Recovery of acetic acid from dilute wastewater by means of bipolar membrane electrodialysis

Bipolar membrane electrodialysis was tested to recover acetic acid from dilute wastewater containing 0.2% (wt%) of acetic acid. Experimental results show that the method is technically feasible, and up to 70% (wt%) acetic acid solution can be obtained. Experiments also show that the molecular diffusion back of acetic acid through an anion-exchange membrane is one reason for the low electric current efficiency (around 40%). The problems to be solved by further studies include the raising of current efficiency and the lowering of energy consumption.