Optimal strategy to model the electrodialytic recovery of a strong electrolyte

In this work, mostly Nernst–Planck derived relationships were used to simulate the electrodialytic recovery of a strong electrolyte, namely sodium chloride. To this end, it was set up a five-step experimental procedure consisting of zero-current leaching, osmosis, and dialysis, electro-osmosis, desalination, current–voltage and validation tests. The contribution of leaching and solute diffusion across the electro-membranes was found to be negligible with respect to the electro-migration. On the contrary, solvent diffusion tended to be important as the solute concentration difference at the membrane sides increased or current density was reduced. The electro-osmosis and desalination tests yielded the water and solute transport numbers. By performing several limiting current tests at different solute concentrations and feed flow rates using anionic or cationic membranes, it was possible to determine simultaneously the limiting current intensity, the ratio of the differences between the counter-ion transport numbers in the anion- and cation-exchange membranes and solution, the overall resistance of the electro-membranes, the effective membrane surface area, and the solute mass transfer coefficient. All these process and design parameters allowed the time course of the solute concentration in the concentrating (C) and diluting (D) compartments, as well as the voltage applied to the electrodes, to be reconstructed quite accurately without any further correction factors. The capability of the above parameters to simulate the performance of the electrodialysis (ED) unit was checked by resorting to a few validation tests, that were performed in quite different operating conditions from those used in the training tests, that is by filling tank C with a low feed volume with a low solute concentration and applying a constant current intensity to magnify the effect of electro-osmosis or by changing the current intensity step-wisely to simulate the continuous-mode operation of a multistage ED unit. Finally, a parameter sensitivity analysis made the different contribution of the process and design parameters to be assessed, thus yielding a straightforward procedure for designing or optimising accurately ED desalination units up to a final salt concentration of about 1.7 kmol m−3.