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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Energy Consumption for the Desalination of Salt Water Using Polyelectrolyte Hydrogels as the Separation Agent
Julius B. AlbrechtSebastian SeiffertKarin SchlagJohannes HöpfnerAxel HabichtLukas ArensManfred Wilhelmsubject
Materials sciencePolymers and PlasticsSodiumchemistry.chemical_elementSalt (chemistry)02 engineering and technology010402 general chemistry01 natural sciencesDesalinationchemistry.chemical_compoundPolymer chemistryMaterials ChemistrymedicinePhysical and Theoretical ChemistryAcrylic acidchemistry.chemical_classificationRange (particle radiation)Organic Chemistry021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologyCondensed Matter PhysicsPolyelectrolyte0104 chemical scienceschemistryChemical engineeringSelf-healing hydrogelsSwellingmedicine.symptom0210 nano-technologydescription
The energy consumption for a novel desalination approach using charged hydrogels under externally applied pressure is experimentally measured and calculated. The salt separation is based on a partial rejection of mobile salt ions caused by the fixed charges inside the polyelectrolyte network. Self-synthesized and commercial poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels are used to study the desalination performance in reference to sodium chloride solutions within the concentration range of 0.1–35 g L−1. The influence of various synthetic parameters, such as the degree of crosslinking (DC) and the size and shape of the particles, is investigated. Furthermore, the effect of process parameters including the amount of the feed solution, the applied pressure profile, and the swelling time of the hydrogel is discussed. The best energy estimation found so far, is 8.9 kWh m−3 fresh water if a poly(acrylic acid) with a DC of 5 mol% is used in an infinite large salt bath.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-11-15 | Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics |