Progress of phase change materials in solar water desalination system: A review

Freshwater resources are becoming increasingly scarce. In the context of environmental protection, desalination using solar energy has been one of the most reliable ways to solve the freshwater shortage problem. Solar desalination systems mainly include solar stills and solar interface evaporators, which are driven by solar energy. However, the efficiency of desalination systems is limited by the intermittent and unstable nature of solar radiation. The introduction of phase change materials (PCMs) with latent heat storage capability to overcome the defect has been widely studied. This paper focuses on typical research progress in PCMs integrated solar desalination systems. It analyzes the performance evaluation systems and influence of various factors on the performance of PCMs integrated solar desalination systems. These include the choice of PCMs, the design of the structures and the integration of different systems. Lastly, the challenges faced by integrating PCMs in solar desalination systems are presented, providing references for subsequent researchers.