Synergistic Solar‐Powered Water−Electricity Cogeneration from Diverse Saline Water Enabled by a Multistage Solar Still Based on Zwitterion‐Modified Janus Membranes

ABSTRACT The global pursuit of sustainable development is increasingly constrained by freshwater scarcity and the growing energy crisis. Integrating solar‐powered hybrid systems that couple photovoltaic electricity generation with passive steam‐based desalination offers a promising solution. Although thermally localized multi‐stage solar stills have been explored, stable water production in saline environments remains challenging. Herein, a photovoltaic (PV) cell integrated with a nine‐stage membrane distillation (MD) device are developed, enabling simultaneous electricity and clean water generation from diverse saline water (3.5%–20%). Zwitterion‐modified Janus membranes, together with the multi‐stage architecture, synergistically cool down the PV cell, suppress salt crystallization, recycle vaporization enthalpy, and repurpose waste heat. As a result, the integrated device achieves a high water production rate of 3.89 kg m −2 h −1 , while simultaneously maintaining a stable electricity generation efficiency of 15.3% under 1 sun, maximizing the total solar energy conversion. Under natural sunlight, a daily clean water yield of 10.8 kg m −2 day −1 is achieved, placing this system among the best‐performing solar stills reported to date. This study highlights a low‐carbon cogeneration of clean water and electricity, extending the applicability of solar conversion technologies to saline environments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Sustainable Systems
Published
2026-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202501728
Primary Topic
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
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article
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article

Synergistic Solar‐Powered Water−Electricity Cogeneration from Diverse Saline Water Enabled by a Multistage Solar Still Based on Zwitterion‐Modified Janus Membranes

J. F. Li, Zhihang Wang, Yanan Sun, X. George Xu et al.
Advanced Sustainable Systems
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
article

Synergistic Solar‐Powered Water−Electricity Cogeneration from Diverse Saline Water Enabled by a Multistage Solar Still Based on Zwitterion‐Modified Janus Membranes

J. F. Li, Zhihang Wang, Yanan Sun, X. George Xu, Mingxing Ye, Jun Zhao
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The global pursuit of sustainable development is increasingly constrained by freshwater scarcity and the growing energy crisis. Integrating solar‐powered hybrid systems that couple photovoltaic electricity generation with passive steam‐based desalination offers a promising solution. Although thermally localized multi‐stage solar stills have been explored, stable water production in saline environments remains challenging. Herein, a photovoltaic (PV) cell integrated with a nine‐stage membrane distillation (MD) device are developed, enabling simultaneous electricity and clean water generation from diverse saline water (3.5%–20%). Zwitterion‐modified Janus membranes, together with the multi‐stage architecture, synergistically cool down the PV cell, suppress salt crystallization, recycle vaporization enthalpy, and repurpose waste heat. As a result, the integrated device achieves a high water production rate of 3.89 kg m −2 h −1 , while simultaneously maintaining a stable electricity generation efficiency of 15.3% under 1 sun, maximizing the total solar energy conversion. Under natural sunlight, a daily clean water yield of 10.8 kg m −2 day −1 is achieved, placing this system among the best‐performing solar stills reported to date. This study highlights a low‐carbon cogeneration of clean water and electricity, extending the applicability of solar conversion technologies to saline environments.

Advanced Sustainable SystemsVol. 10(2)
University of Derby (GB), Derby College (GB), Ocean University of China (CN)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 69%
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
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