An interfacial solar evaporation enabled autonomous double-layered vertical floating solar sea farm

Abstract

Water, energy, and food security are the three most critical elements for achieving the 2030 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. While much effort has been focused on the development of interfacial solar evaporation technology for seawater desalination, limited effort has been directed towards potential sustainable agricultural applications. This work addresses this gap by developing a self-sustaining and solar-driven offshore double-layered sea farm system to address growing global shortages in clean water, agricultural land resources and food supply. During a long-term field test, this unique design was used to successfully germinate and grow, with a survival rate of 80%, three common vegetable crops (broccoli, lettuce, and Pac Choi) on seawater surfaces without maintenance nor additional clean water irrigation. Thus, this design could potentially make a significant contribution to sustainable agriculture production in the seawater-energy-food nexus.