Carbon Material/Chitin Composite Hydrogel for Efficient Solar Desalination
LI Xin1,2, GUO Lin2, HUANG Jindi2, WANG Li1,2, XIE Haiquan2, YE Liqun1
1 Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Crystalline and Energy Conversion Materials, College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002,Hubei, China 2 Engineering Technology Research Center of Henan Province for Solar Catalysis, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, Henan, China
Abstract: With the acceleration of the world's industrialization and urbanization, the freshwater resources that can be directly used by human beings are declining, and the demand for freshwater resources is increasing sharply. Freshwater preparation and purification technologies become more and more critical. Solar seawater desalination technology converts endless solar energy into heat, helping heat the evaporated seawater into steam, and finally the steam was condensed to produce fresh water; it is a promising technology to solve the problem of fresh water shortage. However, solar seawater desalination has always been restricted by high cost and low efficiency of solar absorbing materials. In this work, a new type of composite hydrogel was designed and prepared. The composite hydrogel was composed of sunlight absorber (carbon material) and natural polymer (chitin), which increased sunlight utilization and improved seawater desalination efficiency up to 75%. Under 1 kW/m2 sunlight, the evaporation rate exceeded 1.5 kg/(m2·h), and the highest steam efficiency is 98.34%. Moreover, the composite hydrogel showed the advantages of low cost, porous structure, simple manufacturing process, strong recyclability and excellent mechanical stability. Therefore, the carbon material/chitin composite hydrogel as a solar light absorber has the potential to convert light into heat energy, opening up a new way for seawater desalination.
1 Jarvis W T. Groundwater, 2020, 58, 494. 2 Mckee K M, Koprivnikar J, Johnson P T J, et al. Oecologia, 2020, 192, 477. 3 Dong F, Mi C, Hupfer M, et al. Hydrological Processes, 2020, 34, 1131. 4 Zambrano M C, Pawlak J J, Daystar J, et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2020, 151, 110826. 5 Pang K L, Luo Z H, Burgaud G. Botanica Marina, 2020, 63, 119. 6 Ramlow H, Machado R A F, Bierhalz A C K, et al. Environmental Technology, 2020, 41, 2253. 7 Ali A, Tufa R A, Macedonio F, et al. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2018, 81, 1. 8 González D, Amigo J, Suárez F. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 80, 238. 9 Qin M, Deshmukh A, Epsztein R, et al. Desalination, 2019, 455, 100. 10 Ahmed F E, Hashaikeh R, Hilal N. Desalination, 2019, 453, 54. 11 Anis S F, Hashaikeh R, Hilal N. Desalination, 2019, 452, 159. 12 Lin J, Qin G, Jia C. Desalination and Water Treatment, 2020, 182, 434. 13 Alpatova A, Alsaadi A, Ghaffour N. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2018, 351, 224. 14 Alotaibi S, Ibrahim O M, Luo S, et al. Desalination, 2017, 420, 114. 15 Qi C H, Lv H Q, Feng H J, et al. Desalination and Water Treatment, 2017, 87, 14. 16 Zhang F, Xu S, Feng D, et al. Desalination, 2017, 404, 112. 17 Goodarzi S, Jahanshahi J E, Rahnama M, et al. Desalination, 2019, 460, 64. 18 Boukhriss M, Zhani K, Bacha H B. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2017, 88, 55. 19 Al-Karaghouli A, Kazmerski L L. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013, 24, 343. 20 Al-Jaroudi S S, Ul-Hamid A, Al-Matar J A. Desalination, 2010, 260, 119. 21 Alexandras D, David A, Vermaas R H, et al. Renewable Energy, 2014, 64, 123. 22 Tufa R A, Pawlowski S, Veerman J, et al. Applied Energy, 2018, 225, 290. 23 Li C, Luo M, Cao J, et al. Desalination and Water Treatment, 2020, 185, 27. 24 Dongare P D, Alabastri A, Pedersen S, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2017, 114, 6936. 25 Xu Z, Zhang L, Zhao L, et al. Energy & Environmental Science, 2020,13, 830. 26 Xiao P, Gu J, Zhang C, et al. Nano Energy, 2019, 65, 2211. 27 Yang H C, Chen Z W, Song Y. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2019, 6, 1801252. 28 Shen X, Shamshina J L, Berton P, et al. Green Chemistry, 2016, 18, 53. 29 Zhou X, Zhao F, Guo Y, et al. Advancement of Science, 2019, 5, eaaw5484. 30 Chen Q, Chen H, Zhu L, et al. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2015, 3, 3654. 31 Wang X H, Song F, Qian D, et al. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2018, 349, 588. 32 Li W, An H, Tan Y, et al. Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 5078. 33 Ding F Y, Shi X W, Jiang Z W, et al. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2013, 1, 1729. 34 Ifuku S, Morooka S, Morimoto M, et al. Biomacromolecules, 2010, 11, 1326. 35 Kangwansupamonkon W, Tiewtrakoonwat W, Supaphol P, et al. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2014, 131, 8558. 36 Pradal C, Kithva P, Martin D, et al. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011, 21, 2330. 37 Roy P S, Samanta A, Mukherjee M, et al. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2013, 52, 15728. 38 Zuo X J. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2014, 53, 1249. 39 Jiang W, Wang W, Pan B, et al. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2014, 6, 3421. 40 Bratskaya S, Marinin D, Simon F, et al. Biomacromolecules, 2007, 8, 2960.