Salt-resistant Performance Research Articles

A Salt-Resistant Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose Modified by the Heterogeneous Process of Oleate Amide Quaternary Ammonium Salt.

In this study, hydrophobic quaternary ammonium intermediate was synthesized by epichlorohydrin (ECH) and oleamide propyl dimethyl tertiary amine (PKO). Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was chemically modified by introducing a large number of hydrophobic quaternary ammonium branched chains to improve CMC's salt resistance, thickening ability, and solubility. The quaternary ammonium salt structure can partially offset the compression double-layer effect of linear polymers in a low-price salt ion solution, which makes CMC more stretchable and helps it obtain a higher viscosity and greater drag-reduction performance. The experiment was mainly divided into three parts: Firstly, we performed an epichlorohydrin and oleic acid PKO reaction, generating an oleic acid chain quaternary ammonium chlorine atom intermediate. Secondly, the etherification reaction between intermediate -Cl and -OH groups of CMC was completed. Finally, the modified CMC was characterized by IR, SEM, and XPS, and the viscosity and the drag-reduction rate were evaluated. After CMC and the intermediate were reacted at a mass ratio of 9:1.8 at 80 °C for 5 h, the new CMC with enhanced thickening ability, salt resistance, and drag-reduction performance was obtained. We found that the apparent viscosity increased by 11%, the drag reduction rate increased by 3% on average, and the dissolution rate was also significantly accelerated, which was ascribed to the introduction of quaternary ammonium cation. Moreover, the oleic acid amide chain increased the repulsive force of the CMC chain to low-priced metal cations in solution and intermolecular repulsive force, which is beneficial to increase the viscosity, salt resistance, and drag-reduction performance.

Integrated light adsorption and thermal insulation of Zn doping 1T phase MoS2-based evaporation prototype for continuous freshwater generation

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is regarded as an emerging technology to produce freshwater from seawater or wastewater to alleviate the global water crisis. The advanced interfacial solar evaporation system with three-dimensional (3D) structure is devised to achieve high photothermal-conversion efficiency. Considering that photothermal materials is decisive to the improvement of the solar evaporation systems, Zn doping 1 T-MoS2 (denoted as Zn-MoS2) is fabricated via a simple one-step hydrothermal method for achieving high solar absorption. Zn-MoS2 modified bio-waste sorghum straw (denoted as ZnMoSSE) is utilized to construct 3D solar evaporators with different structures. ZnMoSSE-based cone shaped evaporation device exhibits a notably high evaporation rate of 3.46 kg m-2h−1 though enlarged evaporation surface under one sun illumination, which exceeds the theoretical limit (1.47 kg m-2h−1). An ultrafast evaporation rate of up to 4.13 kg m-2h−1 is achieved by the introduction of the convection flow. Furthermore, the ZnMoSSE-based cone shaped evaporation device possesses antifouling property with continuously treating high-salinity brine for 10 h, and stable evaporation performance even in 15 wt% NaCl brine. Experiments and COMSOL Multiphysics calculations imply that ZnMoSSE displays superior light harvesting, remarkable thermal insulation, fast water transportation and effective salt-resistant performance. Owing to the home-made water generation device containing sand for thermal insulation, the water productivity of device is 23.23 kg m−2 in the daytime, and an evaporation rate of 1.29 kg m-2h−1 is obtained without solar irradiation. The novel water generation device enables facile scale-up of efficient lasting freshwater production, holding great promise for the practical application.

Exploration of ecological restoration of saline-alkali land based on NbS--Study on the salt resistance and desalination performance of three cash crops.

Soil salinization is one of the current global environmental problems. Current research on crops in saline-alkali land focuses on salt tolerance, but less on its ecological benefits. However, plants and the environment can interact and influence each other, which is the theory used to carry out Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Therefore, the research on crop plants with both ecological and economic benefits is novel and valuable work. Then three widely planted cash crops (Solanum melongena, Momordica charantia, Capsicum annuum) were selected for salt stress treatment (NaCl, 150mmol/L), some physiological indicators (chlorophyll, soluble protein, Proline (Pro), malondialdehyde (MDA)) of plant and the soil properties (electrical conductivity, pH, the soil salt content) were measured. The results showed that the salinity content of the three plant cultivation soils was significantly different (P<0.05) after the salt stress; all three crops had some desalination capacity, but Capsicum annuum had the strongest salt resistance and desalination capacity.

Effect of morphology and content of Ni nanoparticles on electromagnetic shielding coatings with salt resistance and heating performance

Effect of morphology and content of Ni nanoparticles on electromagnetic shielding coatings with salt resistance and heating performance

Porous aerogel with aligned hierarchical channels based on chitosan and halloysite for efficient solar steam generation

Solar steam generation (SSG) with efficient interface-evaporation manner has recently emerged as one of the promising approaches to produce fresh water. In this work, halloysite-based SSG (H1) with aligned channels was prepared from halloysite (Hal) and chitosan (CS) by directional freezing and simple carbonization. Then modified the sides and lower surface of H1 to obtain oleophobic generator H2. The as-prepared H1 possess high light absorption (Ca.97.4), excellent thermal insulation (0.086 W m−1 K−1 in dry state), and abundant porosity (75.6%). Furthermore, the halloysite based evaporator H1 with unique aligned channels can ensure timely water transportation. As a result, leading to a high evaporation rate of 1.58 kg m−2 h−1 with an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 95.5% under 1 kW m−2 illumination. In addition, the hydrogel-based evaporation H1 also exhibits superior salt-resistant performance for solar desalination in high concentration brine, and the purified water from artificial seawater can achieve the WHO's standard for ion concentration of drinking water. Moreover, after modification the oleophobic H2 exhibit an excellent evaporation performance in oily water, and can reach to a high conversion efficiency of 86.0%. The halloysite-based evaporation devices have promise to be ideal candidates for efficient SSG and may further expanding the scope of their practical applications.

Aligned aerogels with high salt-resistance and anti-biofouling for efficient solar evaporation

Solar-driven interface evaporation (SIE) is considered as a clean and sustainable freshwater supply technology with high energy conversion efficiency. However, biomass based SIE devices are always restricted by poor salt resistance and antibacterial properties for long-term usage in the actual environment. Herein, a SIE device with sustainability and good mechanical strength was fabricated by polypyrrole (PPy) modification of the Ca2+ crosslinked ethyl cellulose microspheres (ECM) based aerogels, and sprayed poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) on the underside and sides to form salt resistant and antibacterial photothermal materials (PPy-ECM-PILs) for efficient SIE. And the as-prepared PPy-ECM-PILs show good hydrophilicity, strong solar absorption (ca. 98 %) and low thermal conductivity (0.2064 W m−1 K−1) in wet state, and low apparent density (0.31 g cm−3), resulting the evaporation rate in pure water is as high as 1.603 kg m−2 h−1 and corresponding to the good photothermal conversion efficiency of 90.86 % under one sun illumination intensity (1 kW m−2). In addition, owing to the aligned channels, PPy-ECM-PILs show good salt-resistant performance even in high-concentration brine water (NaCl 20 wt%). Moreover, PPy-ECM-PILs exhibited good antibacterial property, which is more important for biomass based solar-driven interface evaporation. This low cost, eco-friendly and sustainable biomass based evaporator may offer new ideas to the design in practical SIE evaporators, showing potential applications in wastewater treatment and freshwater extraction.

Preparation and performance evaluation of a branched functional polymer for heavy oil recovery

To solve the problem of chromatographic separation encountered in surfactant–polymer composite systems, a branched functional polymer (PEM) was prepared from acrylamide, acrylic acid, polyethyleneimine, and a newly synthesized functional monomer (XN) to realize high efficient displacement of heavy oil in oil reservoir conditions. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) analysis, elemental analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy verified the synthesis of PEM. The thickening performance, salt resistance, interfacial activity, ability of heavy oil viscosity reduction by emulsification, and core-flooding performance of PEM were systematically studied, with linear functional polymer PXM containing XN and conventional polymer HPAM as the control group. Under the synergistic effect of functional monomer XN and the branched structure, PEM demonstrated better thickening performance and more ideal heavy oil viscosity reduction compared with those of PXM and HPAM. The branched structure of PEM enhanced the interaction between molecules and the strength of the spatial network structure; notably, the thickening performance of PEM improved by 34.6% and 141.7%, and the salt resistance performance improved by 31.5% and 89.4%, compared with those of PXM and HPAM, respectively. Furthermore, PEM formed a relatively tight interfacial adsorption layer at the oil–water interface, leading to the reduction of interfacial tension. The heavy oil viscosity reduction rate of PEM (87.0%) was higher than that of PXM (79.5%). The emulsion formed was more stable than PXM, and the oil–water separation rate was slower. Owing to the better heavy oil viscosity reduction effect of PEM, the recovery factor of PEM (21.4%) was higher than that of PXM (17.2%) under the same polymer viscosity condition. These findings indicate that PEM and its functional mechanism are suitable for the enhancement of heavy oil recovery.

Integrated solar seawater desalination and power generation via plasmonic sawdust-derived biochar: Waste to wealth

Solar steam generation (SSG) provides a promising technique to remedy the worldwide water and energy crisis with minimum environmental impact. Herein, we successfully recycled the wood wastes (sawdust) to construct biochar as an evaporator via the pyrolysis technique which was performed at low temperature to keep the abundant aligned microchannels across the wood structure, increasing water transportation to the surface. Bimetallic plasmonic nanoshells dopped the biochar to enhance SG via the multiple nucleation sites, benefiting from their excellent light absorption. Besides, a thermoelectric (TE) generator can be integrated with the Ag-Cu/ SDB@PVA membrane for concurrent steam and electricity generation. As a result, the evaporator achieves a simultaneous evaporation rate of 1.49 kg m−2 h−1 (90.4% efficiency) and a power density of 34.7 mW/m2 under 1 sun illumination. The highest potential and power density of induced electricity can be achieved under blue LED illumination. Thanks to the different interactions of salt ions with the functional groups of biochar, our evaporator shows extraordinarily salt-resistant performance under 1 sun illumination. Based on its excellent energy-conversion efficiency, facile and cost-effective fabrication process, salt-resistance, and durability, our evaporator may be a promising generator for drinkable water and electricity on a large scale.

Slow Release and Water Retention Performance of Poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/Fulvic Acid/Oil Shale Semicoke Superabsorbent Composites.

In order to achieve the low cost and multifunction of superabsorbent composites, poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/fulvic acid/oil shale semicoke (PAMFS) were prepared by free radical copolymerization of fulvic acid (FA), oil shale semicoke (OSSC), acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM). The characterization results revealed that FA and OSSC were involved in the construction of a three-dimensional (3D) polymeric network via hydrogen bonding and covalent bonding. The water absorbency of PAMFS in distilled water and 0.9 wt% NaCl solution were 724 and 98 g/g, respectively. The FA slow release of PAMFS in distilled water and soil was achieved due to the interaction between FA and the functional groups of polymer matrix by hydrogen bonds and covalent bonds. Furthermore, the potted experiment indicated that the addition of PAMFS to soil can significantly promote plant growth compared with the pure soil, regardless of water stress. Therefore, this superabsorbent composite showed an excellent water absorption and salt resistance performance, as well as nice slow release performance. It has a broad application prospect.

A review of nanofiber membranes for solar interface evaporation

The shortage of freshwater resources is a global problem while traditional desalination methods are energy consuming and inefficient. Recently, solar interface evaporation (SIE) has attracted more and more researchers' attention, due to its high efficiency, low cost and environmental friendliness. This article summarizes the latest development on the SIE materials based on nanofiber membranes. The mechanism, difficulties and solutions in the aspects of material preparation, light absorption, thermal management, water transportation and multi-functionalization are discussed in categories. The review is mainly focused on the evaporation efficiency, salt resistance performance, corrosion resistance and long-term stability of the SIE materials. Finally, the challenges and outlook of the nanofiber based SIE materials are proposed.

Tailoring the Salt Transport Flux of Solar Evaporators for a Highly Effective Salt-Resistant Desalination with High Productivity.

Developing highly effective salt-resistant solar evaporators for a long-term desalination with a high evaporation rate and water production rate remains a great challenge. Herein, we fabricated a three-dimensional printed hierarchical porous reduced graphene oxide/carbon black (3DP-HP rGO/CB) solar evaporator constructed with a thin layer of porous photothermal interface and a grid of hierarchical porous transport channel possessing a large-sized porous microstructure. The 3DP-HP rGO/CB solar evaporator demonstrates a tailored high-salt transport flux of up to 4.3 kg·m-2·h-1, which displays a highly effective salt-resistant performance at a high evaporation rate of 10.5 kg·m-2·h-1 during a desalination of 10 wt % NaCl brine under 8 kW·m-2 illumination. Experiments and theoretical calculations prove that the large porous microstructure with abundant and low-resistance salt ion channels endows solar evaporators with a high salt transport flux, therefore boosting salt resistance compared to traditional solar evaporators. A 10 d desalination experiment shows the long-term salt resistance of a 3DP-HP rGO/CB solar evaporator for a high-rate and stable evaporation and water production. Furthermore, the 3DP-HP rGO/CB evaporator can purify 10 wt % NaCl brine at an ultrafast water production rate of up to 5.6 L·m-2·h-1 under natural sunlight. This work demonstrates great potential for the practical implementation of solar desalination with high productivity.

Binary system of alkyl polyether carboxylate and quaternary ammonium with ultra-low interfacial tension at high temperature and a wide range of salinity

A novel formula of anionic surfactants with propoxy (PO) and ethoxy(EO) groups and cationic surfactants was developed and temperature and salt resistance performance of the formula has been studied with both model oil and crude oil. An obvious synergistic effect was evidenced by CMC values and interaction parameters of nonylphenol polyether carboxylate, hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride and their mixtures. Effect of molar ratio of anionic surfactant and cationic surfactant, temperature, salinity, concentration and oil-water ratio on phase behavior and interfacial tension were investigated systematically. The results demonstrate that ultra-low interfacial tension and excellent phase behavior were obtained at temperature up to 120 °C and a wide range of salinity, which shows promising for enhanced oil recovery.

Isolation and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Naturally Fermented Pickles from Ningxia and Its Application in Goji Berry Juice Fermentation

Using 3 home-made fermented pickles from Yinchuan city of Ningxia as material, lactic acid bacteria with high acid production were selected,and identified through morphological observation, physiological and biochemical tests and molecular biology techniques, and their acid resistance, bile salt resistance,salt tolerance and fermentation ability were determined.The lactic acid bacteria with excellent performance were screened and finally applied to fermented Goji berry juice. The results showed that 5 strains of lactic acid bacteria with high acid production were obtained,one strains was identified as Lactobacillus plantarum NXU_ 19010, one strain was identified as Lactobacillus rhamnosus NXU_ 19023, one strain was identified as Lactobacillus pentosus NXU_ 19006, one strain was identified as Lactobacillus helveticus NXU_ 19022, one strain was identified as Lactobacillus paracasei NXU_ 19004.Among them, Lactobacillus helveticus NXU_ 19022 had good acid resistance, bile salt resistance and growth performance, at about 6 h, it began to be logarithmic growth phase, thesurvival rate was about 92% at pH2 and the survival rate was about 18% when the bile salt content was 0.9%. the polysaccharide content of fermented Goji berry juice by NXU_ 19022 increased by 29%, and the polyphenol content fermented Goji berry juice decreased to 91%, the sensory score was the best and could significantly improve the free radical scavenging rate and flavor quality of fermented Goji berry juice. Analyzed the volatile components of unfermented and fermentad Goji berry juice by the non-targeted metabonomics analysis technology, a total of 20 metabolites were identified as differential metabolites. The content of lipids, aroma and sweet substances increased. The results showed that the strain had good fermentation characteristics and could be further developed and utilized as a production strain of fermentation products.

Synthesis and performance characteristics of organic-inorganic hybrid fire prevention and extinguishing gel based on phytoextraction-medical stone

This study is aimed at lowering material costs and meanwhile achieving cleaner production by making full use of peanut shells, a kind of agricultural waste. To this end, cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) extracted from peanut shells were mixed with 2-acrylamide-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS), medical stone (MDS) and acrylic acid (AA) for preparing biodegradable AA-AMPS-CNF/MDS gel for fire prevention and extinguishing (FPE). The experimental results show that the optimal water absorption rate and salt resistance performance of the prepared AA-AMPS-CNF/MDS FPE gel are achieved under the CNF: AMPS: MDS: AA ratio of 2: 1: 0.3: 14, the crosslinking agent amount of 1.8% and the initiator amount of 2.5%. The infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis results suggest that MDS, AA, AMPS and CNF have experienced copolymerization which leads to the formation of an amorphous structure. The scanning electron microscopy analysis results demonstrate that the product has an orderly three-dimensional structure containing voids on the whole, and elements in it are highly uniformly and densely distributed. Relevant test experiments show that the product has high water absorption and salt resistance. Through Hartmann tube test and inhibition performance test, as well as the combustion HRR curve of coal samples, the proposed FPE gel and mixed products, it is proved that the product has superior flame retardant effect. In addition, the effect and mechanism between the proposed FPE gel and coal is rarely reported in related researches. In this study, the proposed FPE mechanism and wetting effect of AA-AMPS-CNF/MDS are explained by means of molecular dynamic simulation (MS) simulation, which agrees with the above experimental results. The proposed FPE gel can effectively inhibit coal oxidation and lower coal temperature, thus protecting the physical and mental health of coal workers. In general, this research is of crucial economic and social benefits.

3D-printed hierarchical porous cellulose/alginate/carbon black hydrogel for high-efficiency solar steam generation

Solar steam generation (SSG) has great application prospects in seawater desalination and dye wastewater treatment. However, it is still a challenge to realize a low-cost, rapid evaporation, high water quality and sustainable solar-driven water purification system. Three-dimensional (3D) structural design of evaporator is conducive to promoting evaporation efficiency, which has great potential in SSG field. In this study, 3D hierarchical porous hybrid hydrogel evaporators with embedded carbon black (CB) for SSG are built through 3D printing method. The 3D hierarchically porous cellulose/alginate/carbon black hydrogel (CACH) shows a super-hydrophilic wettability, and excellent light absorption (97%) within the wavelength range from 300 to 2500 nm, which can dramatically improve water transportation capacity and photothermal performance in the evaporator. The evaporation rate of the evaporator is as high as 1.33 kg m-2h−1 and the conversion efficiency of solar energy at 1 kW m−2 (one-sun) solar illumination is up to 90.6%. Moreover, the evaporation also exhibits superior salt resistant performance, and collected water meets World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards after purification from seawater. In addition, a small amount of photothermal material (1 wt% CB) is required in this system, which is beneficial to reduce the cost of the system. The 3D-printed hierarchically porous hydrogel evaporator has great application prospects in seawater desalination and wastewater purification.

Flexible and double-layered photothermal material based on resorcinol-formaldehyde foam for solar assisted water desalination

Solar-assisted steam generation is considered as an environmental-friendly and feasible technology to effectively harvest solar energy, which has been widely in water purification, seawater desalination and steam sterilization. In this work, we demonstrated flexible and scalable double-layered photothermal material (named as ppy-RF) based on phenolic aldehyde foam and polypyrrole coating as a light adsorption layer for solar steam generation. The resulting ppy-RF foam possessed interpenetrated and macroporous network with high porosity (>86%), superhydrophilicity, low thermal conductivity (0.0396 W m-1 K-1) and almost 100% absorbance (500-2500 nm). These characteristics make ppy-RF foam rapid water transportation and steam generation with an energy conversion efficiency of 90% under solar illumination of 1 kW h-1. Furthermore, the ppy-RF foam exhibits outstanding salt-resistant performance and long-term stability for desalination even in high salinity brine (20 wt%). By combination of its porous, flexible and monolithic configuration obtained by a simple and scalable fabrication method with efficient solar-thermal conversion ability and salt-resistance, the ppy-RF foam shows great potential in the application of clean water production and brine desalination.

Three-dimensional hierarchical oxygen vacancy-rich WO3-decorated Ni foam evaporator for high-efficiency solar-driven interfacial steam generation

Solar steam generation is considered to be an effective strategy to alleviate the global water shortage problem. Therefore, exploring highly efficient and thermal stability photothermal conversion materials is highly essential and urgent. In this work, we develop a three-dimensional (3D) oxygen vacancy-rich WO3 with ‘‘nanorod array grown on nanosheet array” unique architecture decorated on Ni foam (denoted as WO3−x/NF) through a simple and effective hydrothermal method followed by an annealing route, which is applied as light-absorbing material. The 3D hierarchical porous unique structure of the WO3−x/NF evaporator can supply a channel steam escaping and enhance the light trapping due to the multi-scattering effect, and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effects of WO3−x also contribute to increase the light absorption in the full solar spectrum. The as-prepared WO3−x/NF evaporator reveals a high solar absorption (95%), an evaporation rate of 1.50 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun illumination, and a light-to-heat conversion efficiency of about 88%, as well as stable salt-resistance performance. The water purification results show that WO3−x/NF evaporator has a significant effect on seawater desalination without significant salt accumulation and purification of heavy metal wastewater. Furthermore, the first-principles calculations reveal that WO3 with oxygen vacancies has a narrower bandgap, which is more conducive to absorb solar energy from the whole spectrum. This work can provide a new avenue toward the design of other high photothermal conversion system.

Preparation and performance of green targeted microcapsules encapsulating surfactants

As a kind of typical functional substance, the wide application of surfactants causes growing concern about potential environmental safety hazard while benefiting mankind a lot, exploring approaches to achieve low cost, low risk and high performance is of great significance. In this paper, microcapsules encapsulating surfactant were prepared through solvent evaporation method, using hydrophobic ethyl cellulose as the shell material, which endowed the microcapsules environmental-friendliness and oil-phase targeting effect. Nonionic surfactant Span 20 was used as core material as an example. The mechanisms for the generation of the microcapsules and the effects of several factors, such as the stirring speed, core/shell weight ratio and molecular weight of ethyl cellulose, on the properties of the microcapsules were investigated, by which how to adjust the size and the mechanical properties of the microcapsules were determined. The oil-phase targeting performance of the microcapsules was verified, it was confirmed that the microcapsules could break rapidly when they encounter with oil phase interface, releasing surfactant to reduce the oil-water interfacial tension, while the microcapsules keep stable in water medium. Thereby in the practical applications of surfactants, the temperature resistance and salt resistance performance could be enhanced, and the interfacial efficiency could be achieved at low surfactant dosage. This work reveals a newly approach to employ surfactants smartly and more efficiently, and might have great potential in many fields.

Enhanced Solar-to-Heat Efficiency of Photothermal Materials Containing an Additional Light-Reflection Layer for Solar-Driven Interfacial Water Evaporation

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation integrating inexhaustible solar energy and abundant seawater to address the scarcity of freshwater is a green and sustainable solution, but its industrial application remains challenging. Herein, a solar-utilizing device with a light-reflection layer was first proposed and fabricated for the improvement of light absorption as an efficient solar-driven interfacial salt-resistance evaporator, which consists of reduced graphene oxide-modified melamine sponge (rGOMS) (light-absorption layer) and aluminum foil (light-reflection layer). The strategy endows the assembled evaporator with high broadband light absorption (6.5% higher than that of the evaporator without a reflective layer), superior thermal insulation (0.0148 W m–1 K–1 in dry state), and continuous water transportation. Furthermore, the melamine sponge-based evaporator with a three-dimensional network structure (porosity of 99%) exhibits stable salt-resistance performance even in 20 wt % brine. As a result, the as-prepared evaporator (rGOMS-Re) has the merits of facile fabrication, durability, high cost-efficiency, and a stable photothermal evaporation efficiency of 87.5% under 1 kW m–2 illumination (12.2% higher than that of the evaporator without a reflective layer) and has promise to be an ideal candidate for scalable practical application. The strategy to improve light absorption opens a new and simple route for obtaining photothermal materials with light loss.

Potentially scalable fabrication of salt-rejection evaporator based on electrogenerated polypyrrole-coated nickel foam for efficient solar steam generation

Solar steam generation (SSG) is a green and sustainable way for desalination. Herein, we report for the first time the electrodeposition fabrication of bilayer photothermal material (named PPy-NF-PUS) for efficient desalination, which was prepared by electrodeposited polypyrrole on nickel foam (PPy-NF) as the upper layer for solar absorption and polyurethane sponge (PUS) as the lower layer for water pumping and thermally insulating. Taking advantages of superhydrophilic wettability, strong light absorption and the porous network structure of PPy-NF, in well combination with the low thermal conductivity and super-absorbent capacity of PUS, the PPy-NF-PUS shows excellent energy conversion efficiency of 82.18% under 1 sun irradiation. Moreover, the PPy-NF-PUS shows excellent salt-resistant performance, e.g., when salt was placed on the surface of the solar evaporator of PPy-NF-PUS, it could dissolve quickly. In addition, the PPy-NF-PUS was modified by composite coating to achieve a strong hydrophilic-oleophobic wettability. Such unique wettability endows the modified PPy-NF-PUS shows excellent oil-repellent performance. Besides, an outdoor water evaporation and collection device was designed, and the average evaporation rate of PPy-NF-PUS was 1.2562 kg m−2 h−1 under about 0.755 sun irradiation, thus showing great potential for practical application in SSG, by combination with its simple, potentially scalable fabrication process.