Abstract
The salt permeability through three commercial cation-exchange membranes with different morphologies is investigated in aqueous NaCl solutions. Ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) find application in different processes such as electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, diffusion dialysis, membrane electrolysis, membrane fuel cells and ion exchange bioreactors. The aim of this paper is the experimental determination of the electrolyte permeability in the following membranes: MK-40 membrane, Nafion N324 membrane and Nafion 117 membrane. The latter is selected as being a reference membrane. The effect of an increase in the NaCl concentration in the solutions on membranes transport properties is analyzed. With regard to membranes sorption, a decrease in the water content was observed when the external electrolyte concentration is increased. Concerning permeation through the membranes, the salt permeability increased with concentration for the Nafion 117 membrane and remained nearly constant for the other two membranes. A close relation between the degree of liquid sorption by the membranes and the electrolyte permeability was observed.
Highlights
Ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) find application in different processes such as electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, diffusion dialysis, membrane electrolysis, membrane fuel cells and ion exchange bioreactors
A priori, the first effect leads to a solubility decrease, and the second one increases the diffusivity. Both effects seem to be balanced out in heterogeneous and reinforced homogeneous membranes, such as MK40 and NF324, because the permeability is nearly independent of the external salt concentration
The electrolyte permeability was determined for the MK40 and NF324 membranes
Summary
Ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) find application in different processes such as electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, diffusion dialysis, membrane electrolysis, membrane fuel cells and ion exchange bioreactors. These different processes employ different driving forces. The development of ion-exchange membranes of high chemical, mechanical and thermal stability is of great importance for the above-mentioned processes [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Electrolyte permeability is one of the main properties of the membranes used in the processes. Knowledge of the transport rate of electrolytes through ion-exchange membranes is required to describe different systems [11,12,13,14]
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