Repurposing face mask waste to construct floating photothermal evaporator for autonomous solar ocean farming

• Published in: EcoMat (Beijing, China) Vol. 4; no. 2
• Main Authors: Guo, Shuai, Zhang, Yaoxin, Qu, Hao, Li, Meng, Zhang, Songlin, Yang, Jiachen, Zhang, Xueping, Tan, Swee Ching
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2022; Wiley
• Subjects: Contact angle; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Desalination; Evaporation; Evaporators; Face; face mask waste; Farming; Landfill; Light; Materials selection; Medical wastes; Natural environment; Pandemics; photothermal evaporation; Plastic debris; Polymerization; Polymers; Polypyrroles; Polyvinyl alcohol; Protective equipment; solar desalination; Solar energy; Solar heating; solar ocean farming; Spectrum analysis; Water supply; Wettability

Plastic waste caused by the extensive usage of face masks during COVID‐19 pandemic has become a severe threat to natural environment and ecosystem. Herein, an eco‐friendly approach to repurpose face mask waste for clean water production via solar thermal evaporation is proposed. By taking advantage...