Robust, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Surface Carbonized Pulp Foam for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

Abstract

Recently, a solar-driven evaporator has been applied in seawater desalination, but the low stability, high cost, and complex fabrication limit its further application. Herein, we report a novel, low-cost, scalable, and easily fabricated pulp-natural rubber (PNR) foam with a unique porous structure, which was directly used as a solar-driven evaporator after facile surface carbonization. This surface carbonized PNR (CPNR) foam without interface adhesion or modification was composed of a top photothermal layer with light absorption ability and a bottom hydrophilic foam layer with a porous and interconnected network structure. Due to the strong light absorption ability (93.2%) of the carbonized top layer, together with the low thermal conductivity (0.1 W m K–1) and good water adsorption performance (9.9 g g–1) of the bottom layer, the evaporation rate and evaporation efficiency of the pulp foam evaporator under 1 sun of illumination attained 1.62 kg m–2 h–1 and 98.09%, respectively, which were much higher than those of most cellulose-based solar-driven evaporators. Furthermore, the CPNR foam evaporator with high cost-effectiveness presented high light-thermal conversion, heat localization, and good salt rejection properties due to the unique porous structure. Additionally, the CPNR foam evaporator exhibited potential applications in the treatments of simulated sewage, metal ion concentration, and seawater desalination. Its cost-effectiveness was clearly higher than that of most reported evaporators as well. Therefore, this novel, low-cost, and stable pulp foam evaporator demonstrated here can be a very promising solution for water desalination and purification.

Cost Effective Photothermal Materials Selection for Direct Solar-Driven Evaporation

“…92 Also, a lowcost ∼$2 per meter square of light polyethylene terephthalate (PET) cloths with good capillary action can serve as a highefficiency solar steam generator, and the cost can reach ∼$10 m −2 for expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam. 93 A pulp-natural rubber foam (PNR) was utilized by Zhang et al, 94 through a straightforward surface carbonization procedure to produce carbonized pulp-natural rubber foam (CPNR) with cost-effectiveness (338.9 g h −1 $ −1 of total materials). This evaporator achieved an evaporation rate of 1.62 kg per square meter per hour and an evaporation efficiency of 98.09% under 1 sun illumination.…”

Preparation of Antibacterial Dialdehyde Nanocellulose Using LiBr·3H2O Non-Dissolving Pretreatment Promoted Periodate Oxidation

“…Cellulose derived from various plants such as trees, bamboo, hemp, cotton, agricultural crops, and marine algae can be converted into various chemicals or functional materials by hydrolysis or derivatization. − Among the cellulose derivatives, dialdehyde nanocellulose (DANC) with unique structure and properties is an interesting nanomaterial thanks to its wide application potential. − DANC can be obtained through the oxidation between cellulose and sodium periodate (NaIO 4 ) followed by high-pressure homogenization. , In this reaction, the vicinal 2,3-hydroxyl groups of cellulose units can be oxidized to aldehyde groups, which can further react with carbonyl/hydroxyl groups or amino groups by aldol reactions or Schiff base crosslinking to fabricate diverse functional materials, such as absorbents, − stabilizer of protein, drug carriers, tissue engineering scaffolds, and immobilized antibodies . It was reported that DANC/silver nanoparticle composites prepared through the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method can be used in biomedical fields .…”

Petroleum Coke Embedded in Cigarette Butts: All Waste-Derived Solar Evaporator for Effective Water Evaporation

“…The efficiency of the process relies on the preparation of efficient photothermal materials to achieve high evaporation rates. − Semiconductors, − plasmonic metals, − carbonized biomass, − and polymers − have been investigated as evaporators. However, the conversion rate, the raw material accessibility, and the preparation cost are major problems to obstruct the commoditization of most of these approaches.…”