Effect of spacer thickness on the overall energy consumption of BPMED using ammonium sulfate solution
H.M. Mithaiwala (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
H Spanjers – Mentor (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)
JB van Lier – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)
D. Narayen – Coach (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Removal of ammonium from simulated ammonium salt solutions was done using bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED), without the use of chemicals. The effect of spacer thickness and open area on the overall energy consumption of BPMED to transport ammonium from the diluate was assessed in batch experiments. The electrochemical energy consumption decreased from 28 MJ/Kg-NH4+ to 16 MJ/Kg-NH4+ when the spacer thickness decreased from 750 μm to 140 μm.
The removal efficiencies of ammonium from the diluate increased from 77% to 85% when the spacer thickness decreased from 750 μm to 140 μm. These results show that with the increasing spacer thickness, the open area and porosity also increase, which accounts for higher resistance on the membrane stack. However, besides open area and porosity, it is the thickness of the spacer that plays a major role in higher energy consumption. This study demonstrated the energy-efficient application of BPMED for the removal of ammonium from simulated ammonium salt solutions.1