Computational analysis of electric field effects on electrodialysis for enhanced desalination processes

Abstract

This study elucidates the technologies employed in membranebased water purification processes. The theoretical underpinnings of semipermeable membrane functionalities are expounded upon through the lens of Onsager’s reciprocal relations in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, delineating the fluxes and the driving forces that instigate them. Utilising a simplified Onsager matrix tailored for the ion-exchange membrane electrodialysis process, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted. The computations presented herein depict the intricacies of both dialysis and electrodialysis in saline water solutions.