Electrodialysis with notched ion exchange membranes: Experimental investigations and computational fluid dynamics simulations

Abstract Electrodialysis (ED), which equips ion exchange membranes (IEMs) in a direct current field, has widely been employed for desalination and separation of electrolytes. To date, IEMs for ED have commonly been plain, and should be stacked with spacers to provide water flow channels along membrane surface. This study reports a novel notched IEMs, which is a combination of a plain IEM and a spacer. Continuous-mode ED test has been performed to evaluate its desalination performance. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of properties of the flowing solution gives an insight into advantages of the unique geometry of membrane surface. Particularly, results of CFD simulations are consistent with experimental investigations and conform that the notched membranes exhibit better performances than traditional plain ones for ED applications.