0000000000004764
AUTHOR
Giovanni Virruso
Analysis of Operational Parameters in Acid and Base Production Using an Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes Pilot Plant
In agreement with the Water Framework Directive, Circular Economy and European Union (EU) Green Deal packages, the EU-funded WATER-MINING project aims to validate next-generation water resource solutions at the pre-commercial demonstration scale in order to provide water management and recovery of valuable materials from alternative sources. In the framework of the WATER-MINING project, desalination brines from the Lampedusa (Italy) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant will be used to produce freshwater and recover valuable salts by integrating different technologies. In particular, electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) will be used to produce chemicals (NaOH and HCl). A novel EDBM…
New data on Sicilian prehistoric and historic evolution in a mountain context, Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Italy)
Vallone Inferno rock-shelter is an archaeological site located in the Madonie mountain range in Sicily. Archaeological excavation and research have provided a long prehistoric and historic sequence from the Neolithic to the medieval period, this being the most complete work in this area at present. In this paper we present the preliminary data provided by a multidisciplinary study based on pottery, lithic, human, faunal and plant remains. Stratigraphic studies have identified four complexes, of which complex 3 has provided almost all the archaeological remains. 14C AMS dates, obtained from four samples, place the human activities between 2601 cal BC and 644 cal AD. These dates are coherent …
Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes for the Sustainable Production of Chemicals from Seawater Brines at Pilot Plant Scale
Environmental concerns regarding the disposal of seawater reverse osmosis brines require the development of new valorization strategies. Electrodialysis with bipolar membrane (EDBM) technology enables the production of acid and base from a salty waste stream. In this study, an EDBM pilot plant with a membrane area of 19.2 m2 was tested. This total membrane area results much larger (i.e., more than 16 times larger) than those reported in the literature so far for the production of HCl and NaOH aqueous solutions, starting from NaCl brines. The pilot unit was tested both in continuous and discontinuous operation modes, at different current densities (200-500 A m-2). Particularly, three differe…
Simulation-based design of a bipolar membranes electrodialysis unit for chemicals production from brines
Nowadays environmental concerns are modifying the production and consumption patterns used so far. An important objective to improve our society is the use of sustainable processes that can reduce industrial waste streams. Bipolar membranes electrodialysis (EDBM) is an emerging environmentally friendly process that could be easily integrated into a circular economy approach to valorize waste brines. It is an electro-membrane process that allows the production of chemicals using only water, electrical energy and a salty solution. When electric current is applied to the electrodes of the EDBM stack, water dissociation takes place in the bipolar membranes. Therefore, the ions from water are co…