Biomass-based materials for solar-powered seawater evaporation

Clean and safe water is crucial to maintaining human life on earth. Solar-powered seawater desalination (SSD) is a promising and feasible way to use solar energy resources to overcome water scarcity. Among all the candidate materials for solar seawater evaporators, biomass-based materials stand out thanks to their excellent inherent natural structure, ease of preparation, low cost, and abundant resources. In this article, we review biomass-based materials, from angiosperms, algae, and fungi to animal materials and other atypical biomass materials, proposed for solar-powered seawater evaporation in the shape of the nanofluid, membrane, gels, composite sponge structures, composites Janus structures and other composites. The approaches for improving biomass-based solar seawater evaporators (BSSE) performance are emphasized, including optical absorption regulation, system thermal management optimization, adequate water supply, salt resistance, and effective steam condensate recovery. In the end, the opportunities and challenges of biomass-based materials for SSD are illustrated.

Automated summary

Clean and safe water is crucial for human life on Earth. Solar-powered seawater desalination (SSD) is a promising and feasible solution to address water scarcity using solar energy. This article reviews biomass-based materials for solar-powered seawater evaporation, including angiosperms, algae, fungi, animal materials, and other atypical biomass materials. The performance improvement approaches for biomass-based solar seawater evaporators (BSSE) are highlighted, such as optical absorption regulation, thermal management optimization, adequate water supply, salt resistance, and steam condensate recovery. The opportunities and challenges of biomass-based materials for SSD are discussed.