Solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting with a super-hygroscopic composite modified activated carbon fiber for tropical island ecological farm

Farming on the Ocean via Desalination (FOOD)

“…The emerging interfacial solar desalination technology, which converts solar energy into freshwater through localized heating, is expected to provide an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly source of agricultural water. − It is a common practice to use black absorbers to boost the water yield, , while the energy efficiency will be decreased (even invalid) by the shading effect of the plants when they are simply integrated into the same land. , In another scene, the plant growth area is separated from the desalination area as the conventional desalination chamber provides no light for crop photosynthesis. − In this case, the land-use efficiency of the desalination chamber is low as no plants grow there, and the solar efficiency of the farming area is low as the energy needed for photosynthesis lies in the visible range, which accounts for only 51% of solar energy. In the above cases, both the land-use efficiency and solar efficiency are low due to the trade-off between solar desalination and crop photosynthesis.…”

“…6−9 It is a common practice to use black absorbers to boost the water yield, 10,11 while the energy efficiency will be decreased (even invalid) by the shading effect of the plants when they are simply integrated into the same land. 12,13 In another scene, the plant growth area is separated from the desalination area as the conventional desalination chamber provides no light for crop photosynthesis. 14−16 In this case, the land-use efficiency of the desalination chamber is low as no plants grow there, and the solar efficiency of the farming area is low as the energy needed for photosynthesis lies in the visible range, which accounts for only 51% of solar energy.…”