Journal of Textile Research ›› 2023, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (08): 9-17.doi: 10.13475/j.fzxb.20230206301

• Fiber Materials • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Design of solar-driven multistage desalination device and investigation of water collection rate

JIANG Yifei1, TIAN Yankuan1, DAI Jun2, WANG Xueli1,3, LI Faxue1,3, YU Jianyong1,3, GAO Tingting1,3()   

  1. 1. College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
    2. Jiangsu Yueda Cotton Spinning Co., Ltd, Yancheng 224008, China
    3. Innovation Center for Textile Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
  • Received:2023-02-28 Revised:2023-04-25 Online:2023-08-15 Published:2023-09-21

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Abstract:

Objective With low power consumption and environmental friendliness, interfacial solar-driven steam generation technology has been expected to moderate water scarcity from the explosive growth of industry and population. Based on this technology, the multistage desalination devices are prepared for high-efficient freshwater collection.

Method The 3-D carbon fiber array structure was constructed on the copper plate with excellent thermal conductivity by electrostatic flocking technology, and it was used as a photothermal layer to achieve outstanding light absorption. Non woven fabric with excellent hydrophilicity was used as a water transport channel. After the hydrophobic treatment, the copper plate acted as a water collection layer to rapidly obtain lots of freshwater. Based on the above three components, a ten-stage multistage desalination device with an inclined angle was prepared for high-efficient freshwater collection.

Results The photothermal layer, which was fabricated with carbon fiber arrays and copper plate by electrostatic flocking technology, can reach a high temperature of 78.4 ℃ for the top surface and 73.7 ℃ for the bottom surface under one-sun irradiation(Fig. 4). It shows the excellent photothermal effect and heat conduction. And it mainly benefits from the design of a three-dimensional array structure and the excellent photothermal properties of carbon fiber. It is seen that after the optimization of materials and fabric weight, the non-woven viscose fabric with 80 g/m2 can reach a wicking height of 18.1 cm within 30 min, and it spreads rapidly to 5 cm in 3 min. It has an excellent ability for water transport and diffusion, and it can continuously supply water for the photothermal layer during solar-vapor generation(Fig. 5, Fig. 7). The optimized copper plate has excellent hydrophobicity after the hydrophobic treatment. The surface of the copper plate has the shape of hierarchical porous petal-like nanostructures. The tightly packed petal-like structures increase the surface roughness of the copper plate and reduce the surface energy, to improve the surface hydrophobicity of the copper plate. At last, its water contact angle can reach 130°. Based on the above three components, firstly, a single-stage device was constructed to optimize the air gap in Fig. 10. And the highest water collection rate of 0.39 kg/(m2·h) was obtained when the air gap was 3 mm. Therefore, with an air gap of 3 mm, a ten-stage multistage desalination device can achieve a water collection rate of 2.05 kg/(m2·h)(Fig. 11). The water collection rate kept unchanged when the number of device stages was further increased.

Conclusion In our work, with low-cost and simple materials, such as copper plate, carbon fiber and non-woven fabric, a ten-stage multistage desalination device was prepared for high-efficient water collection. With excellent water transport performance, the nonwoven fabric can transport water from bulk water to every photothermal layer for evaporation. Due to the good photothermal effect, the photothermal layer can obtain a high temperature. And with outstanding heat conductivity, the photothermal layer efficiently evaporates the water of non-woven fabric to generate steam. Large amounts of steam condense on the copper sheet to form freshwater. Moreover, the hydrophobic copper plate causes the condensed water to form a waterdrop. Thus, it can reduce latent heat loss. Finally, due to the design of the inclined copper plate, the water droplets slide quickly and are collected. Our multistage seawater desalination device can provide a new idea for the design of efficient solar-driven interfacial devices. It is expected to be one of the effective ways to obtain freshwater in remote and backward areas.

Key words: electrostatic flocking, nonwoven fabric, interfacial solar-vapor conversion technology, multi-stage desalination devices, water collection, solar energy

CLC Number: 

  • TK519

Fig. 1

Demonstration of solar-driven multistage desalination device and schematic diagram of multistate steam generation and collection"

Fig. 2

Schematic diagram of principle of electrostatic flocking"

Fig. 3

Purple copper plates after treatment. (a) Carbon black-spraying; (b) Polyamide fiber-electrostatic flocking; (c) Carbon fiber-electrostatic flocking"

Fig. 4

Temperature change under one sun illumination after coating or flocking on a purple copper plate. (a) Carbon black-spraying; (b) Nylon fiber-electrostatic flocking; (c) Carbon fiber-electrostatic flocking"

Fig. 5

Grams of wicking height of cotton-based(a), viscose-based nonwoven(b) fabric with different fabric density core absorb height infrared camera diagram"

Fig. 6

Comparison of wicking height of cotton-based (a) and viscose-based(b) nonwoven fabrics with different fabric density"

Fig. 7

Infrared camera diagram of water diffusion of cotton-based(a) and viscose-based(b) nonwoven fabrics at 80 g/m2 with time"

Fig. 8

Surface of purple copper plate and its water contact angle under different hydrophobic treatment times"

Fig. 9

SEM images of purple copper sheet surface before and after hydrophobic treatment(×20 000). (a) Before hydrophobic treatment; (b) After hydrophobic treatment for 4 h"

Fig. 10

Water collection rate of single devices at different separation distance"

Fig. 11

Water collection rate of solar driven interfacial evaporation devices at different stages"

Tab. 1

Comparison of different multistage devices"

器件名称 光热层材料 水运输和蒸发
层材料		 冷凝层材料 结构 集水率/
(kg·m-2·h-1)		 参考
文献
被动式多级模块化器件 铝板-TiNOX涂层 超细合成纤维膜 聚四氟乙烯膜 水平平行结构 2.07 [4]
紧凑型膜蒸馏多级器件 铝合金-陶瓷涂层 聚乙烯醇海绵 聚偏氟乙烯-六氟丙烯膜 水平平行结构 1.02 [15]
热集中多级蒸馏器件 铜盘-CrAlO涂层 棉纤维膜 铜片 同心圆结构 2.20 [16]
光伏多级蒸馏器件 太阳能电池片 纤维素纸巾 铝板 水平平行结构 2.03 [22]
多级被动太阳能器件 铝板-炭黑 商业用亲水织物 聚四氟乙烯膜 水平平行结构 1.70 [23]
仿生树状多级器件 紫铜板-碳纤维 粘胶基非织造布 疏水紫铜板 屋顶型平行结构 2.05 本文工作
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