Recent progress and prospect of flow-electrode electrochemical desalination system

With the growing global freshwater crisis, seawater desalination has become an essential way to obtain freshwater resources. The flow-electrode-based electrochemical desalination is a promising desalination technology, which possesses the continuous desalting process and an unlimited desalination capacity in theory. Recently the redox couples are emerging as an additive to enhance the salt removal rate and lower the energy consumption. In this review, the flow-electrode based desalination technology is introduced based on carbon flow material and redox couples. The desalting mechanisms, configurations and performance indicators are analyzed and discussed. The impact factors of desalination performance such as the type and dosage of active materials, conductive additives, pretreatment processes, flow-electrode regeneration and operation conditions are further investigated. In the last section, the challenges and prospects are predicted for the future development of flow-electrode desalination system. The review and prospect will stimulate further research progress for the practical application of flow-electrode electrochemical desalination technology.