Water harvesting from soils by light-to-heat induced evaporation and capillary water migration

Li, Xiaotian; Zhang, Guang; Wang, Chao; He, Lichen; Xu, Yan‐Tong; Ma, Rong; Yao, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115417

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…However, in the process of constructing the evaporation layer with various photothermal materials, few people pay attention to the effect of the aggregation effect of the material itself on the transport of water and light utilization. The black soil (BS) formed under the condition of grassland vegetation in a temperate humid climate is rich in hydroxyl groups on the surface and has high surface energy and hydrophilicity. − In addition, the soil aggregate structure of BS leads to self-organizing pores at the nanoscale, which in turn produces an ideal capillary effect for efficient water transport. − In terms of photothermal performance, the special aggregate structure and abundant internal pores can realize multilevel utilization of sunlight and obtain excellent light absorption capacity . Therefore, as an excellent natural photothermal conversion material, BS can be successfully used in seawater desalination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…45−47 In terms of photothermal performance, the special aggregate structure and abundant internal pores can realize multilevel utilization of sunlight and obtain excellent light absorption capacity. 48 Therefore, as an excellent natural photothermal conversion material, BS can be successfully used in seawater desalination. In the present work, the aggregate structure of BS provides inspiration for the establishment of an integrated model of evaporative water and salt formation.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Boosting Water Evaporation by Construction of Photothermal Materials with a Biomimetic Black Soil Aggregate Structure

Liu,

Wang,

Jia

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is considered an efficient way to get fresh water from seawater. However, the low evaporation rate, surface salt crystallization, and low energy collection of the photothermal evaporation layer limit its further application in an outdoor freshwater field. And the aggregate structure design of the material itself is often ignored in solar-driven water evaporation. Black soil (BS), with a unique soil aggregate structure, is rich in tubular pores, which can be used for multilevel sunlight utilization and good capillary water transport. Based on the extraordinary photothermal properties and pumping capacity of BS, a reasonable unidirectional salt-collecting device is designed, which can realize long-term collection of mineral salts and continuous evaporation of seawater and generate electric energy in the continuous evaporation. Inspired by the unique aggregate structure, the photothermal material doping of halloysite and nigrosin will simulate the generation of this aggregate structure and retain a good water transport effect while obtaining multistage utilization of sunlight. The solar-driven evaporation rate of a nigrosin–halloysite solar steam generator is 1.75 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 kW m–2 mimic solar radiation; it can achieve stable salt leaching-induced voltage generation of 240 mV. This work demonstrates not only a solar evaporator that can continuously achieve desalination but also the design strategy of BS-like aggregate photothermal materials, which promotes the development of low-cost resource recovery and energy generation for practical outdoor seawater desalination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boosting Water Evaporation by Construction of Photothermal Materials with a Biomimetic Black Soil Aggregate Structure

Liu,

Wang,

Jia

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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“…Perhaps the most appropriate way to obtain water for future lunar base is through ISRU. Recent studies have revealed that bound hydrogen and OH-ionic entities might be trapped in the moon poles and permanently shadowed regions, which makes water extraction possible on the moon [16][17][18] . Colaprete et al, [19] reported that the water content in the lunar regolith ejecting from the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the south pole was about 5.6 ± 2.9% by mass via the lunar crater observation and sensing satellite missions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

Zhang

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Volatiles transport in the lunar regolith is essential for lunar soil evolution and in-situ resources utilization (ISRU) and has not been fully understood. Here, we characterize a typical agglutinate particle from Chang’E-5 samples and demonstrate the transport behavior of volatiles through the porous structure. The results of surface and 3D structural characterization indicate that the formation of the smooth porous structure is mainly caused by volatiles flow. Based on the element distribution analysis, we further speculate the main component of the volatiles is gas water attributed to the reduction of FeO by abundant hydrogen in the superficial lunar regolith during micrometeoroids impacts. Numerical models of volatiles (gas water) transport in the porous agglutinate have been developed for different pressure conditions. The results show the ultrafast transport of volatiles makes the superficial regolith dry and barren under high-vacuum condition. We conclude that rapid escape of volatiles can hardly retain water in the superficial lunar soil yet provides opportunities for development of ISRU technology.

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“…Many such pumps can be employed at several points depending on the water required for irrigation. Li et al [15] introduced a method of light-driven water harvesting from soils, where a concentrated solar energy method (Fresnel lens) was used to evaporate the wet soil. Then the steam flew to the condenser through tubes and condensed as freshwater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theoretical Study to Incorporate Capillary Tubes Action and Evaporation Process as Green Energy Techniques for Water Lifting

Mohammed,

Eleiwi

et al. 2023

Tikrit j. eng. sci.

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The idea proposed in this study can be used in remote areas to lift the water spontaneously instead of using electrical pumps. This research aims to lift the underground water to a high altitude by designing a passive system that simulates the rising water in tall plants due to capillary action and evaporation. The study assumed a set of micro-tubes to lift the underground water to a tank. The flow rate due to capillary rise and evaporation were analytically determined by mathematical models based on energy equations in fluid mechanics calculated using MATLAB software. The study results have shown that a ‎system consisting of 2-10 billion micro-tubes can supply between 16-65 kg of water daily to a tank, depending on the ‎environmental conditions‎. It was found that a set of tubes with a 20 μm diameter was a suitable choice to raise the water to 7.5 m, where 0.8 m rising was due to the capillary action, whereas the rest was due to the evaporation process suction head.

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Water harvesting from soils by light-to-heat induced evaporation and capillary water migration

Cited by 13 publications

References 43 publications

Boosting Water Evaporation by Construction of Photothermal Materials with a Biomimetic Black Soil Aggregate Structure

Boosting Water Evaporation by Construction of Photothermal Materials with a Biomimetic Black Soil Aggregate Structure

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

A Theoretical Study to Incorporate Capillary Tubes Action and Evaporation Process as Green Energy Techniques for Water Lifting

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