A three-stage chemical cleaning of ion-exchange membranes used in the treatment by electrodialysis of wastewaters generated in brass electroplating industries

[EN] After long-term electrodialysis, cleaning the membranes is crucial to extend their lifetime. In this work, we evaluate the effects of a three-stage chemical cleaning on electrochemical and structural properties of anion- and cation-exchange membranes. Membranes used in the electrodialytic treat...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Santana-Barros, Kayo, Martí Calatayud, Manuel César|||0000-0002-0745-1918, Pérez-Herranz, Valentín|||0000-0002-4010-0888, Espinosa, Denise Crocce Romano
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/166271
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/166271
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Alkaline cleaning
Chronopotentiometry
Ion-exchange membranes
Membrane cleaning
Membrane fouling
INGENIERIA QUIMICA
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] After long-term electrodialysis, cleaning the membranes is crucial to extend their lifetime. In this work, we evaluate the effects of a three-stage chemical cleaning on electrochemical and structural properties of anion- and cation-exchange membranes. Membranes used in the electrodialytic treatment of a synthetic effluent from the cyanide-free brass electrodeposition were cleaned using 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mol.L-1 NaOH solutions. The electrochemical behavior of the membranes was evaluated after each cleaning step by chronopotentiometry. Additionally, changes in the membrane structure and composition were analyzed by FTIR-ATR and SEM/EDS. While the membranes undergo a decline in some electrochemical features after the electrodialysis process, the cleaning with 0.1 mol.L-1 NaOH showed to be the most effective in recovering the properties characteristic of the virgin membranes: the limiting current density increased by 84% after the cleaning, whereas the ohmic and overlimiting resistances decreased by 47% and 55%, respectively. In contrast, the 0.5 and 1.0 mol.L-1 NaOH solutions degraded the membranes and reduced their fraction of conducive area, especially for the anion-exchange one. This favored fouling/scaling occurrence, as noticed by a prominent increase in the potential drop of the anion-exchange membrane. FTIR-ATR and SEM/EDS analyses confirmed fouling/scaling, as well as degradation of the ion-exchange membranes.