Solar evaporation for simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation with <i>Janus</i> wood-based absorbers

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1775-8

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (2) : 15 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1775-8

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Solar evaporation for simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation with Janus wood-based absorbers

Yue Yang¹(

), Ze Fu², Qi Zhang³

¹. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
². Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
³. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation (Ministry of Education), Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

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Abstract

● A protocol is proposed for simultaneous oil/water separation and electricity generation.

● Oil/water separation efficiency achieves > 99% only out of solar energy.

● A derived extra electricity power of ~0.1 W/m² is obtained under solar radiation.

● The protocol offers a prospect of solar-driven water treatment and resource recovery.

Oily wastewater from ocean oil spills endangers marine ecosystems and human health. Therefore, developing an effective and sustainable solution for separating oil-water mixtures is urgent. Interfacial solar photothermal evaporation is a promising approach for the complete separation of two-phase mixtures using only solar energy. Herein, we report a carbonized wood-based absorber with Janus structure of comprising a hydrophobic top-layer and an oleophobic bottom-layer for simultaneous solar-driven oil-water separation and electricity generation. Under sunlight irradiation, the rapid evaporation of seawater will induce a separation of oil-water mixtures, and cause a high salt concentration region underlying the interface, while the bottom “bulk water” maintains in a low salt concentration, thus forming a salinity gradient. Electricity can be generated by salinity gradient power. Therefore, oil-water separation efficiency of > 99% and derived extra electricity power of ~0.1 W/m² is achieved under solar radiation, demonstrating the feasibility of oil-water separation and electricity production synchronously directly using solar energy. This work provides a green and cost-effective path for the separation of oil-water mixtures.

Keywords Oily wastewater Carbonized wood Salinity gradient Electricity generation Solar irradiation

Corresponding Author(s): Yue Yang

Issue Date: 06 September 2023

Cite this article:

Yue Yang,Ze Fu,Qi Zhang. Solar evaporation for simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation with Janus wood-based absorbers[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(2): 15.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1775-8
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I2/15

Fig.1 Schematic of simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation and characterization of Janus-ACB. (a) The wood channels are naturally aligned along the tree growth direction (yellow arrow); (b) Schematic of the hybrid device; Mechanism of simultaneous (c) oil-water separation and (d) electricity generation from the salinity difference under solar irradiation; Morphology characterization of the Janus-ACB: (e) Photographs of the natural basswood and the Janus-ACB; (f) SEM image of the well-organized and low tortuosity porous structure of the Janus-ACB. (g?i) Top-view SEM images showing the hierarchical channel structure of the Janus-ACB; (j) Side-view SEM image showing the hole structures on the vertical channel walls; (k) XPS spectra of the Janus-ACB; (l) The contact angles of the Janus-ACB.

Fig.2 Interfacial photothermal evaporation and oil-water separation properties of Janus-ACB. (a) UV-vis NIR spectra of natural basswood, CB and Janus-ACB; (b) Plot showing the temperature of bulk water and Janus-ACB under 1-sun irradiation with time; (c) Mass change of seawater over time and (d) thermal efficiency with corresponding evaporation rate for CB and Janus-ACB under 1-sun; (e) Measured concentrations of four primary ions in an oil-contaminated seawater sample before and after solar-driven separation; (f) Digital photographs of CB and Janus-ACB after 24 h solar irradiation; (g) Changes of oil concentration (crude oil, pump oil and soybean oil) before and after solar-driven separation; (h) Changes of different cutting fluid concentrations before and after solar-driven separation; (i) Digital photographs and microscopic images of cutting fluid emulsions before and after solar-driven separation; (j) Comparison of the oil-water separation performance for our methods and previous reports.

Fig.3 Electricity generation performance of Janus-ACB. (a) The NaCl concentration in Janus-ACB after 1 h of solar irradiation, which presents the average salt concentration underlying the Janus-ACB; (b) Voltage variations of Janus-ACB under different solar intensities; (c) Voltage variations of Janus-ACB under different salinities by 2-sun irradiation; (d) Voltage variations of individual devices and their series connections; (e) Voltage variations of Janus-ACB when light was switched on or off; (f) Maximum output power of Janus-ACB under different solar intensities.

Fig.4 Outdoor oil-water separation and electricity generation using Janus-ACB in natural sunlight. (a) Digital photographs of simultaneous oil-water separation and electricity generation under outdoor sunlight; (b) Model and (c) schematic diagram of the integrated device; (d) Solar intensity and water evaporation rate, (e) voltage change and removal rate of integrated device from 9:00 to 16:00 within a day; (f) Measured Na⁺ concentrations of three oil-polluted seawaters before and after solar-driven separation; (g) The concentrations of four primary cations in oil-polluted seawaters before and after solar-driven separation.

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