Performance Evaluation of an Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes Pilot Plant Operated in Feed Bleed Mode

Electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) has been recently proposed as a promising strategy for the valorization of desalination waste brine. This process enables the production of chemicals (i.e., acids and bases) starting from a salty stream via the application of an electric field. Several process configurations have been reported in the literature, operating both in continuous and discontinuous mode. The continuous feed & bleed configuration has resulted the best option for the process scale-up. In this work, a performance evaluation of a large scale EDBM unit (19 m2 of total membrane area) operated in feed & bleed mode is presented. Time profile of acid and base concentrations as well as of voltage applied to the stack are reported, thus proving the stability of the process in galvanostatic condition. Four tests have been conducted at four different current density (200- 500 A m-2) and the results have been analysed utilizing appropriate performance parameters (i.e., Current Efficiency, Specific Energy Consumption and Specific production). Results suggest that increasing the current density, the acid concentration rises at fixed base concentration of 1 mol l-1. Furthermore, increasing the current density, the current efficiency of base remains fairly constant (60-63 %), while for acid a growth is observed. Specific energy consumption and specific production show an increasing trend with the current density: at 500 A m-2, values of 3.6 and 2.7 kWh kg-1 and 0.94 and 1.3 ton y-1 m-2 were obtained, respectively.