The 3D foams disclose passive and efficient apparent temperature regulation in warm and humid environments. Moreover, the use of the 3D foams as loose fill for fruit preservation and packaging is demonstrated for the first time by taking the merit of the 3D foams' moisture-absorbing, quick-drying, cushioning, and thermal-insulating properties. This work presents an integrated design of polymeric desiccants and scaffolds, not merely delivering stable water adsorption/desorption but also discovering innovative hybrid applications in humidity management and protective packaging.

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Section: T H I S C O N T E N T Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Hygroscopic and Photothermal All-Polymer Foams for Efficient Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Passive Humidity Management, and Protective Packaging

Lin

Shao

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Freshwater scarcity remains a major global challenge, due to global population growth, industry development, and climate change. − Considering the abundant seawater and solar energy resources, solar-driven seawater desalination is one of the most effective approaches to boost freshwater supply. Compared with the traditional desalination technologies, solar steam generation (SSG) attracted much more attention owing to its eco-friendly nature, low cost, and high efficiency. − The ideal SSG system always possesses broadband light absorption, lower thermal conductivity, and timely water transportation. − The photothermal materials can locate the widely absorbed solar energy onto the upper surface and reduce energy loss to the surrounding environment, thus converting most of the absorbed energy into heat to generate steam. − Therefore, compared with previous reports, VOCs and thermal management are more and more concerned by researchers. − The development of low-cost and efficient SSG systems is still in great need for favorable economic and social benefits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Solar Evaporator with Salt Resistance and Lipophobicity Derived from Waste Newspapers for Efficient Desalination

Wang

Xiao

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Solar steam generation (SSG) is an effective way to mitigate the freshwater crisis. However, challenges still remain in scalable preparation, cost-effectiveness, and expanding the scope of practical applications for photothermal materials. Herein, a biomass-based solar steam generator (named OR-INP) with salt-resistant, oil-repellent, and anti-fouling performances is fabricated by grafting poly(ionic liquid)s onto celluloses from waste newspapers and then conducting oil-repellent modification. Benefiting from the broad solar absorption in the wet state (ca. 92%), low thermal conductivity (0.1108 W m–1 K–1), and strong hydrophilic and oleophobic properties, the solar evaporation efficiency is as high as 93.25% for pure water, 84.96% for 20 wt % NaCl, and 78.46% for 5 wt % oily wastewater, under 1 sun irradiation. Moreover, the aerogel still has excellent purification effects on solutions which contain organic dyes, heavy metal ions, or bacteria. Therefore, combining the merits of salt resistance, oil repellency, and wastewater treatment, this work develops the prospect of employing waste biomass resource-based photothermal materials and expands the practical application range of biomass-based evaporators.

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“…As is well-known, water is the source of human life. Although the earth is a blue planet with 71% of its surface area covered by water, 98% of its seawater cannot be directly drunk by human beings. − In recent years, the shortage of water resources has become an increasingly serious problem, which has become a common problem faced by the mankind. − At present, the common methods of seawater desalination are reverse osmosis, freezing, ion exchange resin, distillation, and other methods. − However, most methods rely on fossil fuels, which greatly increases greenhouse gas emissions. Seawater desalination driven by solar energy is a green and environmentally friendly strategy, which is expected to replace the artificial high-energy-consumption desalination method in the future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dendritic Structure-Inspired Coating Strategy for Stable and Efficient Solar Evaporation of Salinity Brine

Chen

Zhang

Tian

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Solar thermal evaporation has been widely used to tackle the problem of freshwater shortage. The strategy to improve the evaporative performance of solar thermal evaporation by simple and effective methods is still a challenge. Herein, a dendritic structure-inspired coating strategy based on the dendritic structure of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) colloids firmly grabbing titanium trioxide (Ti2O3) on the outer surface as a light-absorbing core–shell filler was prepared using the non-solvo-induced precipitation method. Such a core–shell structure was then coated on the PVA sponge to prepare the solar photothermal composite Ti2O3/PVA@PVA, which gave full play to the photothermal advantage of the filler itself and can be long-term stable. Meanwhile, a three-dimensional Ti2O3/PVA@PVA evaporator with an embossment-sawtooth structure was prepared, which enhances light absorption to 98% in the whole solar spectrum through folds. Under 1.0 solar irradiation, the evaporation rate reaches as high as 2.66 kg m–2 h–1 and the evaporator illustrates good stability in simulated seawater for 7 consecutive days. Such a design showed good salt resistance and self-cleaning ability and could be reliably used for seawater desalination. In addition, the evaporator illustrates good adsorption capacity for dye molecules and heavy metal ions. This work provides new insights into the development of simple, efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable, and salt-resistant solar evaporators.

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More from less: improving solar steam generation by selectively removing a portion of evaporation surface

Cited by 154 publications

References 71 publications

Hygroscopic and Photothermal All-Polymer Foams for Efficient Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Passive Humidity Management, and Protective Packaging

Hygroscopic and Photothermal All-Polymer Foams for Efficient Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Passive Humidity Management, and Protective Packaging

Integrated Solar Evaporator with Salt Resistance and Lipophobicity Derived from Waste Newspapers for Efficient Desalination

Dendritic Structure-Inspired Coating Strategy for Stable and Efficient Solar Evaporation of Salinity Brine

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