Systematic Research on the Reverse Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis Performance and its Application in Electrodialysis Desalination

In recent years, energy conversation and storage technologies are a hot topic. Reverse bipolar membrane electrodialysis (RBMED) is a safe and sustainable way to convert and store energy. Here, the systematic research on RBMED in an open-loop configuration and its application in electrodialysis desalination is investigated. Firstly, effects of operating parameters on RBMED performance were investigated. Results show that the performance of RBMED membrane stack containing BP-1 membrane is better than that containing YDS-002 membrane, and the flow rates of acid, alkali and salt solutions have no obvious effect on the membrane stack containing BP-1 membrane. Using HCl as the acid solution, less than 1.0 mol/L of acid and alkali solutions are fit for the RBMED performance. Secondly, RBMED was adopted to drive an electrodialysis desalination process to build an integrated system without external power supply. Results show a higher desalination ratio can be obtained through increasing the acid and alkali concentrations in RBMED, increasing the RBMED and ED repeating unit. This study suggests that RBMED has great application potential in the field of energy conversation and storage.