Desalination of saline water by nanochannel arrays through manipulation of electrical double layer

Abstract

A novel method for desalination of saline water through manipulation of electric-double-layer (EDL) in the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanochannels to form the ion depletion boundary as virtual ionic filter was reported for the first time. The higher the bias was applied on the electrode, the stronger the EDLs overlapping effect can be achieved. Furthermore, a continuous desalination flow by connecting two chambers together with a pumping system whose flow rate is controllable was demonstrated. Desalination efficiency and power consumption were measured and estimated, compared with that of multi-stage flash (MSF), reversal osmosis (RO), and electrodialysis (ED), providing a more convenient way to generate pure water from saline water and has a significant interest in commercialization for demand of the desalination of saline water with highly efficient, affordable, and sustainable merits.