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Membranes
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Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production
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Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2022) | Viewed by 16481

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Young Eun Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biological Systems & Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Interests: CO2 capture; electrosynthesis using CO2; electrochemistry; electrochemical engineering; wastewater treatment; electrodialysis (mono/bipolar); ion-exchange membrane
Dr. Aruna Kumar Mohanty

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Interests: Ionic membranes (AEMs, PEMs) for electrochemical applications and microbial fuel cell; functional polymers for PEDOT; CNT; Graphene; Fe3O4; AgNw; Hydrogel; cyclic polymers and polymer chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable energy production by ion-exchange membrane technology, capturing the salinity gradient energy from natural- and wastewater, and electrochemcial biorefinery production, is intensively researched worldwide, and a topic great interest today. The current most promising sustainable energy generation is pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED), as well as microbial fuel cell (MFC) and bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), forming the emerging sustainable biotechnologies for energy production. However, they still face economic and technical challenges, and need further considerable improvement before reaching commercial scale. In this regard, this Special Issue of the journal Membranes on "Applied ion-exchange membrane technologies for sustainable energy production" extends an invitation to those completeing multidisciplinary studies in both academia and industry which are related to sustainable energy production technologies by applied ion-exchange membrane.

Original research and review papers are welcomed. Examples of topics within the scope of this Special Issue include the following (but are not limited to these):

  • Renewable-energy-driven membrane technologies;
  • Advances in membrane bioprocesses;
  • Membrane bioprocesses modelling, simulation, and optimization;
  • Membrane bioreactors;
  • Development in membrane technologies for ion-exchange;
  • Industrial applications;

Dr. Young Eun Song
Dr. Aruna Kumar Mohanty
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Desalination
  • Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO)
  • Reverse electrodialysis (RED)
  • Microbial fuel cell (MFC)
  • Bioelectrochemical system (BES)
  • Water and wastewater treatment
  • Membrane material
  • Membrane bioprocess
  • Sustainable energy
  • Integrated membrane operations

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3810 KiB  
Article
Electrospinning of Polyepychlorhydrin and Polyacrylonitrile Anionic Exchange Membranes for Reverse Electrodialysis
by José A. Reyes-Aguilera, Liliana Villafaña-López, Elva C. Rentería-Martínez, Sean M. Anderson and Jesús S. Jaime-Ferrer
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090717 - 18 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2030
Abstract
The saline gradient present in river mouths can be exploited using ion-exchange membranes in reverse electrodialysis (RED) for energy generation. However, significant improvements in the fabrication processes of these IEMs are necessary to increase the overall performance of the RED technology. This work [...] Read more.
The saline gradient present in river mouths can be exploited using ion-exchange membranes in reverse electrodialysis (RED) for energy generation. However, significant improvements in the fabrication processes of these IEMs are necessary to increase the overall performance of the RED technology. This work proposes an innovative technique for synthesizing anion exchange membranes (AEMs) via electrospinning. The AEM synthesis was carried out by applying a high voltage while ejecting a mixture of polyepichlorohydrin (PECH), 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane (DABCO® 33-LV) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) at room temperature. Different ejection parameters were used, and the effects of various thermal treatments were tested on the resulting membranes. The AEMs presented crosslinking between the polymers and significant fiber homogeneity with diameters between 1400 and 1510 nm, with and without thermal treatment. Good chemical resistance was measured, and all synthesized membranes were of hydrophobic character. The thickness, roughness, swelling degree, specific fixed-charge density and ion-exchange capacity were improved over equivalent membranes produced by casting, and also when compared with commercial membranes. Finally, the results of the study of the electrospinning parameters indicate that a better performance in electrochemical properties was produced from fibers generated at ambient humidity conditions, with low flow velocity and voltage, and high collector rotation velocity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production)
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31 pages, 10098 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Composite Membrane of Phosphorylated Chitosan/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)/Silica as a Proton Exchange Membrane
by Nur Adiera Hanna Rosli, Kee Shyuan Loh, Wai Yin Wong, Tian Khoon Lee and Azizan Ahmad
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 675; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090675 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3345
Abstract
Chitosan is one of the natural biopolymers that has been studied as an alternative material to replace Nafion membranes as proton change membranes. Nevertheless, unmodified chitosan membranes have limitations including low proton conductivity and mechanical stability. The aim of this work is to [...] Read more.
Chitosan is one of the natural biopolymers that has been studied as an alternative material to replace Nafion membranes as proton change membranes. Nevertheless, unmodified chitosan membranes have limitations including low proton conductivity and mechanical stability. The aim of this work is to study the effect of modifying chitosan through polymer blending with different compositions and the addition of inorganic filler on the microstructure and physical properties of N-methylene phosphonic chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) (NMPC/PVA) composite membranes. In this work, the NMPC biopolymer and PVA polymer are used as host polymers to produce NMPC/PVA composite membranes with different compositions (30–70% NMPC content). Increasing NMPC content in the membranes increases their proton conductivity, and as NMPC/PVA-50 composite membrane demonstrates the highest conductivity (8.76 × 10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature), it is chosen to be the base membrane for modification by adding hygroscopic silicon dioxide (SiO2) filler into its membrane matrix. The loading of SiO2 filler is varied (0.5–10 wt.%) to study the influence of filler concentration on temperature-dependent proton conductivity of membranes. NMPC/PVA-SiO2 (4 wt.%) exhibits the highest proton conductivity of 5.08 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 100 °C. In conclusion, the study shows that chitosan can be modified to produce proton exchange membranes that demonstrate enhanced properties and performance with the addition of PVA and SiO2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production)
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23 pages, 5108 KiB  
Article
The CO Tolerance of Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C Electrocatalysts in a High-Temperature Electrochemical Cell Used for Hydrogen Separation
by Leandri Vermaak, Hein W. J. P. Neomagus and Dmitri G. Bessarabov
Membranes 2021, 11(9), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11090670 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2743
Abstract
This paper describes an experimental evaluation and comparison of Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C electrocatalysts for high-temperature (100–160 °C) electrochemical hydrogen separators, for the purpose of mitigating CO poisoning. The performances of both Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C (Pt:Ru atomic ratio 1:1) were investigated and compared under [...] Read more.
This paper describes an experimental evaluation and comparison of Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C electrocatalysts for high-temperature (100–160 °C) electrochemical hydrogen separators, for the purpose of mitigating CO poisoning. The performances of both Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C (Pt:Ru atomic ratio 1:1) were investigated and compared under pure hydrogen and a H2/CO gas mixture at various temperatures. The electrochemically active surface area (ECSA), determined from cyclic voltammetry, was used as the basis for a method to evaluate the performances of the two catalysts. Both CO stripping and the underpotential deposition of hydrogen were used to evaluate the electrochemical surface area. When the H2/CO gas mixture was used, there was a complex overlap of mechanisms, and therefore CO peak could not be used to evaluate the ECSA. Hence, the hydrogen peaks that resulted after the CO was removed from the Pt surface were used to evaluate the active surface area instead of the CO peaks. Results revealed that Pt-Ru/C was more tolerant to CO, since the overlapping reaction mechanism between H2 and CO was suppressed when Ru was introduced to the catalyst. SEM images of the catalysts before and after heat treatment indicated that particle agglomeration occurs upon exposure to high temperatures (>100 °C) Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production)
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22 pages, 4226 KiB  
Article
Phenolphthalein Anilide Based Poly(Ether Sulfone) Block Copolymers Containing Quaternary Ammonium and Imidazolium Cations: Anion Exchange Membrane Materials for Microbial Fuel Cell
by Aruna Kumar Mohanty, Young Eun Song, Jung Rae Kim, Nowon Kim and Hyun-jong Paik
Membranes 2021, 11(6), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11060454 - 20 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2698
Abstract
A class of phenolphthalein anilide (PA)-based poly(ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers containing pendant quaternary ammonium (QA) and imidazolium (IM) groups were synthesized and evaluated as anion exchange membrane (AEM) materials. The AEMs were flexible and mechanically strong with good thermal stability. The ionomeric multiblock [...] Read more.
A class of phenolphthalein anilide (PA)-based poly(ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers containing pendant quaternary ammonium (QA) and imidazolium (IM) groups were synthesized and evaluated as anion exchange membrane (AEM) materials. The AEMs were flexible and mechanically strong with good thermal stability. The ionomeric multiblock copolymer AEMs exhibited well-defined hydrophobic/hydrophilic phase-separated morphology in small-angle X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy. The distinct nanophase separated membrane morphology in the AEMs resulted in higher conductivity (IECw = 1.3–1.5 mequiv./g, σ(OH−) = 30–38 mS/cm at 20 °C), lower water uptake and swelling. Finally, the membranes were compared in terms of microbial fuel cell performances with the commercial cation and anion exchange membranes. The membranes showed a maximum power density of ~310 mW/m2 (at 0.82 A/m2); 1.7 and 2.8 times higher than the Nafion 117 and FAB-PK-130 membranes, respectively. These results demonstrated that the synthesized AEMs were superior to Nafion 117 and FAB-PK-130 membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production)
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Review

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27 pages, 3302 KiB  
Review
The Implications of Membranes Used as Separators in Microbial Fuel Cells
by Jonathan Ramirez-Nava, Mariana Martínez-Castrejón, Rocío Lley García-Mesino, Jazmin Alaide López-Díaz, Oscar Talavera-Mendoza, Alicia Sarmiento-Villagrana, Fernando Rojano and Giovanni Hernández-Flores
Membranes 2021, 11(10), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11100738 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 4775
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are electrochemical devices focused on bioenergy generation and organic matter removal carried out by microorganisms under anoxic environments. In these types of systems, the anodic oxidation reaction is catalyzed by anaerobic microorganisms, while the cathodic reduction reaction can be [...] Read more.
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are electrochemical devices focused on bioenergy generation and organic matter removal carried out by microorganisms under anoxic environments. In these types of systems, the anodic oxidation reaction is catalyzed by anaerobic microorganisms, while the cathodic reduction reaction can be carried out biotically or abiotically. Membranes as separators in MFCs are the primary requirements for optimal electrochemical and microbiological performance. MFC configuration and operation are similar to those of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)—both having at least one anode and one cathode split by a membrane or separator. The Nafion® 117 (NF-117) membrane, made from perfluorosulfonic acid, is a membrane used as a separator in PEMFCs. By analogy of the operation between electrochemical systems and MFCs, NF-117 membranes have been widely used as separators in MFCs. The main disadvantage of this type of membrane is its high cost; membranes in MFCs can represent up to 60% of the MFC’s total cost. This is one of the challenges in scaling up MFCs: finding alternative membranes or separators with low cost and good electrochemical characteristics. The aim of this work is to critically review state-of-the-art membranes and separators used in MFCs. The scope of this review includes: (i) membrane functions in MFCs, (ii) most-used membranes, (iii) membrane cost and efficiency, and (iv) membrane-less MFCs. Currently, there are at least 20 different membranes or separators proposed and evaluated for MFCs, from basic salt bridges to advanced synthetic polymer-based membranes, including ceramic and unconventional separator materials. Studies focusing on either low cost or the use of natural polymers for proton-exchange membranes (PEM) are still scarce. Alternatively, in some works, MFCs have been operated without membranes; however, significant decrements in Coulombic efficiency were found. As the type of membrane affects the performance and total cost of MFCs, it is recommended that research efforts are increased in order to develop new, more economic membranes that exhibit favorable properties and allow for satisfactory cell performance at the same time. The current state of the art of membranes for MFCs addressed in this review will undoubtedly serve as a key insight for future research related to this topic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Ion-Exchange Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Energy Production)
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