https://english.news.cn/20250731/2d2ef4f841fd410cb6c785816e2eb4eb/c.html

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/mh/d5mh00377f

A research team from Wuhan University has developed an eco-friendly and low-cost desalter that does not discharge high-salinity wastewater. The method holds promise for large-scale application.

In China, some 360,000 square kilometers of land suffer from varying degrees of salinization. A team led from Wuhan University has used filter paper, straws and plastic mulch film to make a desalter. The researchers inserted straws wrapped with filter paper into saline-alkali soil covered with black mulch film, using the film as a photothermal layer and the straws as an evaporation layer. Sunlight converted by the mulch film into 10-μm infrared radiation, powered the desalter’s operation resulting in solid NaCl.

During a field test, per-gram soil salinity decreased from 11.04 mg to 0.95 mg, a remarkable 93 percent reduction. It reached comparable remediation effect to freshwater treatment while fully meeting wheat growth requirements. Salt crystals were also observed on the straw surfaces, demonstrating successful salt extraction from the soil, according to the study.