Electrodialysis Processes an Answer to Industrial Sustainability: Toward the Concept of Eco-Circular Economy?—A Review

Abstract

Wastewater and by-product treatments are substantial issues with consequences for our society, both in terms of environmental impacts and economic losses. With an overall global objective of sustainable development, it is essential to offer eco-efficient and circular solutions. Indeed, one of the major solutions to limit the use of new raw materials and the production of wastes is the transition toward a circular economy. Industries must find ways to close their production loops. Electrodialysis (ED) processes such as conventional ED, selective ED, ED with bipolar membranes, and ED with filtration membranes are processes that have demonstrated, in the past decades and recently, their potential and eco-efficiency. This review presents the most recent valorization opportunities among different industrial sectors (water, food, mining, chemistry, etc.) to manage waste or by-product resources through electrodialysis processes and to improve global industrial sustainability by moving toward circular processes. The limitations of existing studies are raised, especially concerning eco-efficiency. Indeed, electrodialysis processes can be optimized to decrease energy consumption and costs, and to increase efficiency; however, eco-efficiency scores should be determined to compare electrodialysis with conventional processes and support their advantages. The review shows the high potential of the different types of electrodialysis processes to treat wastewaters and liquid by-products in order to add value or to generate new raw materials. It also highlights the strong interest in using eco-efficient processes within a circular economy. The ideal scenario for sustainable development would be to make a transition toward an eco-circular economy.

Nisin Purification from a Cell-Free Supernatant by Electrodialysis in a Circular Economy Framework

“…The energy consumption calculated could also be overestimated, since ED was performed in batch mode at a small scale. Nonetheless, ED represents a process characterized by a lower energy consumption when applied to demineralization [ 35 , 36 ].…”

“…These results are, moreover, highlighted by the advantages of ED. Indeed, ED is a more eco-friendly technique, using no chemical solvents and having a lower energy consumption compared with other methods employed for purification or desalinization [ 36 , 59 ]. Its capacity to process saline effluents could also be of interest.…”

“…Conventional ED, an electrochemical method using electrodes and ion exchange membranes (IEM), allows for the purification and demineralization of charged molecules under the application of an electric potential gradient [ 34 ]. ED is a cost-effective process, commonly used for desalination of water and wastewater, since it has a low energy consumption compared with thermal processes (evaporation/distillation) and reverse osmosis [ 35 , 36 ]. Moreover, the main application of ED in the food industry is demineralization of whey [ 37 , 38 ].…”

Thorium Removal, Recovery and Recycling: A Membrane Challenge for Urban Mining

“…In electrodialysis, the extraction, reconcentration and substitution operations are carried out without direct intervention of the electrodes [ 197 ]. They are placed at the end of the electrodialysis cells in order to maintain the electric potential difference between the compartments separated by the membranes ( Figure 9 ) [ 197 , 198 , 199 ].…”

Impact of a Whey Protein Hydrolysate Treated by Electrodialysis with Ultrafiltration Membrane on the Development of Metabolic Syndrome and the Modulation of Gut Microbiota in Mice

“…Recently, our team worked on the separation of an enzymatically hydrolyzed commercially available whey protein concentrate (WPC, 35% protein on a dry basis) by electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membrane (EDUF), at a semi-industrial scale [ 11 ]. EDUF is part of a group of electrophoretic membrane processes, such as electromembrane extraction [ 12 , 13 ] or fixed boundary electrophoresis [ 14 , 15 ], which allow the separation of peptides according to their charges (electric field being the driving force) and size (due to the sieving effect of a porous membrane) [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. This innovative and sustainable electrodialytic process, which has multiple membrane configurations, as well as numerous food and biopharmaceutical applications [ 17 , 20 ], allowed the production of three fractions: an initial whey protein hydrolysate (WPH), a final WPH after EDUF treatment and a peptide recovery fraction containing peptides migrated from the WPH during EDUF.…”