Lignocellulose based hydrogel sponge for cost-effective seawater desalination

Abstract

Currently, freshwater scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue worldwide. Solar desalination technology is recognized as a promising solution to this problem. However, the existing seawater desalination evaporators suffer from slow evaporation rates and limited salt tolerance. To address this, we developed a lignocellulosic hydrogel sponge (LHS) using a straightforward salting-out method. This hydrogel sponge achieves a high evaporation efficiency of 2.57 kg·m−2·h−1 and exhibits excellent salt, acid, and alkali resistance. Therefore, LHS presents a new approach for solar-driven water purification, which holds significant implications for solving freshwater scarcity.