Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Nano Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nanoen

Full paper

Food-derived carbonaceous materials for solar desalination and thermo- T

electric power generation
⁎
Yaoxin Zhang, Sai Kishore Ravi, Swee Ching Tan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering drive 1, 117574, Singapore

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: How to tackle food waste (FW) by means of advanced treatments with less carbon emission and high added-
Food waste value has become a formidable challenge that human society has to face in the future. Herein, we present a
Photothermal materials sustainable way of repurposing FW that not only mitigates carbon emission but also turns FW as highly porous
Solar desalination carbon-based photothermal materials for low-cost solar desalination and thermoelectric (TE) generation.
Thermoelectric generation
Different FWs have been extensively studied for the desired purposes, and the carbonaceous FWs exhibit out-
Carbon mitigation
standing potential and versatility in the highlighted applications with high performance achieved (solar effi-
ciency: 84.1%, TE power output: 0.4 Wm-2). This strategy of reusing FW holds immeasurable benefits for a
sustainable society and is of tremendous significance to future FW management and material science due to the
low cost and great abundance, which is able to serve in tackling global issues like the water- and energy-crisis.

1. Introduction
While on one hand, the world is stuck in a Gordian knot of in-
creasing food demand for the expanding population (which is estimated
to approximate 10 billion by 2050) [1–3], ironically on the other hand,
there is roughly 1.3 billion tons of food waste (FW) generated every
year amounting to one third of the total food produced for human
consumption. Aside from the jarring figures, the adverse effects the
wasted food inflicts on the society is also multifold, ranging from direct
economic losses to various environmental effects like land pollution and
air pollution. A more serious and a long-standing consequence of food
waste generation is that it largely translates into prodigious amounts of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, substantially exacerbating the global
climate change [4–9]. To this end, it is high time to think of how we can
deal with the FW in rewarding and low-carbon ways [2,10–13].
Given this, it is apparent that there are also opportunities tightly
intertwined with this global issue. FW valorization, known as a strategy
to maximise the value derived from FW in the quest to offset resource
loss and mitigate the economic and environmental impacts, has been a
subject of heated discussion for sustainable development [14–17].
Various FW valorization practices have been developed in a hierarchy
of preferability, based on the environmental costs and benefits [18,19].
However, nearly half of the waste in the globe still ends up in landfills
[20,21]. We thereby wish to emphasize that by developing advanced
FW valorization techniques with environment-friendly processes, such
as converting FW into highly useful materials, the 3E nexus (i.e. energy-
economy-environment nexus) can be preserved and at the same time,
the resultant reduction in GHG emissions also serves to slow down the
pace of global warming [22–25].
In this work, we have developed a novel strategy for FW valoriza-
tion for this purpose (Fig. 1), which converts the waste into versatile
materials and devices by means of carbonization for sustainable ap-
plications like solar desalination and thermoelectric generation. Our
findings reveal that the proposed treatment produces negligible carbon
emissions, and it is also found that some advantageous properties can
be obtained owing much to the treatment, which include: immunity
from natural decomposition, which is important for long-term appli-
cation in harsh environment; porous structure; broadband light ab-
sorption, a property particularly attractive for water desalination by
means of the so called ‘solar interfacial evaporation’ [26–28]. Driven by
the solar energy that is totally sustainable and inexhaustible for appli-
cations in various photovoltaic systems [29–33], this desalination
technology has drawn considerable attention recently, and the rise of it
immensely expands the application of a wide variety of photothermal
materials, which essentially involve plasmonic materials, semi-
conductors and carbon-based materials [34–41]. Among them, the low-
cost carbon materials, such as carbonized wood, mushroom, carbon
sponge, which are naturally black in colour, implying the congenitally
excellent capability of light absorbing, exhibits promising potential for
large-scale application and hence have been most widely studied as

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: msetansc@nus.edu.sg (S.C. Tan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104006
Received 26 June 2019; Received in revised form 2 August 2019; Accepted 8 August 2019
Available online 19 August 2019
2211-2855/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Zhang, et al.
Fig. 1. (a) Strategy of using FWs as versatile photothermal materials for solar desalination and electricity generation with mitigated carbon emissions. (b)
Distribution of carbon emission along the food supply chain. Comparisons of (c) CO2 emission and (d) operation temperature between conventional incineration and
the proposed carbonization treatment. (e) Estimated emission factor (in CO2) of carbonization in comparison to predominant FW treatments.
efficient solar evaporators [42–46]. It is particularly worth noting that
FWs, like the other natural materials, are of low cost and great abun-
dance, making it ideal starting-materials for economic and mass man-
ufacturing of carbonaceous materials-based devices in the future. Cur-
rently, outrageous solar efficiency that is higher than 90% can be
practically achieved in laboratory due to the extreme light absorption of
photothermal materials and supplementary reinforcement from proper
thermal insulation and water transport [47–49].
Herein, a series of FWs including rice, potato, pasta, banana peel
and lotus root were thermally treated for the desired applications. The
FW-derived carbonaceous solar device exhibits outstanding capability
of steam production for water desalination, an energy conversion effi-
ciency close to 85% was achieved. The special structure of FW makes
itself self-regenerating, thus leading to no salt clogging during intensive
desalination process. Further, a floating prototype of solar still system
for practical water harvesting is demonstrated with a unique “Wave-
Resistant” capability to secure a steady operation on actual sea surface.
Subsequently, an innovative photo-thermoelectric structure for si-
multaneous steam and thermoelectricity generation is put forward,
which is able to deliver the power output of 0.4 W m−2 along with a
solar desalination efficiency of ~81% under 1 sun. It is therefore be-
lieved that the proposed strategy of repurposing FW for multifunctional
applications offers an effectual solution to address the pressing chal-
lenge of worldwide FW problem. What is more, it holds immeasurable
benefits for a sustainable society as it not only aids in mitigating global
warming but also serves in tackling other global issues like the water-
and energy-crisis.
2. Results and discussion
2.1. FW thermal treatment
According to the life-cycle assessment on FW (Fig. 1b), emission
incurred from the end-of-life phase (i.e. FW treatment stage) is the
second highest (20.2%), only next to that of agricultural production
2
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
(63.1%), the carbon footprint of which is unavoidable [50]. That is to
say, the way we deal with the FW makes a difference in the total
amount of GHG emissions that is from FW treatments [2,8]. The car-
bonization treatment, as proposed here, is of remarkable advantages
over the others in terms of carbon emission. We firstly compared it to
another traditional thermal treatment, i.e. incineration. As shown in
Fig. 1c, analysis in the carbon content have revealed that carbonization
allowed FW to retain most of its autologous carbon instead of losing it
as CO2, which significantly reduced carbon footprint along this process,
by contrast, incineration forced all the organics to be converted into
CO2 production. Another advantage of carbonization is the lower op-
erating temperature range (Fig. 1d) and by comparison, FW to be in-
cinerated are usually mixed with other municipal wastes, thus requiring
higher incineration temperature [51]. Emission factor (EF) is further
defined to compare carbon footprint via different FW treatments
(Fig. 1e), and an estimation for carbonization treatment is given, which
can be ~0.01 kg CO2 e/kg [52].
Depending on the type of food waste, the way it is disposed or the
stage at which it is disposed varies. For instance, nearly half of all po-
tatoes are thrown away daily in UK households without any culinary
processing [53]. We have thereby selected cooked rice and pasta, raw
potato, lotus root, and banana peel which were all collected from local
households and canteens. As shown in Fig. 2a, potato and lotus root
were cut into cube shape while banana peel into regular rectangular
pieces before carbonization, and the unconsolidated rice grains were
compacted into a solidified round cake to form a 3D structure. The
carbonization of FW samples was carried out through a barbeque-
analogue route instead of commonplace energy-intensive method using
tube furnace (Fig. 2b). This easily accessible carbonization approach
favors mass production of FW-based solar evaporators [26]. The mor-
phology and inner structure of the carbonized FWs was characterized
by scanning electron microscope (SEM, Fig. 2c). Interestingly, the
natural FWs possess highly porous structures, which would be a fa-
vorable feature for steam generation on one hand, the porous structure
is capable of enabling sufficient and prompt water supply and
Y. Zhang, et al.
unhampered steam release through the surface. However, on the other
hand it may result in salt clogging during intensive long-term eva-
poration process. Magnified SEM images shown in Fig. 2d further reveal
the detailed surface information of the as-fabricated FWs, and nanos-
tructure was spotted (e.g. the surface texture of the carbonaceous po-
tato and the nanoscale pore wall of lotus root), which would be ad-
vantageous for broadband light capturing and thus lead to high-rate
steam generation.
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photo-
electron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were performed to identify
the chemical composition of carbonized FWs. Various functional groups
including O–H, C–H and C–N were located from the FTIR spectra
(Fig. 3a), which prefigure the good hydrophilicity of the carbonaceous
FWs. The following XPS data is in good agreement with the FTIR re-
sults. As shown in Fig. 3b, the wide scan spectrum shows obvious
binding energy peaks at 285 eV and 532 eV, which are attributed to C 1s
and O 1s respectively implying the carbonaceous materials were suc-
cessfully obtained. High-resolution XPS results were further provided to
highlight the detailed difference between the five carbonaceous mate-
rials in Fig. 3c. The identified peaks of C1s for the as-prepared carbo-
naceous FW at 284.6, 286.2, 288.1 and 289.0 eV are respectively at-
tributed to C–C/C=C, C–O, C=O and O–C=O. The peak located at
285.7 eV that corresponds to C–N verifies the previous FTIR observa-
tion. The similar curve profiles of the XPS and FTIR spectra implies that
the carbonized FWs have similar compositions. We have compared the
specific weight of carbonaceous FW before and after absorbing sea-
water (Fig. S1). The result verified the predicted hydrophilicity, which
would be an important property to allow sufficient water supply for
high-rate steam production. Further, the excellent hydrophilicity was
visualized as demonstrated in Fig. 3d. An IR camera was employed to
probe the thermal property of the FW-based solar evaporators under
solar illumination (Fig. 3e). It can be seen that the carbonaceous FWs
possess excellent ability to localize solar heat, which is at root attri-
butable to their broadband optical absorption across the full spectrum
3
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
Fig. 2. Conversion of FW into photothermal
carbonaceous materials and the corre-
sponding structural characterizations.
Physical photos of (a) fresh FWs and (b)
carbonized FW. (c) Top-view (first row) and
cross-sectional view (second row) SEM
images of carbonized FWs showing the
porous structures. (d) Magnified SEM
images of the detailed surface morphology.
of solar radiation that ranges from 300-2500 nm (Fig. S2). The light
absorption of all the investigated FW is though very high, the surface
temperature of them are different from each other, which might be
caused by heat loss (Fig. S3).
2.2. FW-based solar desalination
To quantitatively evaluate the potential of carbonized FWs as solar
absorbing devices in an evaporation-driven desalination process
[47,54], each sample, after reaching water-saturated state in water, was
exposed to standard solar illumination (1 kW/m2) for 1 h, with the mass
change being monitored all the while. Compared to the ubiquitous
water evaporation with pure water, the contribution to rapid steam
generation with the support of FW solar evaporator was evidently high
as seen in Fig. 4a. Conspicuously, pasta and rice were able to generate
steam at a much higher rate than the other FWs, which were
1.3354 kg m−2h−1 and 1.2582 kg m−2h−1 respectively, and both were
beyond 6 times that of pure water evaporation (0.2001 kg m−2h−1).
The solar desalination efficiency, which is defined as the efficiency of
converting solar heat to the steam production, is used to quantify the
performance of FW evaporators (SI). Notably as shown in Fig. 4b, the
efficiency of carbonized pasta is as high as 84.1% under the illumina-
tion of 1 kW/m2, far in excess of all the rest FWs. The evaporation
process with FW was then tested by increasing light intensity (Fig. S4).
Surprisingly, the 4-sun efficiency of pasta was even higher than 90%,
suggesting that the wasted pasta can be particularly suitable for solar
desalination with light concentration. In case of salt blockage and re-
duction in evaporation rate arising therefrom, we verified the self-sus-
tainability of each FW evaporator through a cycling test in saline water
(salinity: 3.5 wt%). After 5 continuous cycles (each lasting for 1 h)
under light, no significant reduction in efficiency was observed (Fig.
S5); the average efficiency over the various cycles for each FW did not
show any noticeable reduction (Fig. 4c) and no salt clogging was ob-
served, which can be explained by the prompt self-regeneration of the
Y. Zhang, et al. Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006

Fig. 3. Characterizations of carbonaceous FW as efficient steam generator and its capability of solar heat localization. (a) FTIR and (b) XPS spectra of the FWs after
carbonization. (c) High resolution XPS spectra. (d) Hydrophilicity test of the carbonaceous FWs. (e) Infrared images of FW-based solar evaporators under 1 sun
illumination.

FW-based evaporators due to their unique natural structure as shown in
Fig. 4d [42]. Particularly, the special architecture of lotus root drew our
attention. The rhizome holes as shown in Fig. 4e though reduce the
effective light-absorbing area, as salt-exchange channels they enable
the whole evaporation system free from salt accumulation and clogging
[55]. Additionally, if taking only the effective area into account, the
final evaporation rate of lotus root would be 1.3341 kg m−2h−1, com-
parable to pasta and rice.
More tests were carried out under the actual sunlight. We set up a
simultaneous steam generation and water harvesting device (Fig. 4f) for
practical evaluation of water extraction with FW evaporators from ar-
tificial seawater. The field tests were conducted separately on a cloudy
and a sunny day, with the respective solar fluxes recorded in Fig. S6.
The gap of solar irradiance between the cloudy and sunny day induced
distinct water yields from different FWs. As shown in Fig. 4f, except for
potato, all the other FWs as well as the seawater produced nearly half

Fig. 4. FW-based steam generation for solar desalination. (a) Mass change of steam generation system under 1 sun illumination. (b) Evaporation rate and corre-
sponding solar conversion efficiency. (c) Average conversion efficiency throughout 5 incessant tests using seawater (3.5 wt%). (d) Schematic illustrating the self-
regenerating property of pasta and lotus root in steam generation. (e) Detailed information of the surface area of lotus root. (f) Practical water yields from FW-based
evaporators on cloudy and sunny day. The inset is a photo of the setup used for outdoor tests. (g) Element analysis and (h) salinity of artificial seawater and water
samples after desalination. BP: banana peel; LR: lotus root; SW: seawater.

4
Y. Zhang, et al.
more water on sunny day than cloudy day, which was in good agree-
ment with the corresponding solar flux. The highest yield was from
pasta (1444.44 ml m−2h−1 on a sunny day and 888.89 on a cloudy
day), while the rice, banana peel and lotus root could also produce
similar quantity of water. It is hence concluded that even on a cloudy
day, 1 square meter of FW evaporators is perfectly possible to satisfy
one human's daily water consumption. Interestingly, we found that the
outdoor conditions with solar intensity far below the laboratory con-
dition of 1 kW/m2 didn't give rise to any decrease in steam generation.
To our knowledge, this is probably due to a complex interaction be-
tween environmental heat and greenhouse effect. In spite of the con-
tribution from greenhouse gas effect [56], it is strongly suspected the
outdoor evaporation tests were greatly affected by surroundings [57].
The environmental thermal energy including heat in the air and ground
surficial heat can most likely enhance the evaporation process, not only
by supplying with extra heat to the evaporator, but also by lowering the
overall sensible heat demanded for following phase change via in-
creasing the temperature of bulk water. Element analysis on the har-
vested water has proven that water extracted by FW evaporators was
extremely pure (Fig. 4g). This result was also corroborated by con-
ductivity tests (Fig. S7). The overall salinity of the purified water ob-
tained from FW-based evaporators was significantly lower than the
standard stated by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking
water (1‰), suggesting that the collected water is ready for human
drinking (Fig. 4h) [58], which was further supported by the supple-
mentary evidence of the extremely high salt rejections of sodium in the
collected water as shown in Fig. S8.
2.3. Wave-resistant prototype
To enable instant water purification on sea surface, a wave-resistant
floating prototype was designed and built up as illustrated in Fig. 5a.
The prototype is composed of three essential components: the trans-
parent plastic cap for sunlight penetration and steam condensation, the
styrofoam body to carry FW materials and maintain balance, and ad-
ditional 4 bottles beneath it for water collection and extra buoyant
force. A more concise side-view illustration is given in Fig. 5b: the
evaporated water from FWs condenses on the condenser cap and flows
down to bottles under the sea level. Besides, the bottles also act as cold
end in this system that can facilitate water condensation via enhanced
heat exchange with the seawater surrounding them. In the hollow
center of the styrofoam where FWs would be loaded, an absorbent pad
was placed underneath to separate seawater and the FWs (Fig. 5c(i)).
More importantly, this mat was able to prevent FWs from being com-
pletely submerged in seawater and weaken the impact from waves
(Fig. 5c(ii)), thus making the system minimize heat loss to the bulk
water. We have carried out systematic evaluation on the prototype with
a similar configuration of setup (Fig. S9). Under 1-sun illumination, a
stable evaporation rate of ~1.3 kg m−2h−1 was achieved over a con-
tinuous 10-h evaporation process, very close to the previous result (i.e.
5
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
~1.35 kg m−2h−1). More than one hundred pastas were carbonized
and integrated with the prototype for scale-up demonstrations (Fig. 5d).
Fig. 5e shows representative photos of effective water droplet con-
densation and streaming of the converged droplets on the transparent
cap during the water harvesting process with pasta. We further tested
this floating solar still on an ocean (West Coast, Singapore). As de-
monstrated in Fig. 5f and the related video (SI), the solar desalination
prototype is able to steadily float on sea surface and successfully hold its
balance in the waves. This wave-resistant feature will hopefully en-
hance its practical feasibility to another level, especially when oper-
ating in the face of harsh environment with inevitable disturbance.
2.4. Steam-TE generation
Interestingly, it is noted that when the solar interfacial evaporator is
operating on water surface, a temperature difference between the hot
solar irradiated surface and the underneath cold bulk water was
spontaneously established. Such a temperature difference allows the
system to generate thermoelectricity simultaneously along with the
steam generation. Hence, a TE module was integrated for the desired
purpose, and the whole system is noted as TE-Steam generator. As
shown in Fig. 6a, a TE module is deployed on a supporting sponge to
make the device steadily float on water surface, and the water-bearing
sponge that is able to draw the water up to the TE module plays the role
of creating a cold end for TE generation. The top side of the TE device
was carpeted by a layer of grinded FW biochar powder to create the hot
end by localizing solar heat. The water supply for steam generation can
be achieved by bridging the biochar carpet and the bulk water with
bibulous material such as filter paper. In doing so, a temperature dif-
ference of ~8 °C was established under 1 sun irradiation. The induced
open-circuit voltage (Voc) was about 95 mV, but the short-circuit cur-
rent (Isc) was as high as 17 mA, by contrast, the Voc and Isc were merely
21 mV and 3 mA in the control measurements (only the TE module)
(Fig. 6b and c). It was also observed that the top surface temperature of
the TE-Steam generator was ~33 °C, nearly 8 °C lower than a steam
generator without TE generation (Fig. S10), suggesting a part of the
harvested solar heat was transferred to the TE module for electricity
generation. It is also noteworthy that the reduced surface temperature
minimized the heat loss to the surroundings. As calculated, the radia-
tive loss and convection loss of the TE-Steam generation system was
respectively mitigated by 62.3% and 60% comparing to regular eva-
porator. In the meantime, the evaporation rate of TE-Steam generator
was slightly lower (~1.26 kg m−2h−1, ~81% efficiency), compared to
a similar configuration without TE, which was ~1.36 kg m−2h−1 (Fig.
S10). To estimate the theoretically maximum power output of the TE-
Steam generator, an external resistor with a resistance (5Ω) close to the
internal resistance of TE module (3.6 Ω) was connected and the results
have been presented in Fig. 6d. The power output of the TE-Steam
generator under 1-sun, which was about 0.36 mW for each 3 × 3 cm TE
unit, was nearly 14 times that of the control tests using TE only
Fig. 5. Design and demonstration of a floating
wave-resistant solar still prototype with FW
evaporators. (a) 3D schematic and (b) side-view
illustration of the solar still prototype archi-
tecture. (c) A water-absorbent mat pad (i) is
employed to carry FW (ii). (d) More than one
hundred pastas were carbonized and deployed
on a 20 cm × 20 cm separator. (e)
Representative physical photos showing (i)
water condensation and (ii) streaming of the
condensed droplets (f) On-site test on sea surface
with the as-designed prototype showing the
“wave-resistant” ability.
Y. Zhang, et al.
Fig. 6. Simultaneous solar steam-TE power generation. (a) 3D schematic diagram of simultaneous steam and TE generation, and a physical picture of the experi-
mental setup. (b) Open-circuit voltage and (c) short-circuit current of the TE-Steam generator in response to 1-sun irradiation. Only a TE module (without solar
evaporator) was used in the control experiments. (d) Power output evaluation of the as-designed TE-Steam generator by connecting with an external 5-Ω resistor. The
final power fluctuated at ~0.36 mW based on a 3 × 3 cm TE module.
(0.026 mW). If the proposed system could be implemented in large
scale, the output of 0.4 W m−2 would be readily realized. The combi-
nation of simultaneous steam generation and electric power production
is rare in this field, and in most cases, the electricity output is rather low
as a result of the strategy that is selected [27,59]. By contrast, our offer
is one of the highest so far (Fig. S11). Such a combination is of practical
significance by offering a feasible solution in tackling the major global
issues like energy crisis and water shortage.
3. Conclusion
In conclusion, with 1.3 billion tons of food perpetually being wasted
every year, effectually reusing FW with less GHG emission is deemed of
great significance for the sustainable development of mankind. In this
study, we have put forth a brand-new solution for FW valorization,
which turns FW into versatile carbonaceous materials by a simple
thermal treatment. Besides aiding in mitigation of carbon emission, this
approach also adds value in economically and environmentally re-
warding applications like solar desalination and thermoelectric power
generation. Considering the low cost and the high surplus of FWs, the
FW-based solar desalination devices can undoubtedly serve as a sus-
tainable route for large-scale clean water extraction and simultaneous
electricity generation from ocean. A self-contained wave-resistant
floating prototype of solar still was built up to demonstrate a steady
desalination process on sea surface. As such, we suppose that if one
day's potato wastage (5.8 million) in UK can be recycled for solar de-
salination, the carbonization process is predicted to generate approxi-
mately 400 tons less CO2 than incineration, the clean water production
from potatoes in one day is sufficient to satisfy 250 thousand people's
daily drinking water demand (Fig. S12). The concept introduced in this
article not only convert the waste into useful materials and devices, but
6
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
also offers a feasible and sustainable solution for global issues like FW
management and water shortage.
Declaration of interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by MOE AcRF Tier 1 (R-284-000-184-
114). Y.Z. acknowledges the financial support from China Scholarship
Council (CSC).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104006.
References
[1] UN, Population Division, World population prospects: the 2017 revision, key
findings and advance tables, https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/
WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf, (2017).
[2] H.C.J. Godfray, J.R. Beddington, I.R. Crute, L. Haddad, D. Lawrence, J.F. Muir,
J. Pretty, S. Robinson, S.M. Thomas, C. Toulmin, Food security: the challenge of
feeding 9 billion people, Science 327 (2010) 812–818 https://science.sciencemag.
org/content/327/5967/812.
[3] J.A. Foley, N. Ramankutty, K.A. Brauman, E.S. Cassidy, J.S. Gerber, M. Johnston,
N.D. Mueller, C. O'Connell, D.K. Ray, P.C. West, C. Balzer, E.M. Bennett,
S.R. Carpenter, J. Hill, C. Monfreda, S. Polasky, J. Rockström, J. Sheehan, S. Siebert,
D. Tilman, D.P.M. Zaks, Solutions for a cultivated planet, Nature 478 (2011)
337–342 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10452.
[4] FAO, Food Wastage Footprint & Climate Change, http://www.fao.org/3/a-bb144e.
pdf, (2015).
Y. Zhang, et al.
[5] P. Smith, P.J. Gregory, Climate change and sustainable food production, Proc. Nutr.
Soc. 72 (2013) 21–28 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665112002832.
[6] FAO, Food Wastage Footprint, Impacts on Natural Resources, (2013) http://www.
fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf.
[7] J. Aschemann-Witzel, Waste not, want not, emit less, Science 352 (2016) 408–409
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6284/408.abstract.
[8] FAO, Food Wastage Footprint, Full-cost Accounting, (2014) http://www.fao.org/3/
a-i3991e.pdf.
[9] J. Poore, T. Nemecek, Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers
and consumers, Science 360 (2018) 987–992 http://science.sciencemag.org/
content/360/6392/987.abstract.
[10] J. Parfitt, M. Barthel, S. Macnaughton, Food waste within food supply chains:
quantification and potential for change to 2050, Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. B 365
(2010) 3065–3081 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0126.
[11] K.M. Kibler, D. Reinhart, C. Hawkins, A.M. Motlagh, J. Wright, Food waste and the
food-energy-water nexus: a review of food waste management alternatives, Waste
Manag. 74 (2018) 52–62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2018.01.014.
[12] United Nations Environment Programme, Global Waste Management Outlook,
(2015) https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/global-waste-
management-outlook.
[13] M.B. Cole, M.A. Augustin, M.J. Robertson, J.M. Manners, The science of food se-
curity, npj Sci. Food 2 (2018) 14 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-018-0021-9.
[14] C.S.K. Lin, L.A. Pfaltzgraff, L. Herrero-Davila, E.B. Mubofu, S. Abderrahim,
J.H. Clark, A.A. Koutinas, N. Kopsahelis, K. Stamatelatou, F. Dickson,
S. Thankappan, Z. Mohamed, R. Brocklesby, R. Luque, Food waste as a valuable
resource for the production of chemicals, materials and fuels. Current situation and
global perspective, Energy Environ. Sci. 6 (2013) 426–464 https://doi.org/10.
1039/C2EE23440H.
[15] S.O. Obare, R. Luque, Green Technologies for the Environment, American Chemical
Society, Washington, 2014.
[16] C.M. Galanakis, Sustainable Food Systems from Agriculture to Industry: Improving
Production and Processing, Academic Press, Cambridge, 2018.
[17] E.K. H.J.z. Ermgassen, A. Balmford, R. Salemdeeb, Reduce, relegalize, and recycle
food waste, Science 352 (2016) 1526 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/
6293/1526.1.abstract.
[18] E. Imbert, Food waste valorization options: opportunities from the bioeconomy,
Open Agric. 2 (2017) 195–204 https://doi.org/10.1515/opag-2017-0020.
[19] E. Papargyropoulou, R. Lozano, J.K. Steinberger, N. Wright, Z.b. Ujang, The food
waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food
waste, J. Clean. Prod. 76 (2014) 106–115 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/
article/pii/S0959652614003680.
[20] World Bank, What a waste: a global review of solid waste management, http://hdl.
handle.net/10986/17388, (2012).
[21] Worlds Biogas Association, Global food waste management: an implementation
guide for cities, http://www.worldbiogasassociation.org/food-waste-management-
report/, (2018).
[22] N. Abu Yazid, R. Barrena, D. Komilis, A. Sánchez, Solid-state fermentation as a
novel paradigm for organic waste valorization: a review, Sustainability 9 (2017)
224 https://doi.org/10.3390/su9020224.
[23] D. Pleissner, W.C. Lam, Z. Sun, C.S.K. Lin, Food waste as nutrient source in het-
erotrophic microalgae cultivation, Bioresour. Technol. 137 (2013) 139–146 https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.03.088.
[24] T.P.T. Pham, R. Kaushik, G.K. Parshetti, R. Mahmood, R. Balasubramanian, Food
waste-to-energy conversion technologies: current status and future directions,
Waste Manag. 38 (2015) 399–408 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.12.004.
[25] R.A.D. Arancon, C.S.K. Lin, K.M. Chan, T.H. Kwan, R. Luque, Advances on waste
valorization: new horizons for a more sustainable society, Energy Sci. Eng. 1 (2013)
53–71 https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.9.
[26] Y. Zhang, S.K. Ravi, J.V. Vaghasiya, S.C. Tan, A barbeque-analog route to carbonize
moldy bread for efficient steam generation, iScience 3 (2018) 31–39 https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.isci.2018.04.003.
[27] P. Tao, G. Ni, C. Song, W. Shang, J. Wu, J. Zhu, G. Chen, T. Deng, Solar-driven
interfacial evaporation, Nat. Energy 3 (2018) 1031–1041 https://doi.org/10.1038/
s41560-018-0260-7.
[28] D.K. Nandakumar, Y. Zhang, S.K. Ravi, N. Guo, C. Zhang, S.C. Tan, Solar energy
triggered clean water harvesting from humid air existing above sea surface enabled
by a hydrogel with ultrahigh hygroscopicity, Adv. Mater. 31 (2019) 1806730
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201806730.
[29] S.K. Ravi, T. Wu, V.S. Udayagiri, X.M. Vu, Y. Wang, M.R. Jones, S.C. Tan,
Photosynthetic bioelectronic sensors for touch perception, uv-detection, and na-
nopower generation: toward self-powered e-skins, Adv. Mater. 30 (2018) 1802290
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201802290.
[30] A.K. Jena, A. Kulkarni, T. Miyasaka, Halide perovskite photovoltaics: background,
status, and future prospects, Chem. Rev. 119 (2019) 3036 https://doi.org/10.1021/
acs.chemrev.8b00539.
[31] S.K. Ravi, D.J.K. Swainsbury, V.K. Singh, Y.K. Ngeow, M.R. Jones, S.C. Tan, A
mechanoresponsive phase-changing electrolyte enables fabrication of high-output
solid-state photobioelectrochemical devices from pigment-protein multilayers, Adv.
Mater. 30 (2018) 1704073 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201704073.
[32] J.V. Vaghasiya, K.K. Sonigara, L. Suresh, M. Panahandeh-Fard, S.S. Soni, S.C. Tan,
Efficient power generating devices utilizing low intensity indoor lights via non-
radiative energy transfer mechanism from organic ionic redox couples, Nano
Energy 60 (2019) 457 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S2211285519302812.
[33] S.K. Ravi, W. Sun, D.K. Nandakumar, Y. Zhang, S.C. Tan, Optical manipulation of
work function contrasts on metal thin films, Sci. Adv. 4 (2018) eaao6050 http://
7
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/3/eaao6050.abstract.
[34] M. Kaur, S. Ishii, S.L. Shinde, T. Nagao, All-ceramic solar-driven water purifier
based on anodized aluminum oxide and plasmonic titanium nitride, Adv. Sustain.
Syst. 3 (2019) 1800112 https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.201800112.
[35] M. Zhu, Y. Li, F. Chen, X. Zhu, J. Dai, Y. Li, Z. Yang, X. Yan, J. Song, Y. Wang,
E. Hitz, W. Luo, M. Lu, B. Yang, L. Hu, Plasmonic wood for high-efficiency solar
steam generation, Adv. Energy Mater. 8 (2017) 1701028 https://doi.org/10.1002/
aenm.201701028.
[36] H. Liu, X. Zhang, Z. Hong, Z. Pu, Q. Yao, J. Shi, G. Yang, B. Mi, B. Yang, X. Liu,
H. Jiang, X. Hu, A bioinspired capillary-driven pump for solar vapor generation,
Nano Energy 42 (2017) 115–121 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.10.039.
[37] J. Wang, Y. Li, L. Deng, N. Wei, Y. Weng, S. Dong, D. Qi, J. Qiu, X. Chen, T. Wu,
High-performance photothermal conversion of narrow-bandgap ti2o3 nano-
particles, Adv. Mater. 29 (2017) 1603730 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.
201603730.
[38] G. Liu, J. Xu, K. Wang, Solar water evaporation by black photothermal sheets, Nano
Energy 41 (2017) 269–284 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.09.005.
[39] Y. Li, T. Gao, Z. Yang, C. Chen, Y. Kuang, J. Song, C. Jia, E.M. Hitz, B. Yang, L. Hu,
Graphene oxide-based evaporator with one-dimensional water transport enabling
high-efficiency solar desalination, Nano Energy 41 (2017) 201–209 https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.09.034.
[40] L. Zhu, L. Sun, H. Zhang, D. Yu, H. Aslan, J. Zhao, Z. Li, M. Yu, F. Besenbacher,
Y. Sun, Dual-phase molybdenum nitride nanorambutans for solar steam generation
under one sun illumination, Nano Energy 57 (2019) 842–850 https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.nanoen.2018.12.058.
[41] Y. Wang, H. Liu, C. Chen, Y. Kuang, J. Song, H. Xie, C. Jia, S. Kronthal, X. Xu, S. He,
L. Hu, All natural, high efficient groundwater extraction via solar steam/vapor
generation, Adv. Sustain. Syst. 3 (2019) 1800055 https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.
201800055.
[42] N. Xu, X. Hu, W. Xu, X. Li, L. Zhou, S. Zhu, J. Zhu, Mushrooms as efficient solar
steam-generation devices, Adv. Mater. 29 (2017) 1606762 https://doi.org/10.
1002/adma.201606762.
[43] Z. Li, C. Wang, T. Lei, H. Ma, J. Su, S. Ling, W. Wang, Arched bamboo charcoal as
interfacial solar steam generation integrative device with enhanced water pur-
ification capacity, Adv. Sustain. Syst. 3 (2019) 1800144 https://doi.org/10.1002/
adsu.201800144.
[44] F. Gong, H. Li, W. Wang, J. Huang, D. Xia, J. Liao, M. Wu, D.V. Papavassiliou,
Scalable, eco-friendly and ultrafast solar steam generators based on one-step mel-
amine-derived carbon sponges toward water purification, Nano Energy 58 (2019)
322–330 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.01.044.
[45] C. Wang, Y. Wang, X. Song, M. Huang, H. Jiang, A facile and general strategy to
deposit polypyrrole on various substrates for efficient solar-driven evaporation,
Adv. Sustain. Syst. 3 (2019) 1800108 https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.201800108.
[46] P. Mu, Z. Zhang, W. Bai, J. He, H. Sun, Z. Zhu, W. Liang, A. Li, Superwetting
monolithic hollow-carbon-nanotubes aerogels with hierarchically nanoporous
structure for efficient solar steam generation, Adv. Energy Mater. 9 (2019) 1802158
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201802158.
[47] Z. Li, C. Wang, J. Su, S. Ling, W. Wang, M. An, Fast-growing field of interfacial solar
steam generation: evolutional materials, engineered architectures, and synergistic
applications, Sol. RRL 3 (2019) 1800206 https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.201800206.
[48] X. Wu, M.E. Robson, J.L. Phelps, J.S. Tan, B. Shao, G. Owens, H. Xu, A flexible
photothermal cotton-cus nanocage-agarose aerogel towards portable solar steam
generation, Nano Energy 56 (2019) 708–715 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.
2018.12.008.
[49] Y. Shi, R. Li, Y. Jin, S. Zhuo, L. Shi, J. Chang, S. Hong, K.-C. Ng, P. Wang, A 3d
photothermal structure toward improved energy efficiency in solar steam genera-
tion, Joule 2 (2018) 1171–1186 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.03.013.
[50] FAO, Food Wastage Footprint, Impacts on Natural Resources-Technical Report,
(2013) http://www.fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf.
[51] U.S. Department of Energy, Methodology for Allocating Municipal Solid Waste to
Biogenic and Non-biogenic Energy, (2007) https://www.eia.gov/renewable/
renewables/msw.pdf.
[52] IPCC, 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, (2006)
https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl.
[53] WRAP, Household Food Waste: Restated Data for 2007-2015, (2018) http://www.
wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Household%20food%20waste%20restated%20data
%202007-2015.pdf.
[54] Y. Zhang, S.K. Ravi, S.C. Tan, Systematic study of the effects of system geometry
and ambient conditions on solar steam generation for evaporation optimization,
Adv. Sustain. Syst. 3 (2019) 1900044 https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.201900044.
[55] Y. Kuang, C. Chen, S. He, E.M. Hitz, Y. Wang, W. Gan, R. Mi, L. Hu, A high-per-
formance self-regenerating solar evaporator for continuous water desalination, Adv.
Mater. 31 (2019) 1900498 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201900498.
[56] Y. Zhang, M. Sivakumar, S. Yang, K. Enever, M. Ramezanianpour, Application of
solar energy in water treatment processes: a review, Desalination 428 (2018)
116–145 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.11.020.
[57] X. Li, J. Li, J. Lu, N. Xu, C. Chen, X. Min, B. Zhu, H. Li, L. Zhou, S. Zhu, T. Zhang,
J. Zhu, Enhancement of interfacial solar vapor generation by environmental energy,
Joule 2 (2018) 1331–1338 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.04.004.
[58] WHO, Safe Drinking-Water from Desalination, (2011) https://www.who.int/water_
sanitation_health/publications/2011/desalination_guidance_en.pdf.
[59] M. Gao, L. Zhu, C.K. Peh, G.W. Ho, Solar absorber material and system designs for
photothermal water vaporization towards clean water and energy production,
Energy Environ. Sci. 12 (2019) 841–864 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EE01146J.
Y. Zhang, et al.
Mr. Yaoxin Zhang received his Bachelor in Materials
Science and Engineering from Shandong University.
Currently he is a Ph.D. student in National University of
Singapore under the supervision of Prof. Swee Ching Tan.
His research interests focus on photothermal materials and
systems for efficient solar water purification.
Dr. Sai Kishore Ravi received his Bachelors in Materials
Science & Engineering at College of Engineering Guindy
(CEG), India. He completed his Ph.D. at National University
of Singapore (NUS) where he worked on biohybrid photo-
electrochemical cells, bio-capacitors and tactile sensors. His
research interests include semi-artificial photosynthesis and
bio-optoelectronics.
Nano Energy 65 (2019) 104006
Prof. Swee Ching Tan received his Bachelor in Physics
from the National University of Singapore. He received his
Ph.D. from the Electrical Engineering Department at the
University of Cambridge. His Ph.D. work was to use pho-
tosynthetic proteins as light absorbing materials for solar
cells under the supervision of Prof. Sir Mark Welland. After
getting his Ph.D. in 2010, Dr. Tan then moved to the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT to
become a postdoctoral associate working on nano-electro-
nics. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the
National University of Singapore.