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Structure integration and architecture of solar-driven interfacial desalination from miniaturization designs to industrial applications

Nature Water volume 2, pages 115–126 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Solar desalination holds great promise for addressing global water scarcity and reducing carbon footprints. In recent years, thermally localized solar interfacial desalination processes have attracted much attention due to their efficient water evaporation potential. Previous efforts have focused on developing novel photothermal materials and optimizing thermal management to increase system evaporation rates. However, the water production rate of a desalination device is mainly independent of its evaporator performance, which makes it challenging to translate improved system evaporation rates into actual water production rates. This Review discusses the significance of steam condensation in promoting water production and emphasizes the importance of latent heat recovery. We highlight the industrial design of the desalination system, application scenarios, current limitations and potential costs. Furthermore, we present the potential of hybrid drive solutions for the future design of interference-resistant, fast-response, all-weather desalination systems. This Review aims to provide guidance for the development of high-performance solar desalination integrated devices and their large-scale industrial applications.

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Fig. 1: Water and solar resource distribution in the world.
Fig. 2: Schematic diagram of the solar-powered desalination process.
Fig. 3: Functional design and optimization strategies of PECs of SID systems.
Fig. 4: The process of phase change of steam and the transfer of its energy.
Fig. 5: Schematic design of a high-performance all-weather multistage SID system.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB3803502), National Natural Science Foundation of China (52103076), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and Graduate Student Innovation Fund of Donghua University (CUSF-DH-D-2023001), special fund of Beijing Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Quality Evaluation and Control (No. BZ0344KF21-02), and State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment (EIPE22203).

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  1. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China

    Chenyang Dang, Huijie Nie, Wenyuan Lang, Jia Zhang, Guiyin Xu & Meifang Zhu

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Yunteng Cao

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Dang, C., Cao, Y., Nie, H. et al. Structure integration and architecture of solar-driven interfacial desalination from miniaturization designs to industrial applications. Nat Water 2, 115–126 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00200-1

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