An automatic salt-collecting solar seawater desalination device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection. The device includes an evaporation part, a condensation part, and a salt collection part. The evaporation part adopts the solar interface evaporation technology, using the photothermal conversion material loaded on the surface of the substrate to convert solar energy into heat energy to achieve the evaporation of seawater and simultaneously precipitate salt. The condensation part adopts the convective heat transfer method to achieve steam condensation to obtain fresh water. The salt collection part adopts an automatic salt collection device to collect the crystal salt precipitated on the surface of the salt collection cloth into the salt collection tank. This device effectively couples the solar interface evaporation technology and the automatic salt collection technology, and can achieve the dual production of fresh water and mineral salt while relying solely on solar energy as the only energy source.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of seawater desalination, and particularly relates to a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection. Background Art

[0002] The shortage of fresh water resources is a severe resource problem faced by the world today, which greatly restricts the sustainable development of human society. Therefore, the solution of extracting fresh water from seawater has attracted much attention from scholars. Existing commercial seawater desalination technologies such as reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash evaporation cannot be widely applied in areas such as islands due to defects such as high upfront costs, insufficient power and water supply. In comparison, solar evaporation technology has the advantages of low upfront investment and low operating cost, and can effectively overcome these problems.

[0003] Currently, traditional solar evaporation devices still have deficiencies. Traditional solar evaporation devices can handle low-concentration brine, but their treatment effect on high-concentration brine is not ideal, that is, they cannot effectively treat the high-concentration brine generated after seawater desalination, and the discharge of high-concentration brine will seriously damage the marine water quality and ecological environment. In addition, traditional solar evaporation devices cannot collect mineral salts while desalinating brine, resulting in a waste of mineral resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Aiming at the above-mentioned technical deficiencies, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection, which can achieve efficient water evaporation and collect the salt generated during the seawater desalination process.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The present invention provides a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection, including an evaporation part, a condensation part and a salt collection part; the evaporation part includes a bottom plate covering a water storage tank, the bottom plate is uniformly provided with a number of through holes and has a single-sided slot, the upper surface of the bottom plate is provided with an annular light-absorbing layer, and the bottom of the light-absorbing layer is provided with a number of water delivery layers communicating with the through holes on the bottom plate;

[0007] The condensation part includes an acrylic hemispherical shell for covering the evaporation part and the salt collection part, and a collection water tank is provided at the bottom of the inner wall of the acrylic hemispherical shell;

[0008] The salt collection part includes a salt collection tank arranged at the slotted part of the bottom plate, a salt collection cloth is arranged in the middle of the light-absorbing layer, and openings adapted to the salt collection tank are provided on the light-absorbing layer and the salt collection cloth;

[0009] An automatic salt collection device is further provided in the middle of the bottom plate, which is used to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth into the salt collection tank to complete the salt collection operation.

[0010] Preferably, a photothermal conversion material is mixed in the matrix material for making the water absorption layer. The photothermal conversion material is a carbon-based photothermal conversion material or a plasmonic photothermal conversion material, and the matrix material is a polyvinyl alcohol sponge or a hydrophilic polyurethane sponge.

[0011] Preferably, the carbon-based photothermal conversion material is one or more of carbon black, graphite, graphene, and carbon nanotubes, and the plasmonic photothermal conversion material is one or more of Au, Ag, and CuO.

[0012] Preferably, the water conveyance layer is a strip-shaped polyvinyl alcohol sponge or a hydrophilic polyurethane sponge.

[0013] Preferably, the salt collection cloth is a pure cotton black cloth, a gauze, or a filter paper after full black printing.

[0014] Preferably, the automatic salt collection device includes a motor provided on the bottom plate. The output end of the motor is connected to a support rod and controls its rotation. A silica gel brush head is provided on the support rod. The silica gel brush head rotates to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth into the salt collection tank to complete the salt collection operation. The motor is electrically connected to an external controller and a storage battery, and the storage battery is powered by a solar photovoltaic panel.

[0015] Preferably, the light absorption layer is a double-layer matrix material, and the salt collection cloth is sandwiched between the two layers of matrix materials.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0017] 1. While realizing seawater desalination, the present invention can efficiently treat the concentrated brine generated after seawater desalination, achieving true zero pollution and zero emission.

[0018] 2. The present invention adopts an automatic salt collection technology, which can collect precious mineral salts while obtaining fresh water, improving the utilization rate of marine resources.

[0019] 3. The production cost of the present invention is low and the structure is simple. At present, many concentrated brine treatment facilities have complex structures and high construction costs, with high upfront investment costs. The materials used in the present invention are all low-cost and high-performance materials, and the operating cost is also low, which is convenient for management.

[0020] 4. The present invention has various uses and broad prospects. The present invention can not only efficiently treat concentrated brine, but also be applied to the fields of seawater desalination and salt production after designing an array. Description of the Drawings

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the light-absorbing layer provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the automatic salt collection device provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Explanation of reference numerals:

[0026] 1 - evaporation part, 2 - acrylic hemispherical shell, 3 - collection water tank, 5 - salt collection tank, 6 - silica gel brush head, 7 - bottom plate, 8 - motor; 4 - salt collection cloth; 9 - controller, 10 - storage battery, 11 - solar photovoltaic panel, 12 - water storage tank. Detailed implementation manners

[0027] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] As Figures 1 to 3 shown, a solar seawater desalination device with automatic salt collection includes an evaporation part, a condensation part, and a salt collection part; the evaporation part includes a bottom plate 7 covering the water storage tank 12. The bottom plate 7 is uniformly provided with a number of through holes and has a single-side slot. The upper surface of the bottom plate 7 is provided with an annular light-absorbing layer, and the bottom of the light-absorbing layer is provided with a number of water delivery layers communicating with the through holes on the bottom plate 7;

[0029] The condensation part includes an acrylic hemispherical shell 2 for covering the evaporation part and the salt collection part. The inner wall bottom of the acrylic hemispherical shell 2 is provided with a collection water tank 3;

[0030] The salt collection part includes a salt collection tank 5 provided at the slotted part of the bottom plate 7. A salt collection cloth 4 is provided in the middle of the light-absorbing layer, and openings adapted to the salt collection tank 5 are provided on the light-absorbing layer and the salt collection cloth 4;

[0031] In the middle of the bottom plate 7, an automatic salt collection device is also provided, which is used to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth 4 into the salt collection tank 5 to complete the salt collection operation.

[0032] The automatic salt collection device includes a motor provided on the bottom plate 7. The output end of the motor is connected to a support rod and controls its rotation. A silica gel brush head 6 is provided on the support rod. The silica gel brush head 6 rotates to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth 4 into the salt collection tank 5 to complete the salt collection operation. The motor 8 is electrically connected to an external controller 9 and a storage battery 10, and the storage battery 10 is powered by a solar photovoltaic panel 11.

[0033] The light absorption layer is a double-layer matrix material, and the salt collection cloth 4 is sandwiched between the two layers of matrix materials.

[0034] In this embodiment, the matrix material of the light absorption layer is PVA sponge, the photothermal conversion material is carbon black, the water delivery layer is several strip-shaped PVA sponges, the salt collection cloth is pure cotton black cloth, the solar photovoltaic panel 11 is 18V 10W, the storage battery is a 12V 2200mAh lithium battery, the motor is a 12V JGY370 micro DC reduction motor, the controller is a CCM2 micro DC reduction motor controller, and the material of the silica gel brush head is silicone rubber.

[0035] Working principle: During the photothermal evaporation process, the desalinated water to be treated transports water through the water delivery layer to the light absorption layer and the salt collection cloth 4. The light absorption layer and the salt collection cloth irradiated by sunlight perform photothermal conversion, converting solar energy into heat energy and heating and evaporating the salt water transported to the evaporation surface.

[0036] As the evaporation progresses, the salt water concentration in the edge area of the salt collection cloth 4 gradually tends to be saturated, and salt accumulation occurs, forming a salt collection area. The strip-shaped PVA sponges of the water delivery layer pass through the round holes on the bottom plate and are connected to the annular sponge, continuously transporting the concentrated salt water to the evaporation layer to ensure the evaporation efficiency.

[0037] In the condensation part, the steam generated by evaporation contacts the surface of the acrylic hemisphere shell 2 and condenses, and the condensed water flows along the wall surface to the water collection tank 3. In the salt collection part, a solar photovoltaic panel 11 is arranged outside the device to maximize the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy; since the power generation voltage of the solar photovoltaic panel 11 is unstable and cannot directly drive the small motor 8, the generated electrical energy is stored in the storage battery. When the light condition is good, the solar photovoltaic panel 11 charges the storage battery 10, and the storage battery drives the small motor 8 to operate. The motor 8 is connected to the silica gel brush head 6, and the brush head of the glue brush rotates to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth 4 into the salt collection tank 5 to complete the salt collection operation. When the light condition is poor such as at night or on rainy and cloudy days, the electrical energy stored in the storage battery can still continue to drive the small motor to operate.

[0038] The present invention can be used in the treatment of concentrated brine, salt production fields, seawater desalination, etc. Since the salt content of seawater is relatively low, if the present invention is directly used for seawater desalination, only fresh water can be obtained quickly. Therefore, the present invention can be simply arrayed to form an independent seawater desalination area on the sea. China has a vast sea area, so it can be considered to array this series-connected device on the sea surface. After the array, it is a rectangular area floating on the sea surface, and solar photovoltaic panels exposed above the sea surface are fixed at the gaps to provide electrical energy for the entire array structure. In this way, several large-scale devices can provide sufficient fresh water and salt for an island.

[0039] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalent technologies, the present invention also intends to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. An automatic salt-collecting solar seawater desalination device, characterized in that: It includes an evaporation part, a condensation part and a salt collection part; the evaporation part includes a bottom plate (7) covering the water storage tank (12), the bottom plate (7) is evenly provided with a number of through holes and has a single-sided slot, the upper surface of the bottom plate (7) is provided with an annular light-absorbing layer, and the bottom of the light-absorbing layer is provided with a number of water delivery layers communicating with the through holes on the bottom plate (7). The condensation part includes an acrylic hemisphere shell (2) for covering the evaporation part and the salt collection part, and a collection water tank (3) is provided at the bottom of the inner wall of the acrylic hemisphere shell (2). The salt collection part includes a salt collection tank (5) provided at the slotted part of the bottom plate (7), a salt collection cloth (4) is provided in the middle of the light-absorbing layer, and openings adapted to the salt collection tank (5) are provided on the light-absorbing layer and the salt collection cloth (4). An automatic salt collection device is further provided in the middle of the bottom plate (7), which is used to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth (4) into the salt collection tank (5) to complete the salt collection operation. The matrix material for making the light-absorbing layer is mixed with a photothermal conversion material, and the photothermal conversion material is a carbon-based photothermal conversion material or a plasmonic photothermal material, and the matrix material is a polyvinyl alcohol sponge or a hydrophilic polyurethane sponge. The carbon-based photothermal conversion material is one or more of carbon black, graphite, graphene, and carbon nanotubes, and the plasmonic photothermal material is one or more of Au, Ag, and CuO. The water delivery layer is a strip-shaped polyvinyl alcohol sponge or a strip-shaped hydrophilic polyurethane sponge. The light-absorbing layer is a double-layer matrix material, and the salt collection cloth (4) is sandwiched between the two layers of matrix materials.

2. The automatic salt-collecting solar seawater desalination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The salt collection cloth is a pure cotton black cloth, a gauze or a filter paper after full black printing.

3. The automatic salt-collecting solar seawater desalination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic salt collection device includes a motor provided on the bottom plate (7), the output end of the motor is connected to a support rod and controls its rotation, a silica gel brush head (6) is provided on the support rod, and the silica gel brush head (6) rotates to brush the salt on the salt collection cloth (4) into the salt collection tank (5) to complete the salt collection operation. The motor (8) is electrically connected to an external controller (9) and a storage battery (10), and the storage battery (10) is powered by a solar photovoltaic panel (11).

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