In a groundbreaking development, researchers have devised a method to make seawater evaporate faster than freshwater, marking a major milestone in desalination technology that could benefit billions worldwide.
With up to 36 per cent of the global population facing severe freshwater shortages annually — a figure projected to rise to 75 per cent by 2050 — seawater desalination is a vital solution. However, traditional methods are energy-intensive and leave a large carbon footprint.
A team led by Professor Haolan Xu from the University of South Australia (UniSA), in collaboration with Chinese researchers, has introduced an innovative approach using inexpensive clay minerals in a floating photothermal hydrogel evaporator.
This method boosts seawater evaporation rates by 18.8 per cent compared to pure water, a significant leap over previous findings, which showed seawater evaporating 8 per cent slower.
“The key lies in the ion exchange process at the air-water interface,” Prof Xu explained. “This process enriches magnesium and calcium ions on the evaporation surface, increasing the rate of evaporation. It’s a spontaneous, cost-effective, and scalable solution.”
This advancement could transform the global desalination landscape, where even minor performance declines result in the loss of millions of tons of clean water. By integrating this strategy into existing systems, the technology could unlock vast new sources of freshwater.
The hydrogel evaporator has also proven durable, maintaining its efficiency after months of immersion in seawater.
Published in the journal Advanced Materials, the study represents a promising step toward addressing the escalating global water crisis. Future research will focus on further accelerating seawater evaporation and implementing these methods in practical desalination systems.
(The study involves researchers from UniSA, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Jinan University, Tianjin University, UNSW, the University of Adelaide, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Nanjing Forestry University).
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