Open Access

REVIEW

Recent Advances in Evaporation Heat and Mass Transfer for Solar-Driven Desalination of High-Salinity Wastewater

Jing Yu^1,*, Yujiang Xia¹, Pengfei Wang¹, Baobin Liu¹, Sumin Jin²
1 School of Artificial Intelligence, Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Commerce, No. 180 Longmian Avenue, Jiangning District, Nanjing, China
2 School of Energy Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 Puzhu Road (S), Nanjing, China
* Corresponding Author: Jing Yu. Email:

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer https://doi.org/10.32604/fhmt.2026.085767

Received 18 May 2026; Accepted 31 August 2026; Published online 03 September 2026

Abstract

In recent years, high-salinity wastewater evaporating separation technologies powered by solar, whether photovoltaic, solar thermal, or both, have emerged as a favored alternative across chemical processing, agriculture, and machinery manufacturing. Driven by notable advantages such as clean operation and zero carbon emissions, these technologies have gained widespread recognition. Nevertheless, owing to the lower energy grade of conventional solar energy, numerous aspects of existing technologies still warrant further research and improvement, among which heat and mass transfer during the evaporation process constitutes a critical component. This research provides a comprehensive review of several existing categories of typical solar desalination technologies, including static evaporation, multi-effect distillation, humidification-dehumidification, interfacial evaporation, and air-carried evaporating separation. Detailed analysis is also performed on their respective heat and mass transfer characteristics, performance, and existing challenges during the evaporation process. Based on an in-depth comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in heat and mass transfer characteristics across various technologies, recommendations are proposed for enhancing heat and mass transfer and improving system performance in this field. Employing novel solar energy supply methods based on multi-process coupling (such as dual-fluid heating, latent heat recovery, and process-heat-supplied) has become a key approach to enhancing the heat and mass transfer efficiency of evaporation processes and improving the overall energy utilization rate of systems. Future research on heat and mass transfer in high-salinity wastewater evaporation processes necessitates moving beyond the traditional dual-driven approach reliant on thermal driving forces (temperature differences) and mass transfer driving potentials (concentration gradients). Considering comprehensive factors such as multi-field coupling and energy flow relationships is expected to hold greater strategic value.

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Keywords

Solar energy; high-salinity wastewater; heat and mass transfer; evaporation

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