Solar Evaporator Of Fresh Water

New researchers at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering have successfully demonstrated a prototype of one critical component for an affordable small-scale desalination and inexpensive solar evaporator, made of wood. The evaporator generates steam with high-efficiency with minimal maintenance. State Liangbing Hu, the associate processor of materials science and engineering and affiliate of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute.

The design is focused on interfacing evaporation technique “which shows great potential in response to global water scarcity because of its high solar-to-vapor efficiency, low environmental impact, and portable device design with low-cost,” Hu says. “These features make it suitable for off-grid water generation and purification, especially for low-income countries.”

The interfacing evaporator are made of thin materials that float on the saline water. Absorbing solar heat on the top, the evaporator continuously pull up the saline water from below and converted to a steam on their top surface, leaving behind the salt, explains Hu, Hu is the senior author on a paper describing the work in Advanced Materials”

During the process salt can build up on this evaporating surface, gradually degrading their performance until it’s removed.

The minimum maintenance of the device is due to the material it is made. It is a basswood that exploits the wood’s natural structure of the micron-wide channels that carry water and nutrients up the tree.

The researchers have found a way to supplement these natural channels by drilling a second array of millimeter-wide channels through a thin cross-section of the wood, says Yudi Kuang, a visiting scholar and lead author on the paper. The investigators then briefly expose the top surface to high heat, which carbonized the surface for greater solar absorption.

In operation the device absorbs solar energy, drawing up salty water through the wood’s natural micron-wide channels.

This is a great project that might be applicable in real life. As we are looking around the world how can we successfully continue to provide fresh water around the globe we are going to explore what everyone is doing around the world about this topic