Solar Desalination Using Thermally Responsive Ionic Liquids Regenerated with a Photonic Heater

Growing global water demand has brought desalination technologies to the forefront for freshwater production from nontraditional sources. Among these, forward osmosis (FO) is a promising two-step process (draw dilution and regeneration), but it often overlooked due energy requirements associated with draw regeneration. To address this limiting factor, we demonstrate FO using thermally responsive ionic liquids (ILs) that are regenerated renewable input, is, solar heat. efficiently harness sunlight, simple photonic heater converts incoming irradiation into infrared wavelengths directly absorbed by IL-water mixtures, thereby inducing phase separation yield clean water. This approach markedly different as uses radiative heating, noncontact mode of heat transfer couples chemical functional groups within IL rapid without exchanger or secondary fluid. Overall, solar-thermal efficiency 50% achieved under unconcentrated which can be increased 69% thermal design. Successful produced oil wells in Southern California highlights potential solar-powered IL-FO energy-efficient low-cost complex brines beneficial reuse.