Water Desalination and Reuse Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering , King Abdullah University of Science and Technology , Thuwal 23955-6900 , Saudi Arabia.
Environ Sci Technol. 2018 May 1;52(9):5398-5406. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b06373. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
Atmospheric water is an abundant alternative water resource, equivalent to 6 times the water in all rivers on Earth. This work screens 14 common anhydrous and hydrated salt couples in terms of their physical and chemical stability, water vapor harvesting, and release capacity under relevant application scenarios. Among the salts screened, copper chloride (CuCl), copper sulfate (CuSO), and magnesium sulfate (MgSO) distinguish themselves and are further made into bilayer water collection devices, with the top layer being the photothermal layer, while the bottom layer acts as a salt-loaded fibrous membrane. The water collection devices are capable of capturing water vapor out of the air with low relative humidity (down to 15%) and releasing water under regular and even weakened sunlight (i.e., 0.7 kW/m). The work shines light on the potential use of anhydrous salt toward producing drinking water in water scarce regions.
大气水是一种丰富的替代水资源，相当于地球上所有河流水量的 6 倍。本工作从物理化学稳定性、水蒸汽收集和在相关应用场景下的释放能力三个方面对 14 对常见的无水和水合盐对进行了筛选。在所筛选的盐中，氯化铜 (CuCl)、硫酸铜 (CuSO) 和硫酸镁 (MgSO) 脱颖而出，并进一步制成双层水收集装置，顶层为光热层，而底层为负载盐的纤维膜。这些水收集装置能够在相对湿度较低（低至 15%）的情况下从空气中捕获水蒸气，并在常规甚至较弱的阳光下（即 0.7kW/m）释放水。这项工作为在水资源匮乏地区利用无水盐生产饮用水提供了新的思路。
