Alternative water resources (seawater, brackish water, atmospheric water, sewage, etc.) can be converted into clean freshwater via high-efficiency, energy-saving, and cost-effective methods to cope with the global water crisis. Herein, we provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of various solar-powered technologies for alternative water utilization (i.e., "sunlight-energy-water nexus"), including solar-thermal interface desalination (STID), solar-thermal membrane desalination (STMD), solar-driven electrochemical desalination (SED), and solar-thermal atmospheric water harvesting (ST-AWH). Three strategies have been proposed for improving the evaporation rate of STID systems above the theoretical limit and designing all-weather or all-day operating STID systems by analyzing the energy transfer of the evaporation and condensation processes caused by solar-thermal conversion. This review also introduces the fundamental principles and current research hotspots of two other solar-driven seawater or brackish water desalination technologies (STMD and SED) in detail. In addition, we also cover ST-AWH and other solar-powered technologies in terms of technology design, materials evolution, device assembly, etc. Finally, we summarize the content of this comprehensive review and discuss the challenges and future outlook of different types of solar-powered alternative water utilization technologies.

Solar-Powered Sustainable Water Production: State-of-the-Art Technologies for Sunlight-Energy-Water Nexus.

Without pure water, it is impossible to survive for any living beings. The ratio of freshwater on our planet is very poor and the demand is increasing with time for the growing population. Furtherm...

Preparation of activated carbon from biomass and its’ applications in water and gas purification, a review

Disinfection by-products in drinking water: Occurrence, toxicity and abatement.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/pi.5993

Nanocellulose water treatment membranes and filters: a review

Hydrogel membranes: A review.

Sustainable and affordable supply of clean, safe, and adequate water is one of the most challenging issues facing the world. Membrane separation technology is one of the most cost-effective and widely applied technologies for water purification. Polymeric membranes such as cellulose-based (CA) membranes and thin-film composite (TFC) membranes have dominated the industry since 1980. Although further development of polymeric membranes for better performance is laborious, the research findings and sustained progress in inorganic membrane development have grown fast and solve some remaining problems. In addition to conventional ceramic metal oxide membranes, membranes prepared by graphene oxide (GO), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and mixed matrix materials (MMMs) have attracted enormous attention due to their desirable properties such as tunable pore structure, excellent chemical, mechanical, and thermal tolerance, good salt rejection and/or high water permeability. This review provides insight into synthesis approaches and structural properties of recent reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes which are used to retain dissolved species such as heavy metals, electrolytes, and inorganic salts in various aqueous solutions. A specific focus has been placed on introducing and comparing water purification performance of different classes of polymeric and ceramic membranes in related water treatment industries. Furthermore, the development challenges and research opportunities of organic and inorganic membranes are discussed and the further perspectives are analyzed.

Tong Zhang

Papers

A Review on Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membranes for Water Purification.