Super Hydrophilic Activated Carbon Decorated Nanopolymer Foam for Scalable, Energy Efficient Photothermal Steam Generation, as an Effective Desalination System

Abstract

Clean water scarcity is still an intense, prolonged global issue that needs to be resolved urgently. The solar steam generation has shown great potential with a high energy conversion efficiency for clean water production from seawater and wastewater. However, the high evaporation rate of water cannot be preserved due to the inevitable fouling of solar absorbers. Herein, a self-floatable and super hydrophilic solar-driven steam generator composed of activated carbon coated melamine foam (ACM). The deposited ACM photothermal layer exhibits outstanding solar absorption (92%) and an efficient evaporation rate of 1.27 kg m−2 h−1, along with excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (80%) as compared to commercially available primitive solar stills. The open porous assembly of melamine foam equipped with 80% flexibility (0.8 MPa) enabled smooth water transport and sustain heat accumulation within the matrix. The thermal insulation of ACM is 10 times greater than pure water. Moreover, open porous assembly of designed solar-powered steam generator rejects salt ions as well as volatile organic compounds efficiently. The low-cost and facile fabrication of photothermal based water production presents a potential solution to single step drinking water supply from various resources of the sea, the lakes and mixtures of emulsified oil and industrial wastewater.

Fe2O3 Nanoparticles Deposited over Self-Floating Facial Sponge for Facile Interfacial Seawater Solar Desalination

“…The result obtained from ICP-AES exhibits an appreciable decrease in the ionic concentrations of Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ in the collected water comparative to the initial concentration in the simulated seawater. The result is far below the standards of drinking water set by the WHO [29,45], thus fetching the application of Fe 2 O 3 @PPy solar evaporator up to standard drinking water as illustrated in Figure 6d. Furthermore, the commercial waste contains high concentrations of heavy metal ions which are hazardous and predominately contaminate the water [46,47].…”

“…The solar to vapor conversion efficiency (η) of the Fe 2 O 3 @PPy evaporation system was calculated using Equations ( 1) and ( 2) [8,29]:…”

In situ polymerized Fe2O3@PPy/chitosan hydrogels as a hydratable skeleton for solar‐driven evaporation

“…For this, the time‐dependent mass change was recorded by placing the devices over a weighing balance with 0.001‐g resolution and exposed under simulated one sun irradiation. After 1 h, the mass change for all systems was recorded and the obtained data is shown in Figure 5A, revealing that the maximum mass change achieved by an Fe 2 O 3 @PPy/chitosan steam generator was up to 1.80 kg m −2 that is comparatively much higher than bulk water and other steam generation devices reported previously 18,20 . The successive mass change for Fe 2 O 3 @PPy/chitosan hydrogel was also investigated under various solar intensities up to 3 kW m −2 , and the computed data is represented in Figure 5B.…”

“…Besides this, the synthesizing of self‐floating‐enabled noble material that potentially sustains the quick water supply to the localized heated area and holds long‐term stability without surface fouling under intense conditions has not been achieved successfully 18,19 . To tackle this dilemma, significant attempts are invested in the development of new potential functional materials, but still, its practical applications are limited due to significant barriers between the status quo and large‐scale applications 20,21 . Ceramic materials gained significant potential due to their thermal stability and anticorrosion nature 22 .…”

“…18,19 To tackle this dilemma, significant attempts are invested in the develop-ment of new potential functional materials, but still, its practical applications are limited due to significant barriers between the status quo and large-scale applications. 20,21 Ceramic materials gained significant potential due to their thermal stability and anticorrosion nature. 22 Indeed, few ceramic materials have been utilized in solar steam generation applications.…”