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ElectrodialysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Electrodialysis
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Electrodialysis(ED)isusedtotransportsaltionsfrom
onesolutionthroughionexchangemembranesto
anothersolutionundertheinfluenceofanapplied
electricpotentialdifference.Thisisdoneina
configurationcalledanelectrodialysiscell.Thecell
consistsofafeed(diluate)compartmentanda
concentrate(brine)compartmentformedbyananion
exchangemembraneandacationexchangemembrane
placedbetweentwoelectrodes.Inalmostallpractical
electrodialysisprocesses,multipleelectrodialysiscells
arearrangedintoaconfigurationcalledan
electrodialysisstack,withalternatinganionandcation
exchangemembranesformingthemultiple
electrodialysiscells.Electrodialysisprocessesaredifferentcomparedtodistillationtechniquesandother
membranebasedprocesses(suchasreverseosmosis)inthatdissolvedspeciesaremovedawayfromthe
feedstreamratherthanthereverse.Becausethequantityofdissolvedspeciesinthefeedstreamisfarless
thanthatofthefluid,electrodialysisoffersthepracticaladvantageofmuchhigherfeedrecoveryinmany
applications.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Contents
1Method
2Anodeandcathodereactions
3Efficiency
4Applications
5Limitations
6References
7Seealso

Method
Inanelectrodialysisstack,thediluate(D)feedstream,brineorconcentrate(C)stream,andelectrode(E)
streamareallowedtoflowthroughtheappropriatecellcompartmentsformedbytheionexchange
membranes.Undertheinfluenceofanelectricalpotentialdifference,thenegativelychargedions(e.g.,
chloride)inthediluatestreammigratetowardthepositivelychargedanode.Theseionspassthroughthe
positivelychargedanionexchangemembrane,butarepreventedfromfurthermigrationtowardtheanode
bythenegativelychargedcationexchangemembraneandthereforestayintheCstream,whichbecomes
concentratedwiththeanions.Thepositivelychargedspecies(e.g.,sodium)intheDstreammigratetoward
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thenegativelychargedcathodeandpassthroughthenegativelychargedcationexchangemembrane.These
cationsalsostayintheCstream,preventedfromfurthermigrationtowardthecathodebythepositively
chargedanionexchangemembrane.[7]Asaresultoftheanionandcationmigration,electriccurrentflows
betweenthecathodeandanode.Onlyanequalnumberofanionandcationchargeequivalentsare
transferredfromtheDstreamintotheCstreamandsothechargebalanceismaintainedineachstream.The
overallresultoftheelectrodialysisprocessisanionconcentrationincreaseintheconcentratestreamwitha
depletionofionsinthediluatesolutionfeedstreamseevideo(http://www.eetcorp.com/lts/ed2.avi).
TheEstreamistheelectrodestream
thatflowspasteachelectrodeinthe
stack.Thisstreammayconsistofthe
samecompositionasthefeedstream
(e.g.,sodiumchloride)ormaybea
separatesolutioncontainingadifferent
species(e.g.,sodiumsulfate).[5]
Dependingonthestackconfiguration,
anionsandcationsfromtheelectrode
streammaybetransportedintotheC
stream,oranionsandcationsfromtheD
streammaybetransportedintotheE
stream.Ineachcase,thistransportis
necessarytocarrycurrentacrossthe
stackandmaintainelectricallyneutral
stacksolutions.

Anodeandcathode
reactions
Reactionstakeplaceateachelectrode.Atthecathode,[3]
2e+2H2OH2(g)+2OH
whileattheanode,[3]
H2O2H++O2(g)+2eor2ClCl2(g)+2e
Smallamountsofhydrogengasaregeneratedatthecathodeandsmallamountsofeitheroxygenorchlorine
gas(dependingoncompositionoftheEstreamandendionexchangemembranearrangement)attheanode.
ThesegasesaretypicallysubsequentlydissipatedastheEstreameffluentfromeachelectrodecompartment
iscombinedtomaintainaneutralpHanddischargedorrecirculatedtoaseparateEtank.However,some
(e.g.,)(http://www.chennaionline.com/science/Technology/01saltwater.asp)haveproposedcollectionof
hydrogengasforuseinenergyproduction.

Efficiency
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Currentefficiencyisameasureofhoweffectiveionsaretransportedacrosstheionexchangemembranes
foragivenappliedcurrent.Typicallycurrentefficiencies>80%aredesirableincommercialstacksto
minimizeenergyoperatingcosts.Lowcurrentefficienciesindicatewatersplittinginthediluateor
concentratestreams,shuntcurrentsbetweentheelectrodes,orbackdiffusionofionsfromtheconcentrate
tothediluatecouldbeoccurring.
Currentefficiencyiscalculatedaccordingto:[8]

where
=currentutilizationefficiency
=chargeoftheion
=Faradayconstant,96,485Amps/mol
=diluateflowrate,L/s
=diluateEDcellinletconcentration,mol/L
=diluateEDcelloutletconcentration,mol/L
=numberofcellpairs
=current,Amps.
Currentefficiencyisgenerallyafunctionoffeedconcentration.[9]

Applications
Inapplication,electrodialysissystemscanbeoperatedascontinuousproductionorbatchproduction
processes.Inacontinuousprocess,feedispassedthroughasufficientnumberofstacksplacedinseriesto
producethefinaldesiredproductquality.Inbatchprocesses,thediluateand/orconcentratestreamsarere
circulatedthroughtheelectrodialysissystemsuntilthefinalproductorconcentratequalityisachieved.
Electrodialysisisusuallyappliedtodeionizationofaqueoussolutions.However,desaltingofsparingly
conductiveaqueousorganicandorganicsolutionsisalsopossible.Someapplicationsofelectrodialysis
include:[2][4][5][10]
Largescalebrackishandseawaterdesalinationandsaltproduction.
Smallandmediumscaledrinkingwaterproduction(e.g.,towns&villages,construction&military
camps,nitratereduction,hotels&hospitals)
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Waterreuse(e.g.,industriallaundrywastewater,producedwaterfromoil/gasproduction,cooling
towermakeup&blowdown,metalsindustryfluids,washrackwater)
Predemineralization(e.g.,boilermakeup&pretreatment,ultrapurewaterpretreatment,process
waterdesalination,powergeneration,semiconductor,chemicalmanufacturing,foodandbeverage)
Foodprocessing
Agriculturalwater(e.g.,waterforgreenhouses,hydroponics,irrigation,livestock)
Glycoldesalting(e.g.,antifreeze/enginecoolants,capacitorelectrolytefluids,oilandgas
dehydration,conditioningandprocessingsolutions,industrialheattransferfluids,secondarycoolants
fromheating,venting,andairconditioning(HVAC))
GlycerinPurification
Themajorapplicationofelectrodialysishashistoricallybeenthedesalinationofbrackishwaterorseawater
asanalternativetoROforpotablewaterproductionandseawaterconcentrationforsaltproduction
(primarilyinJapan).[4]Innormalpotablewaterproductionwithouttherequirementofhighrecoveries,RO
(ReverseOsmosis)isgenerallybelievedtobemorecosteffectivewhentotaldissolvedsolids(TDS)are
3,000partspermillion(ppm)orgreater,whileelectrodialysisismorecosteffectiveforTDSfeed
concentrationslessthan3,000ppmorwhenhighrecoveriesofthefeedarerequired.
Anotherimportantapplicationforelectrodialysisistheproductionofpurewaterandultrapurewaterby
electrodeionization(EDI).InEDI,thepurifyingcompartmentsandsometimestheconcentrating
compartmentsoftheelectrodialysisstackarefilledwithionexchangeresin.WhenfedwithlowTDSfeed
(e.g.,feedpurifiedbyRO),theproductcanreachveryhighpuritylevels(e.g.,18Mcm).Theion
exchangeresinsacttoretaintheions,allowingthesetobetransportedacrosstheionexchangemembranes.
ThemainusageofEDIsystemsareinelectronics,pharmaceutical,powergeneration,andcoolingtower
applications.

Limitations
Electrodialysishasinherentlimitations,workingbestatremovinglowmolecularweightioniccomponents
fromafeedstream.Noncharged,highermolecularweight,andlessmobileionicspecieswillnottypically
besignificantlyremoved.Also,incontrasttoRO,electrodialysisbecomeslesseconomicalwhenextremely
lowsaltconcentrationsintheproductarerequiredandwithsparinglyconductivefeeds:currentdensity
becomeslimitedandcurrentutilizationefficiencytypicallydecreasesasthefeedsaltconcentration
becomeslower,andwithfewerionsinsolutiontocarrycurrent,bothiontransportandenergyefficiency
greatlydeclines.Consequently,comparativelylargemembraneareasarerequiredtosatisfycapacity
requirementsforlowconcentration(andsparinglyconductive)feedsolutions.Innovativesystems
overcomingtheinherentlimitationsofelectrodialysis(andRO)areavailabletheseintegratedsystemswork
synergistically,witheachsubsystemoperatinginitsoptimalrange,providingtheleastoveralloperating
andcapitalcostsforaparticularapplication.[11]
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AswithRO,electrodialysissystemsrequirefeedpretreatmenttoremovespeciesthatcoat,precipitateonto,
orotherwise"foul"thesurfaceoftheionexchangemembranes.Thisfoulingdecreasestheefficiencyofthe
electrodialysissystem.Speciesofconcernincludecalciumandmagnesiumhardness,suspendedsolids,
silica,andorganiccompounds.Watersofteningcanbeusedtoremovehardness,andmicrometreor
multimediafiltrationcanbeusedtoremovesuspendedsolids.Hardnessinparticularisaconcernsince
scalingcanbuilduponthemembranes.Variouschemicalsarealsoavailabletohelppreventscaling.Also,
electrodialysisreversalsystemsseektominimizescalingbyperiodicallyreversingtheflowsofdiluateand
concentrateandpolarityoftheelectrodes.

References
Listofreferencesandsourcesofadditionalinformation.
1. ^Davis,T.A.,"Electrodialysis",inHandbookofIndustrialMembraneTechnology,M.C.Porter,ed.,Noyes
Publications,NewJersey(1990)
2. ^abStrathmann,H.,"Electrodialysis",inMembraneHandbook,W.S.W.HoandK.K.Sirkar,eds.,Van
NostrandReinhold,NewYork(1992)
3. ^abcMulder,M.,BasicPrinciplesofMembraneTechnology,Kluwer,Dordrecht(1996)
4. ^abcSata,T.,IonExchangeMembranes:Preparation,Characterization,ModificationandApplication,Royal
SocietyofChemistry,London(2004)
5. ^abcStrathmann,H.,IonExchangeMembraneSeparationProcesses,Elsevier,NewYork(2004)
6. ^EDTurningSeawaterintoDrinkingWater(http://cape.uwaterloo.ca/che100projects/sea/ed.html)
7. ^AWWA,ElectrodialysisandElectrodialysisReversal,AmericanWaterWorksAssociation,Denver(1995)
8. ^Shaffer,L.,andMintz,M.,"Electrodialysis"inPrinciplesofDesalination,Spiegler,K.,andLaird,A.,eds.,
2ndEd.,AcademicPress,NewYork(1980)
9. ^CurrentUtilizationEfficiency(http://www.eetcorp.com/lts/graph_HEED1.htm)
10. ^EDSelectedApplications(http://www.eetcorp.com/lts/HEEDsel_app.htm)
11. ^HowHEEPMWorks(http://www.eetcorp.com/heepm/heepmworkcont.htm)

A.A.Zagorodni,IonExchangeMaterials:PropertiesandApplications,Elsevier,Amsterdam,(2006)
(http://www.ionexchange.books.kth.se)Chapter17asimpleintroductiontoelectrodialysisand
descriptionofdifferentelectromembraneprocesses

Seealso
Salinitygradientpower
Waterdesalination
Electrodialysisreversal
ReverseOsmosis
Protonexchangemembrane

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