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Sustainable biomimetic solar distillation with edge crystallization for passive salt collection and zero brine discharge

Author

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  • Mohamed A. Abdelsalam

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

  • Muhammad Sajjad

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

  • Aikifa Raza

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

  • Faisal AlMarzooqi

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

  • TieJun Zhang

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

Abstract

The urgency of addressing water scarcity and exponential population rise has necessitated the use of sustainable desalination for clean water production, while conventional thermal desalination processes consume fossil fuel with brine rejection. As a promising solution to sustainable solar thermal distillation, we report a scalable mangrove-mimicked device for direct solar vapor generation and passive salt collection without brine discharge. Capillarity-driven salty water supply and continuous vapor generation are ensured by anti-corrosion porous wicking stem and multi-layer leaves, which are made of low-cost superhydrophilic nanostructured titanium meshes. Precipitated salt at the leaf edge forms porous patch during daytime evaporation and get peeled by gravity during night when saline water rewets the leaves, and these salt patches can enhance vaporization by 1.6 times as indicated by our findings. The proposed solar vapor generator achieves a stable photothermal efficiency around 94% under one sun when treating synthetic seawater with a salinity of 3.5 wt.%. Under outdoor conditions, it can produce 2.2 L m−2 of freshwater per day from real seawater, which is sufficient for individual drinking needs. This kind of biomimetic solar distillation devices have demonstrated great capability in clean water production and passive salt collection to tackle global water and environmental challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed A. Abdelsalam & Muhammad Sajjad & Aikifa Raza & Faisal AlMarzooqi & TieJun Zhang, 2024. "Sustainable biomimetic solar distillation with edge crystallization for passive salt collection and zero brine discharge," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-45108-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45108-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Peng Tao & George Ni & Chengyi Song & Wen Shang & Jianbo Wu & Jia Zhu & Gang Chen & Tao Deng, 2018. "Solar-driven interfacial evaporation," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(12), pages 1031-1041, December.
    3. Wang, Xinzhi & He, Yurong & Liu, Xing & Cheng, Gong & Zhu, Jiaqi, 2017. "Solar steam generation through bio-inspired interface heating of broadband-absorbing plasmonic membranes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 414-425.
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