Electrodialytic Processes: Market Overview, Membrane Phenomena, Recent Developments and Sustainable Strategies

Abstract

In the context of preserving and improving human health, electrodialytic processes are very promising perspectives. Indeed, they allow the treatment of water, preservation of food products, production of bioactive compounds, extraction of organic acids, and recovery of energy from natural and wastewaters without major environmental impact. Hence, the aim of the present review is to give a global portrait of the most recent developments in electrodialytic membrane phenomena and their uses in sustainable strategies. It has appeared that new knowledge on pulsed electric fields, electroconvective vortices, overlimiting conditions and reversal modes as well as recent demonstrations of their applications are currently boosting the interest for electrodialytic processes. However, the hurdles are still high when dealing with scale-ups and real-life conditions. Furthermore, looking at the recent research trends, potable water and wastewater treatment as well as the production of value-added bioactive products in a circular economy will probably be the main applications to be developed and improved. All these processes, taking into account their principles and specificities, can be used for specific eco-efficient applications. However, to prove the sustainability of such process strategies, more life cycle assessments will be necessary to convince people of the merits of coupling these technologies.

Transport Characteristics of CJMAED™ Homogeneous Anion Exchange Membranes in Sodium Chloride and Sodium Sulfate Solutions

“…The third direction is the use of AEMs in the food and pharmaceutical industries for the demineralization of proteins [ 8 ], tartrate stabilization of wine [ 9 ], separation of valuable anions of citric, malic, lactic acids and other organic nutrients [ 10 , 11 ]. In this case, the anion-exchange membranes should have sufficiently large pores that do not cause steric hindrances for the transport of large, highly hydrated anions.…”

“…They allow the separation of streams of the ions, the joint presence of which in the concentrate can cause precipitation. Solving this problem revived interest in electrodialysis as an effective method for concentrating reverse osmosis retentates [ 14 ], deactivating mine and waste water [ 11 , 15 ], producing high-quality drinking water, water for irrigated agriculture [ 16 ], recovery of phosphates from municipal wastewater, livestock liquid effluent and landfills for the production of cheap fertilizers [ 17 ] as part of combined baro-electromembrane technologies. AEMs, which are selective to singly charged anions (systems Cl - /SO 4 2− , for example) [ 18 , 19 ] and are capable of resisting fouling, are essential for this purpose [ 20 ].…”

Understanding of Adsorption and Desorption Mechanisms of Anthocyanins and Proanthocyanidins on Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Cation-Exchange Membranes

“…All these phenomena contribute to the shortening of membrane lifetime [ 1 ]. In addition, it has been reported that the cost for cleaning membranes and replacing them vary from 40% to 50% of the cost of the product [ 2 , 3 , 4 ], while the cost of membranes and spacers contributes to 25–30% of the total cost of a new electrodialysis unit fully automated [ 4 ]. Furthermore, cleaning in place procedures require the use of chemicals such as acid, bases, and sometimes surfactant or enzyme solutions that can lead to the swelling of the polymer matrix and further contribute to the adsorption of high molecular weight compounds [ 5 ].…”

Transport Membrane Condenser Heat Exchangers to Break the Water-Energy Nexus—A Critical Review

“…The impact of membrane technology now is reaching beyond the well-known conventional applications of water treatment [ 13 ] and gas separation [ 14 , 15 ] into new exciting areas of biopharmaceutical purification [ 16 ] and power generation [ 17 ]. With better membrane materials and process innovations, the boundary of membrane technology will continue to expand wider.…”