Application and Analysis of Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis for LiOH Production at High Electrolyte Concentrations: Current Scope and Challenges

The objective of this work was to evaluate obtaining LiOH directly from brines with high LiCl concentrations using bipolar membrane electrodialysis by the analysis of Li+ ion transport phenomena. For this purpose, Neosepta BP and Fumasep FBM bipolar membranes were characterized by linear sweep voltammetry, and the Li+ transport number in cation-exchange membranes was determined. In addition, a laboratory-scale reactor was designed, constructed, and tested to develop experimental LiOH production tests. The selected LiCl concentration range, based on productive process concentrations for Salar de Atacama (Chile), was between 14 and 34 wt%. Concentration and current density effects on LiOH production, current efficiency, and specific electricity consumption were evaluated. The highest current efficiency obtained was 0.77 at initial concentrations of LiOH 0.5 wt% and LiCl 14 wt%. On the other hand, a concentrated LiOH solution (between 3.34 wt% and 4.35 wt%, with a solution purity between 96.0% and 95.4%, respectively) was obtained. The results of this work show the feasibility of LiOH production from concentrated brines by means of bipolar membrane electrodialysis, bringing the implementation of this technology closer to LiOH production on a larger scale. Moreover, being an electrochemical process, this could be driven by Solar PV, taking advantage of the high solar radiation conditions in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

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Cationic balance and current efficiency of a three-compartment bipolar membrane electrodialysis system during the preparation of chitosan oligomers

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2009.05.028 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 341 (1-2) ◽

pp. 46-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Fabrice Lin Teng Shee ◽

Laurent Bazinet

Keyword(s):

Current Efficiency ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis

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Enhancement of the current efficiency for sodium hydroxide production from sodium sulphate in a two-compartment bipolar membrane electrodialysis system

Separation and Purification Technology ◽

10.1016/s1383-5866(97)00018-x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 159-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

M. Paleologou ◽

A. Thibault ◽

P.-Y. Wong ◽

R. Thompson ◽

R.M. Berry

Keyword(s):

Current Efficiency ◽

Sodium Hydroxide ◽

Sodium Sulphate ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis

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Low-waste fermentation-derived organic acid production by bipolar membrane electrodialysis—an overview

Chemical Papers ◽

10.1007/s11696-021-01720-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Éva Hülber-Beyer ◽

Katalin Bélafi-Bakó ◽

Nándor Nemestóthy

Keyword(s):

Organic Acid ◽

Acid Production ◽

Free Acid ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Fermentation Broth ◽

Water Dissociation ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Organic Acid Production ◽

Bipolar Membranes ◽

Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis

AbstractOrganic acids, e.g, citric acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, pyruvic acid and succinic acid, have important role in the food industry and are potential raw materials for the sustainable chemical industry. Their fermentative production based on renewable raw materials requires innovatively designed downstream processing to maintain low environmental impact and resource efficiency throughout the production process. The application of bipolar membranes offers clean and effective way to generate hydrogen ions required for free acid production from its salt. The water dissociation reaction inside the bipolar membrane triggered by electric field plays key role in providing hydrogen ion for the replacement of the cations in organic acid salts. Combined with monopolar ion-exchange membranes in a bipolar membrane electrodialysis process, material flow can be separated beside the product stream into additional reusable streams, thus minimizing the waste generation. This paper focuses on bipolar membrane electrodialysis applied for organic acid recovery from fermentation broth.

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Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis for Sulfate Recycling in the Metallurgical Industries

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11090718 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 718

Author(s):

Kuldeep ◽

Wouter Dirk Badenhorst ◽

Pertti Kauranen ◽

Heikki Pajari ◽

Ronja Ruismäki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ion Exchange ◽

Current Efficiency ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

Effect Of Temperature ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Cobalt Sulfate ◽

Payback Time ◽

Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis ◽

Waste Effluents

Demand for nickel and cobalt sulfate is expected to increase due to the rapidly growing Li-battery industry needed for the electrification of automobiles. This has led to an increase in the production of sodium sulfate as a waste effluent that needs to be processed to meet discharge guidelines. Using bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPED), acids and bases can be effectively produced from corresponding salts found in these waste effluents. However, the efficiency and environmental sustainability of the overall BPED process depends upon several factors, including the properties of the ion exchange membranes employed, effluent type, and temperature which affects the viscosity and conductivity of feed effluent, and the overpotentials. This work focuses on the recycling of Na2SO4 rich waste effluent, through a feed and bleed BPED process. A high ion-exchange capacity and ionic conductivity with excellent stability up to 41 °C is observed during the proposed BPED process, with this temperature increase also leading to improved current efficiency. Five and ten repeating units were tested to determine the effect on BPED stack performance, as well as the effect of temperature and current density on the stack voltage and current efficiency. Furthermore, the concentration and maximum purity (>96.5%) of the products were determined. Using the experimental data, both the capital expense (CAPEX) and operating expense (OPEX) for a theoretical plant capacity of 100 m3 h−1 of Na2SO4 at 110 g L−1 was calculated, yielding CAPEX values of 20 M EUR, and OPEX at 14.2 M EUR/year with a payback time of 11 years, however, the payback time is sensitive to chemical and electricity prices.

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Energy Use of Flux Salt Recovery Using Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis for a CO2 Mineralisation Process

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e21040395 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 395 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Koivisto ◽

Zevenhoven

Keyword(s):

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Use ◽

Aqueous Ammonia ◽

Mineral Carbonation ◽

Bipolar Membrane ◽

Cell Width ◽

Bipolar Membranes ◽

Gas Formation ◽

Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis ◽

Magnesium Silicates

Mineral carbonation routes have been extensively studied for almost two decades at Åbo Akademi University, focusing on the extraction of magnesium from magnesium silicates using ammonium sulfate (AS) and/or ammonium bisulfate (ABS) flux salt followed by carbonation. There is, however, a need for proper recovery and recirculation of chemicals involved. This study focused on the separation of AS, ABS and aqueous ammonia using different setups of bipolar membrane electrodialysis using both synthetic and rock-derived solutions. Bipolar membranes offer the possibility to split water, which in turn makes it possible to regenerate chemicals like acids and bases needed in mineral carbonation without excess gas formation. Tests were run in batch, continuous, and recirculating mode, and exergy (electricity) input during the tests was calculated. The results show that separation of ions was achieved, even if the solutions obtained were still too weak for use in the downstream process to control pH. Energy demand for separating 1 kg of NH4+ varied in the range 1.7, 3.4, 302 and 340 MJ/kg NH4+, depending on setup chosen. More work must hence be done in order to make the separation more efficient, such as narrowing the cell width.

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