The familiarity of mature thermal technologies for brine concentration and crystallization is likely to sustain their widespread deployment despite their high capital and operational (i.e., energy) costs relative to emerging non-thermal alternatives. This critical review and analysis evaluates the potential for recent innovations in manufacturing devices for improved heat and mass transfer to demonstrably reduce the lifecycle costs of these thermal desalination technologies. We identify three promising innovation applications, including novel heat transfer geometries enabled by additive manufacturing, emerging surface engineering methods to promote dropwise condensation, and new polymer-/polymer-composite-based heat transfer components. Based on the estimated cost and performance impacts of these material and process modifications, we find that polymer-/polymer-composite-based heat transfer devices have the largest potential to reduce the unit cost of water in the near term. Throughout the review, we also highlight remaining research gaps and unmet technoeconomic targets that would benefit from future investigation and collaboration between the heat transfer and desalination communities.

尽管与新兴的非热能替代品相比，它们的资本和运营（即能源）成本较高，但对盐水浓缩和结晶的成熟热能技术的熟悉程度可能会维持其广泛部署。这项批判性审查和分析评估了制造设备的最新创新潜力，以改善传热和传质，从而显着降低这些热脱盐技术的生命周期成本。我们确定了三种有前景的创新应用，包括通过增材制造实现的新型传热几何形状、促进滴状冷凝的新兴表面工程方法以及基于聚合物/聚合物复合材料的新型传热组件。根据这些材料和工艺修改的估计成本和性能影响，我们发现基于聚合物/聚合物复合材料的传热装置在短期内具有最大的降低水单位成本的潜力。在整个审查过程中，我们还强调了剩余的研究差距和未实现的技术经济目标，这些目标将受益于传热和海水淡化社区之间的未来调查和合作。