Ultrahigh-efficiency desalination via a thermally-localized multistage solar still
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c9ee04122b.pdf
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Xu, Zhenyuan
Zhang, Lenan
Zhao, Lin
Li, Bangjun
Bhatia, Bikramjit S
Wang, Chenxi
Wilke, Kyle L.
Song, Youngsup
Labban, Omar
Lienhard, John H
Date Issued
January 2020
Journal
Energy & Environmental Science
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Citation
Xu, Zhenyuan et al. "Ultrahigh-efficiency desalination via a thermally-localized multistage solar still." Energy & Environmental Science 13, 1 (January 2020): c9ee04122b © 2020 Royal Society of Chemistry
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Passive vapor generation systems with interfacial solar heat localization enable high-efficiency low-cost desalination. In particular, recent progress combining interfacial solar heating and vaporization enthalpy recycling through a capillary-fed multistage architecture, known as the thermally-localized multistage solar still (TMSS), significantly improves the performance of passive solar desalination. Yet, state-of-the-art experimental demonstrations of solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency are still limited since the dominant factors and the general design principle for TMSS were not well-understood. In this work, we show optimizing the overall heat and mass transport in a multistage configuration plays a key role for further improving the performance. This understanding also increases the flexibility of material choices for the TMSS design. Using a low-cost and free-of-salt accumulation TMSS architecture, we experimentally demonstrated a record-high solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 385% with a production rate of 5.78 L m−2 h−1 under one-sun illumination, where more than 75% of the total production was collected through condensation. This work not only significantly improves the performance of existing passive solar desalination technologies for portable and affordable drinking water, but also provides a comprehensive physical understanding and optimization principle for TMSS systems.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 3.0 unported license
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ee04122b
