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Controlling pore size and photothermal layer to improve solar-porous evaporation performance

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Abstract

Solar desalination, harvesting solar energy to purify seawater, has received considerable attention due to water scarcity problems caused by climate change and human activity. In this study, we investigated a membrane desalination method that collects vaporized water from the surface of a sun-lit porous medium floating on salt water. To maximize the water evaporation rate at the membrane surface, several effective photothermal converting materials were coated on the membrane. In addition, to amplify the water transport to the sun-lit surface, the pore size of the porous medium also was controlled by filtering sugar particles by size. We found that the evaporation rate increased as the reflectivity of the coating materials decreased, and demonstrate the optimized pore size, leading to improved evaporation at the three-phase interface by controlling the size of the pores. The water transport is caused by the porous medium resulted from competition between capillary and viscous forces; thus, the optimal pore size for maximum water transport and evaporation rate is discussed. The finding of this study provide insight into optimizing the design of the membrane’s structure and coating materials to maximize the evaporation rate in solar desalination.

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Abbreviations

d :

Diameter of the pole [m]

H :

Height [m]

h :

Enthalpy [kJ/kg]

K :

Permeability [m2]

k :

Thermal conductivity [W/(m·K)]

\({\dot m}\) :

Mass flow rate [kg/h]

\({\bar M}\) :

Molar mass of fluid [kg/mol]

P :

Pressure [Pa]

\({\dot Q}\) :

Power [W]

\({\dot q}\) :

Heat flux [W/m2]

\({\bar R}\) :

Molar gas constant [J/(mol·K)]

r :

Meniscus radius [m]

T :

Temperature [K]

u :

Velocity [m/s]

evp :

Evaporation

in :

Inlet

l :

Liquid

lv :

Liquid-vapor interface

p :

Pore

solar :

Solar

s :

Solid

v :

Vapor

w :

Water

α :

Turning angle of liquid-vapor interface [°]

γ :

Reflectivity [-]

η :

Evaporation efficiency [-]

θ :

Contact angle [°]

μ :

Viscosity [Pa·s]

σ :

Surface tension [-]

τ :

Accommodation coefficient [-]

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT, MIST) (2022R1C1C1011232).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Sangju, 37224, Korea

    Jinwook Choi, Yongwon Seo & Seolha Kim

  2. Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Kyungpook National University (KNU), 2559, Gyeongsang-Daero, Sangju-Si, Gyeongsangbuk-Do, 37224, Korea

    Changung Paeng

  3. Department of Energy Chemical Engineering, Kyungpook National University (KNU), 2559, Gyeongsang-daero, Sangju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, 37224, Korea

    Changyong Yim

  4. Department of Advanced Science and Technology Convergence, Kyungpook National University, Sangju, 37224, Korea

    Changyong Yim & Seolha Kim

Authors
  1. Jinwook Choi
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  2. Yongwon Seo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seolha Kim.

Additional information

Jinwook Choi was an undergraduate student at Kyungpook National University (South Korea), studying for a bachelor’s degree at the Department of Precision Mechanical Engineering, and now working in Kyungpook National University for his master’s degree.

Kim SeolHa graduated from POSTECH, Bachelor (Mechanical Engineering), and Doctor (Nuclear Engineering). He worked at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Science as a researcher. Currently, he is working Kyungpook National University as a Professor.

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Choi, J., Seo, Y., Paeng, C. et al. Controlling pore size and photothermal layer to improve solar-porous evaporation performance. J Mech Sci Technol 38, 2627–2635 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-024-0439-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-024-0439-8

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