Hybrid bipolar membrane electrodialysis/ultrafiltration technology assisted by a pulsed electric field for casein production

Ecofriendly EDBM-UF-PEF technology demonstrates good performance in the isoelectric casein precipitation process due to elimination of EDBM stack clogging and a decrease in membrane scaling.

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Positive Impact of Pulsed Electric Field on Lactic Acid Removal, Demineralization and Membrane Scaling during Acid Whey Electrodialysis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20040797 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 797 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Guillaume Dufton ◽

Sergey Mikhaylin ◽

Sami Gaaloul ◽

Laurent Bazinet

Keyword(s):

Lactic Acid ◽

Electric Field ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Pulsed Electric Field ◽

Relative Energy ◽

Limiting Current ◽

Membrane Scaling ◽

Acid Whey ◽

Dc Current ◽

First Time

The drying of acid whey is hindered by its high mineral and organic acid contents, and their removal is performed industrially through expensive and environmentally impacting serial processes. Previous works demonstrated the ability to remove these elements by electrodialysis alone but with a major concern—membrane scaling. In this study, two conditions of pulsed electric field (PEF) were tested and compared to conventional DC current condition to evaluate the potential of PEF to mitigate membrane scaling and to affect lactic acid and salt removals. The application of a PEF 25 s/25 s pulse/pause combination at an initial under-limiting current density allowed for decreasing the amount of scaling, the final system electrical resistance by 32%, and the relative energy consumption up to 33%. The use of pulsed current also enabled better lactic acid removal than the DC condition by 10% and 16% for PEF 50 s/10 s and 25 s/25 s, respectively. These results would be due to two mechanisms: (1) the mitigation of concentration polarization phenomenon and (2) the rinsing of the membranes during the pause periods. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first time that PEF current conditions were used on acid whey to both demineralize and deacidify it.

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Impacts of Flow Rate and Pulsed Electric Field Current Mode on Protein Fouling Formation during Bipolar Membrane Electroacidification of Skim Milk

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes10090200 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 200

Author(s):

Vladlen S. Nichka ◽

Thibaud R. Geoffroy ◽

Victor Nikonenko ◽

Laurent Bazinet

Keyword(s):

Reynolds Number ◽

Electric Field ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Skim Milk ◽

Current Mode ◽

Pulsed Electric Field ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Solution Flow ◽

Bipolar Membranes ◽

Protein Fouling

Fouling is one of the major problems in electrodialysis. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of five different solution flow rates (corresponding to Reynolds numbers of 162, 242, 323, 404 and 485) combined with the use of pulsed electric field (PEF) current mode on protein fouling of bipolar membrane (BPM) during electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) of skim milk. The application of PEF prevented the fouling formation by proteins on the cationic interface of the BPM almost completely, regardless of the flow rate or Reynolds number. Indeed, under PEF mode of current the weight of protein fouling was negligible in comparison with CC current mode (0.07 ± 0.08 mg/cm2 versus 5.56 ± 2.40 mg/cm2). When a continuous current (CC) mode was applied, Reynolds number equals or higher than 323 corresponded to a minimal value of protein fouling of BPM. This positive effect of both increasing the flow rate and using PEF is due to the facts that during pauses, the solution flow flushes the accumulated protein from the membrane while in the same time there is a decrease in concentration polarization (CP) and consequently decrease in H+ generation at the cationic interface of the BPM, minimizing fouling formation and accumulation.

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Mitigation of membrane scaling in electrodialysis by electroconvection enhancement, pH adjustment and pulsed electric field application

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2017.12.005 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 549 ◽

pp. 129-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

M.A. Andreeva ◽

V.V. Gil ◽

N.D. Pismenskaya ◽

L. Dammak ◽

N.A. Kononenko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electric Field ◽

Pulsed Electric Field ◽

Field Application ◽

Ph Adjustment ◽

Membrane Scaling

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Electrochemical acidification of Kraft black liquor: Impacts of pulsed electric field application on bipolar membrane colloidal fouling and process intensification

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2016.10.043 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 524 ◽

pp. 482-492 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Maryam Haddad ◽

Laurent Bazinet ◽

Oumarou Savadogo ◽

Jean Paris

Keyword(s):

Electric Field ◽

Black Liquor ◽

Process Intensification ◽

Pulsed Electric Field ◽

Field Application ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Kraft Black Liquor ◽

Colloidal Fouling

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Fouling Mitigation by Optimizing Flow Rate and Pulsed Electric Field during Bipolar Membrane Electroacidification of Caseinate Solution

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11070534 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 534

Author(s):

Vladlen S. Nichka ◽

Victor V. Nikonenko ◽

Laurent Bazinet

Keyword(s):

Electric Field ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Current Density ◽

Pulsed Electric Field ◽

Pause Duration ◽

High Flow ◽

Constant Current ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Bipolar Membranes ◽

Protein Fouling

The efficiency of separation processes using ion exchange membranes (IEMs), especially in the food industry, is significantly limited by the fouling phenomenon, which is the process of the attachment and growth of certain species on the surface and inside the membrane. Pulsed electric field (PEF) mode, which consists in the application of constant current density pulses during a fixed time (Ton) alternated with pause lapses (Toff), has a positive antifouling impact. The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of three different relatively high flow rates of feed solution (corresponding to Reynolds numbers of 187, 374 and 560) and various pulse–pause ratios of PEF current regime on protein fouling kinetics during electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) of a model caseinate solution. Four different pulse/pause regimes (with Ton/Toff ratios equal to 10 s/10 s, 10 s/20 s, 10 s/33 s and 10 s/50 s) during electrodialysis (ED) treatment were evaluated at a current density of 5 mA/cm2. It was found that increasing the pause duration and caseinate solution flow rate had a positive impact on the minimization of protein fouling occurring on the cationic surface of the bipolar membrane (BPM) during the EDBM. Both a long pause and high flow rate contribute to a more effective decrease in the concentration of protons and caseinate anions at the BPM surface: a very good membrane performance was achieved with 50 s of pause duration of PEF and a flow rate corresponding to Re = 374. A further increase in PEF pause duration (above 50 s) or flow rate (above Re = 374) did not lead to a significant decrease in the amount of fouling.

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