3D SET-UP STRUCTURE FOR SOLAR STEAM EVAPORATOR

Abstract

Due to population growth and the scarcity of fresh water, the search for an efficient, environmentally friendly and inexpensive way to desalinate seawater is attracting lots of attention in the research society. As a novel seawater desalination method, solar steam generator (SSG) has triggered broad interest. Various materials used for SSG have achieved a high steam generation rate and solar energy utilization efficiency. The outstanding performance is based on the material's photo-thermal capability and thermal insulation. In this thesis, we prepare a ceramic-based solar steam generator with 3D printing technology. The 3D-printed ceramic materials are more robust than hydrogel and carbon-based materials. And the evaporation rate at 1 sun is around 1.5 kg⋅m^(-2)⋅h^(-1). Moreover, we prepared a HEA-based hydrogel material with different 3D set-ups to harvest the energy from environment. From experiments, hydrogel can reach a higher rate of evaporation, due to reduced enthalpy and energy harvested from the environment.