Rattan-Based Solar Evaporator Hits 3.34 Kg·M−2·h−1 and Long-Term Salt Resistance via Programmed Carbonization

Sep 29, 2026

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Global water scarcity urgently demands sustainable purification solutions. This research reports a high-performance solar evaporator entirely built from renewable biomass (rattan) using programmed carbonization with controlled gradient heating to engineer bimodal hierarchical porous structures. The design optimizes water transport, heat localization, and reduces vaporization energy, delivering a record 3.34 kg·m−2·h−1 evaporation rate under 1 sun. Durability is proven via 14+ days of outdoor operation in 20 wt.% NaCl brine without salt buildup or microbial growth, producing ~24.49 L/day high-quality freshwater meeting WHO drinking standards.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Freshwater scarcity and decentralized desalination

Limitations of conventional solar evaporators

Advances using materials and external heating

Need for long-term stability

RESEARCH ARTICLE [www.advancedscience.com](www.advancedscience.com) Rattan-Based Solar Evaporator Hits 3.34 Kg·M−2·h−1 and Long-Term Salt Resistance via Programmed Carbonization Shanshan Jia, Xiaqing Qin, Shijie Dai, Yan Qing,* Jianwu Dai, Shaobo Zhang, Hui Xiao, Yuzhu Chen, Jinqiu Qi, Yongqian Yang, Yao Lu,* Zhiping Su,* Yong Zhuo, and De Wu* Global water scarcity urgently demands sustainable puriﬁcation solutions. A high-performance solar evaporator crafted entirely from renewable biomass is reported, e.g., rattan, through an innovative programmed carbonization process. By applying controlled gradient heating, bimodal hierarchical porous structures are engineered within the plant material that optimize water transport, heat localization, and vaporization energy reduction. This yields a record evaporation rate of 3.34 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun, which is 1.69× faster than unprogrammed carbonization. Critically, the design achieves exceptional durability, withstanding continuous outdoor evaporation for over 14 days in high-salinity brine (20 wt.% NaCl) without noticeable salt accumulation or microbial growth. Outdoor experiments further conﬁrm its stable daily freshwater production (≈24.49 L) with high quality that meets World Health Organization (WHO) drinking standards. This work oﬀers a scalable, eco-friendly path to freshwater access, particularly for oﬀ-grid communities, by leveraging globally abundant plants and requiring only sunlight. climate-driven droughts expand, with 5 billion individuals anticipated to face water shortages by 2050 . [1,2] The socioeconomic toll is equally alarming: unchecked scarcity could erode 8% of global GDP by midcentury, disproportionately aﬀecting vulnerable regions where losses may exceed 15% . [3] Against this urgent backdrop, interfacial solar evaporation emerges as a promising decentralized solution, leveraging sunlight to desalinate seawater and purify contaminated sources. [4–8] However, the widespread deployment of this technology remains constrained by fundamental limitations in existing solar evaporators. Conventional biomass-based solar evaporators (BBSEs), while leveraging natural porosity and hydrophilicity for water transport,[9–14] typically achieve evaporation rates around 1.5 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun illumination;[15,16] they are usually 1. Introduction Freshwater scarcity has escalated into a global crisis, threatening sustainable development through the compounding pressures of population growth, climate disruption, and industrial expansion. [1–4] Recent assessments reveal that 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water according to United Nations Water (UN-Water), with a deﬁcit projected to intensify as insuﬃcient for practical water production. Existing strategies for enhancing evaporation eﬃciency are typically achieved through engineering structures, integration of functional materials, and application of external heat to optimize thermal management, regulating optical absorption, and lowering the enthalpy of water evaporation. [17–21] The integration of functional materials such as metal-organic frameworks or carbon quantum dots has been shown to increase evaporation rates above 3.0 kg m−2 h−1 . [22,23] S. Jia, X. Qin, S. Dai, S. Zhang, H. Xiao, Y. Chen, J. Qi, Y. Yang, Z. Su College of Forestry Sichuan Agricultural University Chengdu 611130, P. R. China E-mail: [suzp@sicau.edu.cn](suzp@sicau.edu.cn) S. Jia Forest Ecology and Conservation in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province Chengdu 610000, P. R. China The ORCID identiﬁcation number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under [https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202511782](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202511782)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202511782)© 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permi

FAQs

What evaporation performance does the rattan-based solar evaporator achieve under 1 sun?

It achieves a record evaporation rate of 3.34 kg·m−2·h−1 under 1 sun illumination.

How does programmed carbonization improve the evaporator’s structure and function?

Controlled gradient heating engineers bimodal hierarchical porous structures that optimize water transport, localize heat, and reduce vaporization energy.

How is long-term salt resistance and durability demonstrated?

Outdoor continuous evaporation for over 14 days in 20 wt.% NaCl brine shows no noticeable salt accumulation and no microbial growth.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Sarah