Multistage-batch bipolar membrane electrodialysis for base production from high-salinity wastewater

Bipolar membrane electrodialysis(BMED)is considered a state-of-the-art technology for the conversion of salts into acids and bases.However,the low concentra-tion of base generated from a traditional BMED process may limit the viability of this technology for a large-scale application.Herein,we report an especially designed multistage-batch(two/three-stage-batch)BMED process to increase the base concentration by adjusting different volume ratios in the acid(Vacid),base(Vbase),and salt compartments(Vsalt).The findings indicated that perfor-mance of the two-stage-batch with a volume ratio of Vacid:Vbase:Vsalt=1:1:5 was superior in comparison to the three-stage-batch with a volume ratio of Vacid:Vbase:Vsalt=1:1:2.Besides,the base concentration could be further increased by exchanging the acid produced in the acid compartment with fresh water in the second stage-batch process.With the two-stage-batch BMED,the maximum concentration of the base can be obtained up to 3.40 mol·L-1,which was higher than the most reported base production by BMED.The low energy consumption and high current efficiency further authenticate that the designed process is reliable,cost-effective,and more productive to convert saline water into valuable industrial commodities.