Cost-Effective and Scalable Solar Interface Evaporators Derived from Industry Waste for Efficient Solar Steam...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Interfacial solar steam generation is crucial for sustainable desalination and wastewater treatment.
• High costs and complex preparation of current solar evaporators hinder widespread adoption.
• Utilizing industrial waste offers a promising avenue for developing cost-effective materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, cost-effective, and scalable strategy for preparing solar interface evaporators.
• To utilize industrial waste as a primary raw material for evaporator fabrication.
• To evaluate the performance and stability of the developed evaporators for solar steam generation.

Main Methods:

• Industrial waste polyethylene foam (EPE-1) was modified through drilling and hydrophilic treatment to create modified polyethylene foam evaporators (M-EPEs).
• Characterization of M-EPEs included assessment of mechanical, thermal insulating, superhydrophilicity, and light absorption properties.
• Performance evaluation involved measuring evaporation rate and photothermal efficiency under solar illumination.

Main Results:

• M-EPEs retained excellent mechanical and thermal insulating properties (0.047 W·m^-1·K^-1).
• The modified evaporators exhibited superhydrophilicity and over 90% light absorption.
• A high evaporation rate of 1.497 kg·m^-2·h^-1 and photothermal efficiency up to 93.8% were achieved.
• M-EPEs demonstrated excellent stability and salt tolerance.

Conclusions:

• The developed M-EPEs provide a facile, efficient, and low-cost method for large-scale solar interface evaporators.
• This approach addresses polyethylene waste recycling and offers a sustainable solution for desalination.
• The study presents a promising strategy for advancing solar-driven water treatment technologies.