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Ion-Exchange Membranes: From Synthesis to Applications

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A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 17040

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Orlando Coronell

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Interests: membrane technology; ion exchange membranes; reverse osmosis; nanofiltration membranes; structure-property-performance relationships; transport phenomena; membrane characterization; water purification; energy; electromembrane processes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) are essential components of processes used for a variety of applications, including water desalination, generation and storage of energy, resource recovery, generation and purification of valuable chemicals (e.g., table salt, chlorine, organic acids), and various other applications in the food, beverage, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. Some of these applications are well-established processes (e.g., chlor-alkali process for production of chlorine and caustic soda), while others are only in the laboratory or pilot-scale stages (e.g., electricity generation by reverse electrodialysis). The efficiency, economics, and even feasibility of these processes is highly dependent on the physical, chemical, and transport properties of the IEMs.

This Special Issue on “Ion-Exchange Membranes” seeks contributions that report recent developments in the field of IEMs and their applications. Topics include but are not limited to materials, fabrication techniques, characterization, modeling of membrane transport phenomena or IEM-based processes, and applications including novel pilot- or full-scale demonstrations. Both original papers and reviews are welcome.

Prof. Orlando Coronell
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ion exchange membranes
fabrication techniques
membrane modification
membrane characterization
membrane transport phenomena
membrane fouling
structure-property-performance relationships
modelling
applications: separations; desalination; water treatment; energy generation; energy storage; resource recovery

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Scale-Up and Long-Term Study of Electrodialysis with Ultrafiltration Membrane for the Separation of a Herring Milt Hydrolysate

by Jacinthe Thibodeau, Noémie Benoit, Véronique Perreault and Laurent Bazinet

Membranes 2021, 11(8), 558; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11080558 - 23 Jul 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2147

Abstract

Electrodialysis with ultrafiltration membrane (EDUF) was selected to separate a herring milt hydrolysate (HMH) in a scale-up and long-term study for the recovery of bioactive peptides. The scale-up was performed to maximise peptide recovery by placing a total membrane area of 0.08 m² for each anionic and cationic compartment. Twelve consecutive runs were carried out, for a total of 69 h, with minimal salt solution cleaning in between experiments. The final peptide migration rate showed that cationic peptides had a higher average migration rate (5.2 ± 0.8 g/m²·h), compared to anionic peptides (4.7 ± 1.1 g/m²·h). Migration was also selective according to peptide identifications and molecular mass distribution where only small molecular weights were found (<1000 Da) in both recovery compartments. The areal system resistance slightly decreased during each run and the averaged values were stable in between experiments since they were all found in the 95% confidence interval. In addition, total relative energy consumption was quite consistent with an average value of 39.95 ± 6.47 Wh/g all along the 12 consecutive runs. Finally, according to membrane characterization, there was no visual fouling on the different membranes present in the EDUF cell after 69 h of treatment. This may be due to the salt cleaning in between experiments which allowed removal of peptides from the membranes, thus allowing recovering initial system working parameters at the beginning of each run. The entire process was revealed to be very consistent and repeatable in terms of peptide migration, global system resistance, and energy consumption. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such EDUF conditions (membrane surface, duration, and minimal salt cleaning between experiments) are being tested on a complex hydrolysate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes: From Synthesis to Applications)

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13 pages, 5089 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Electrolysis Using a Porous IrO₂/Ti/IrO₂ Catalyst Electrode and Nafion Membranes at Elevated Temperatures

by Je-Deok Kim and Akihiro Ohira

Membranes 2021, 11(5), 330; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11050330 - 30 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3626

Abstract

Porous IrO₂/Ti/IrO₂ catalyst electrodes were obtained by coating IrO₂ on both sides of three types of porous Ti powder sheets (sample 1, sample 2, and sample 3) using different surface treatment methods, and a hydrogen evolution catalyst electrode was obtained by coating Pt/C on carbon gas diffusion layers. A Nafion115 membrane was used as an electrolyte for the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). Water electrolysis was investigated at cell temperatures up to 150 °C, and the electrical characteristics of the three types of porous IrO₂/Ti/IrO₂ catalyst electrodes were investigated. The sheet resistance of sample 1 was higher than those of samples 2 and 3, although during water electrolysis, a high current density was observed due to the nanostructure of the IrO₂ catalyst. In addition, the structural stabilities of Nafion and Aquivion membranes up to 150 °C were investigated by using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The polymer structures of Nafion and Aquivion membranes were stable up to 80 °C, whereas the crystalline domains grew significantly above 120 °C. In other words, the initial polymer structure did not recover after the sample was heated above the glass transition temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes: From Synthesis to Applications)

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17 pages, 3300 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Evaluation of Electrodialysis Desalination Performance of Novel Bioinspired and Conventional Ion Exchange Membranes with Sodium Chloride Feed Solutions

by AHM Golam Hyder, Brian A. Morales, Malynda A. Cappelle, Stephen J. Percival, Leo J. Small, Erik D. Spoerke, Susan B. Rempe and W. Shane Walker

Membranes 2021, 11(3), 217; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11030217 - 19 Mar 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4297

Abstract

Electrodialysis (ED) desalination performance of different conventional and laboratory-scale ion exchange membranes (IEMs) has been evaluated by many researchers, but most of these studies used their own sets of experimental parameters such as feed solution compositions and concentrations, superficial velocities of the process streams (diluate, concentrate, and electrode rinse), applied electrical voltages, and types of IEMs. Thus, direct comparison of ED desalination performance of different IEMs is virtually impossible. While the use of different conventional IEMs in ED has been reported, the use of bioinspired ion exchange membrane has not been reported yet. The goal of this study was to evaluate the ED desalination performance differences between novel laboratory‑scale bioinspired IEM and conventional IEMs by determining (i) limiting current density, (ii) current density, (iii) current efficiency, (iv) salinity reduction in diluate stream, (v) normalized specific energy consumption, and (vi) water flux by osmosis as a function of (a) initial concentration of NaCl feed solution (diluate and concentrate streams), (b) superficial velocity of feed solution, and (c) applied stack voltage per cell-pair of membranes. A laboratory‑scale single stage batch-recycle electrodialysis experimental apparatus was assembled with five cell‑pairs of IEMs with an active cross-sectional area of 7.84 cm². In this study, seven combinations of IEMs (commercial and laboratory-made) were compared: (i) Neosepta AMX/CMX, (ii) PCA PCSA/PCSK, (iii) Fujifilm Type 1 AEM/CEM, (iv) SUEZ AR204SZRA/CR67HMR, (v) Ralex AMH-PES/CMH-PES, (vi) Neosepta AMX/Bare Polycarbonate membrane (Polycarb), and (vii) Neosepta AMX/Sandia novel bioinspired cation exchange membrane (SandiaCEM). ED desalination performance with the Sandia novel bioinspired cation exchange membrane (SandiaCEM) was found to be competitive with commercial Neosepta CMX cation exchange membrane. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes: From Synthesis to Applications)

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Review

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14 pages, 1278 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Application of Cation Exchange Membranes in Electrochemical Systems for Ammonia Recovery from Wastewater

by Kai Yang and Mohan Qin

Membranes 2021, 11(7), 494; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11070494 - 30 Jun 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6409

Abstract

Electrochemical processes are considered promising technologies for ammonia recovery from wastewater. In electrochemical processes, cation exchange membrane (CEM), which is applied to separate compartments, plays a crucial role in the separation of ammonium nitrogen from wastewater. Here we provide a comprehensive review on the application of CEM in electrochemical systems for ammonia recovery from wastewater. Four kinds of electrochemical systems, including bioelectrochemical systems, electrochemical stripping, membrane electrosorption, and electrodialysis, are introduced. Then we discuss the role CEM plays in these processes for ammonia recovery from wastewater. In addition, we highlight the key performance metrics related to ammonia recovery and properties of CEM membrane. The limitations and key challenges of using CEM for ammonia recovery are also identified and discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes: From Synthesis to Applications)

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