Solar interfacial evaporation for efficient treatment of sewage containing volatile organic compounds and toxic heavy metal ions: A sequential process of adsorption, coagulation, and evaporation.

Solar interfacial evaporation (SIE) is an eco-friendly and sustainable technology for addressing water pollution and freshwater scarcity. However, treating wastewater containing volatile organic compounds and heavy metal ions with a single SIE method is inefficient. The combination of adsorption, coagulation, and evaporation process provides an alternative solution for treating this type of wastewater. In this study, activated carbon powder (C) is introduced as an adsorbent and an integral part of photothermal conversion material, which is coagulated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) through a mold press process to fabricate PVA/C/PEG composite hydrogels. The volatile organic compounds and heavy metal ions in the wastewater are adsorbed by the activated carbon powder and the wastewater is then further purified into freshwater through SIE. This stepwise "adsorption first, then coagulation and evaporation" method can not only rapidly remove pollutants from the raw water, but also provides a much higher removal efficiency than the adsorption-evaporation synergetic process. This work demonstrates a successful attempt to utilize the SIE method for treating wastewater containing volatile organic compounds and heavy metal ions. [Display omitted] • The treatment process is focused on sewage containing VOCs and heavy metal ions. • A three-step treatment method of adsorption, coagulation, evaporation is designed. • Activated carbon has high adsorption efficiency for some VOCs and heavy metals. • Polymer solution composite method endows PVA/C/PEG with a high water supply rate. • PVA/C/PEG reaches 1.813 kg m−2 h−1 water evaporation rate under 1 sun for 7 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]