Biomass‐Derived Hybrid Hydrogel Evaporators for Cost‐Effective Solar Water Purification. Issue 11 (5th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guo, Youhong; Lu, Hengyi; Zhao, Fei; Zhou, Xingyi; Shi, Wen; Yu, Guihua
• Is Part Of: Advanced materials. Volume 32:Issue 11(2020)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-02-05
• Subjects: biomass -- cost‐effective solar water purification -- heavy metal removal -- hybrid hydrogels; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201907061
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0935-9648

Abstract

Abstract: Solar vapor generation has presented great potential for wastewater treatment and seawater desalination with high energy conversion and utilization efficiency. However, technology gaps still exist for achieving a fast evaporation rate and high quality of water combined with low‐cost deployment to provide a sustainable solar‐driven water purification system. In this study, a naturally abundant biomass, konjac glucomannan, together with simple‐to‐fabricate iron‐based metal‐organic framework‐derived photothermal nanoparticles is introduced into the polyvinyl alcohol networks, building hybrid hydrogel evaporators in a cost‐effective fashion ($14.9 m −2 of total materials cost). With advantageous features of adequate water transport, effective water activation, and anti‐salt‐fouling function, the hybrid hydrogel evaporators achieve a high evaporation rate under one sun (1 kW m −2 ) at 3.2 kg m −2 h −1 out of wastewater with wide degrees of acidity and alkalinity (pH 2–14) and high‐salinity seawater (up to 330 g kg −1 ). More notably, heavy metal ions are removed effectively by forming hydrogen and chelating bonds with excess hydroxyl groups in the hydrogel. It is anticipated that this study offers new possibilities for a deployable, cost‐effective solar water purification system with assured water quality, especially for economically stressed communities. Abstract : Abundant biomass, konjac glucomannan, and iron‐based metal–organic framework‐derived solar absorbers are introduced into poly(vinyl alcohol) networks to build cost‐effective hybrid hydrogel evaporators (HHEs). With a total materials cost of $14.9 m −2, HHEs achieve a high evaporation rate of 3.2 kg m −2 h −1 under one sun with effective removal of heavy‐metal ions and anti‐salt‐fouling functions.