Cost-Effective and Scalable Solar Interface Evaporators Derived from Industry Waste for Efficient Solar Steam Generation
Jingxian He, Jianxia Liu, Hao Gou, Xiaofei Zhen, Shuaibing Li, Yongqiang Kang, An Li
Abstract
Interfacial solar steam generation for sustainable and eco-friendly desalination and wastewater treatment has attracted much attention. However, costly raw materials and complex preparation processes pose constant challenges to its wide promotion. Herein, a novel, cost-effective, and scalable strategy is presented for preparing solar interface evaporators using industrial waste as a raw material. Modified polyethylene foam evaporators (M-EPEs) are simply prepared by drilling and then hydrophilic modification of industrial waste (EPE-1). M-EPEs not only retain the strong mechanical properties and thermal insulating properties (0.047 W·m –1 ·K –1 ) of EPE-1 but also exhibit superhydrophilicity and strong light absorption (over 90%). M-EPEs achieve a high evaporation rate of 1.497 kg·m –2 ·h –1 and photothermal efficiency of up to 93.8% under 1 kW·m –2 solar illumination. Moreover, it has excellent stability and salt tolerance. Our work addresses the environmental issues of recycling polyethylene waste and provides a facile and efficient strategy for designing low-cost, large-scale solar interface evaporators for desalination.