NaCl Diffusion Research Articles

The impact of electrical stimulation on NaCl diffusion in tenderloin and the quality of dry-cured loin during the marination process

The effects of electrical stimulation (ES) during the post-processing stage on NaCl diffusion, microstructure, and overall quality in the dry curing of pork tenderloin were investigated. ES treatment significantly increased the salt content in pork tenderloin, with the A2ES group (ES applied after 2 h of curing) showing a 28.32 % increase compared to the control group. Energy spectrum analysis revealed that NaCl distribution in the meat tissue was most concentrated following ES treatment. Binarized images of NaCl permeation in pork loin clearly demonstrated that ES enhanced NaCl permeation. Additionally, microscopic analysis showed that ES caused cell disintegration, and the combined effect of ES and NaCl damaged muscle tissue. The results indicate that ES enhanced NaCl diffusion and shortened the curing time, while improving meat tenderness and reducing bitter and astringent flavors. This study offers new insights and techniques to accelerate the marination process of meat products.

Tri-frequency simultaneous ultrasound pickling for the acceleration of the NaCl content and quality improvement of pork (longissimus dorsi).

The pickling process with NaCl is an essential step for pork preservation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of different ultrasonic intensities of tri-frequency simultaneous ultrasound (TSIU) pickling on the NaCl content and quality of pork (longissimus dorsi). After 30 min pickling, the NaCl content, moisture content, pickling yield, cooking loss, textural properties, color, pH, moisture migration and distribution as well as microstructure of pork were assessed. Results showed that among all the ultrasonic treatment intensities (85-150 W L-1), the NaCl content of the sample pickled by an intensity of 101.3 W L-1 was higher than that of other intensities. TSIU 101.3 W L-1 showed 59.95% higher NaCl content than the control sample. In addition, the sample treated with TSIU of 101.3 W L-1 had higher pickling yield and moisture content, better textural properties of pork (including hardness and chewiness), and less cooking loss. The results of the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance showed that, compared with the control group, the relaxation time T21 of the ultrasound-assisted pickling samples increased, while the proportion of T22 (A22) reduction ranged from 175.0% to 379.9%. The microstructure designated that the ultrasonic treatment could facilitate changes in meat texture. Ultrasound marination of different intensities promoted the diffusion of NaCl and affected the quality of pork tenderloins. The TSIU at 101.3 W L-1 could better accelerate NaCl transport and homogeneous distribution on meat, thereby improving the sample quality. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Structural Characterization and Physicochemical Properties of Functionally Porous Proton-Exchange Membrane Based on PVDF-SPA Graft Copolymers.

Fluorinated proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) based on graft copolymers of dehydrofluorinated polyvinylidene fluoride (D-PVDF), 3-sulfopropyl acrylate (SPA), and 1H, 1H, 2H-perfluoro-1-hexene (PFH) were prepared via free radical copolymerization and characterized for fuel cell application. The membrane morphology and physical properties were studied via small-(SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), SEM, and DSC. It was found that the crystallinity degree is 17% for PEM-RCF (co-polymer with SPA) and 16% for PEM-RCF-2 (copolymer with SPA and PFH). The designed membranes possess crystallite grains of 5-6 nm in diameter. SEM images reveal a structure with open pores on the surface of diameters from 20 to 140 nm. Their transport and electrochemical characterization shows that the lowest membrane area resistance (0.9 Ωcm2) is comparable to perfluorosulfonic acid PEMs (such as Nafion®) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based CJMC cation-exchange membranes (ChemJoy Polymer Materials, China). Key transport and physicochemical properties of new and commercial membranes were compared. The PEM-RCF permeability to NaCl diffusion is rather high, which is due to a relatively low concentration of fixed sulfonate groups. Voltammetry confers that the electrochemical behavior of new PEM correlates to that of commercial cation-exchange membranes, while the ionic conductivity reveals an impact of the extended pores, as in track-etched membranes.

Simulation Study of Xylitol-Mediated Effect on NaCl Diffusion Behavior in Cured Pork Tenderloin.

Polyhydroxy alcohol-mediated curing has great potential for producing low-salt cured meat products. This study investigated the mass transfer kinetics and the one-way diffusion simulation of sodium chloride (NaCl) during the curing process. Furthermore, Fick's second law determined the NaCl diffusion coefficient (De) of xylitol-mediated cured pork tenderloin. The results demonstrated that adding xylitol could reduce the De of NaCl. The De of NaCl, calculated using the one-way model, was 1.29 × 10-9 m2·s-1, 1.22 × 10-9 m2·s-1, 1.2 × 10-9 m2·s-1, and 1.15 × 10-9 m2·s-1 when the amount of xylitol added was 0%, 4%, 8%, and 12% (w/w), respectively. This result agrees with the predicted values from the power function time-varying model. Moreover, a three-dimensional simulating model of mass transfers constructed using COMSOL Multiphysics was developed to evaluate the NaCl diffusion in pork tenderloin during the curing process. This model has high accuracy and can be used to describe the diffusion of NaCl in curing. Overall, this study provided a foundation for NaCl diffusion and distribution during the curing process.

Synergistic fouling behaviors and thermodynamic mechanisms of proteins and polysaccharides in forward osmosis: The unique role of reverse solute diffusion

Synergistic fouling effects between proteins and polysaccharides in forward osmosis (FO) and the related thermodynamic mechanisms were studied at the molecular level. Two noteworthy fouling phenomena were found after filtering same amount of foulants: 1) the flux reduction of bovine serum albumin (BSA)‑sodium alginate (SA) combined foulants (67.2%) was much higher than that of individual foulants (14.8% for BSA and 31.8% for SA); 2) the flux reduction of combined foulants showed a “logarithmic” trend, while that of individual foulants showed a “linear” trend. Density functional theory calculation and experimental characterization revealed that the electrostatic association between BSA and SA induced the formation of stable gel network. Based on Flory-Huggins theory, the high chemical potential gap caused by this gel network is responsible for the significant flux reduction of combined foulants in initial fouling stage. However, the reverse NaCl diffusion non-linearly reduced the electrostatic repulsion between BSA-SA chains, triggering the dynamic transition of combined foulants from gel to flocs. As a result, newly adhered foulants formed a cake layer, causing only a slight flux loss in later fouling stage. This study clearly revealed the crucial role of reverse solute diffusion in dynamically governing the synergistic fouling effects between proteins and polysaccharides.

Biotite supports long-range diffusive transport in dissolution–precipitation creep in halite through small porosity fluctuations

Abstract. Phyllosilicates are generally regarded to have a reinforcing effect on chemical compaction by dissolution–precipitation creep (DPC) and thereby influence the evolution of hydraulic rock properties relevant to groundwater resources and geological repositories as well as fossil fuel reservoirs. We conducted oedometric compaction experiments on layered NaCl–biotite samples to test this assumption. In particular, we aim to analyse slow chemical compaction processes in the presence of biotite on the grain scale and determine the effects of chemical and mechanical feedbacks. We used time-resolved (4-D) microtomographic data to capture the dynamic evolution of the porosity in layered NaCl–NaCl/biotite samples over 1619 and 1932 h of compaction. Percolation analysis in combination with advanced digital volume correlation techniques showed that biotite grains influence the dynamic evolution of porosity in the sample by promoting a reduction of porosity in their vicinity. However, the lack of preferential strain localisation around phyllosilicates and a homogeneous distribution of axial shortening across the sample suggests that the porosity reduction is not achieved by pore collapse but by the precipitation of NaCl sourced from outside the NaCl–biotite layer. Our observations invite a renewed discussion of the effect of phyllosilicates on DPC, with a particular emphasis on the length scales of the processes involved. We propose that, in our experiments, the diffusive transport processes invoked in classical theoretical models of DPC are complemented by chemo-mechanical feedbacks that arise on longer length scales. These feedbacks drive NaCl diffusion from the marginal pure NaCl layers into the central NaCl–biotite mixture over distances of several hundred micrometres and several grain diameters. Such a mechanism was first postulated by Merino et al. (1983).

Mathematical Modeling of the Film Influence on the Salting Time of Mozzarella Cheese in a Static and Dynamic System: Application of Artificial Neural Networks of the Multilayer Perceptron Type

The NaCl and KCl diffusion in the film formed on the cheese surface during salting was simulated by the finite element method. The time and salts concentration values on the cheese surface were determined, tabulated, and presented to the multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP) for the regression modeling. The samples were divided into 70, 15 and 15% for training, testing, and validation, respectively. The networks with the best performance showed 5 to 12 hidden layers. The Tukey’s test showed that there was no significant difference, at the 5% level, between the time value used and the mean value modeled for training, testing, and validation for the NaCl. For the KCl, a significant difference was observed only for 2 training samples and 1 test sample. Sensitivity analysis showed that the discrete variable Z, which represents the static and dynamic systems, was the most important in the models’ construction.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE FILM FORMED ON THE PRATO CHEESE SURFACE DURING THE NaCl AND KCl SALTING PROCESS: APPLICATION OF THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AND NEURAL NETWORKS OF THE SELF-ORGANIZING MAP (SOM) AND MULTILAYER PERCEPTRON (MLP) TYPES

Sodium chloride is used in the cheese salting process as it promotes sensory changes and food preservation. However, in excess can cause hypertension problems, and for this reason, it has been partially replaced by potassium chloride. In the present work, Prato cheese was subjected to joint diffusion of NaCl and KCl by immersion in static and stirred brine. The salt concentration values on the cheese surface were determined as a function of time. They were tabulated and presented to the self-organizing map (SOM)-type neural networks and the multilayer perceptron (MLP) for analysis and modeling of the film formed on the surface of the cheese during static and dynamic salting. The SOM network showed that the behavior of the diffusive process, on the surface of the cheese, depends on the analyzed position and that the points in which occupy similar positions, concerning the distance from the edge, have similar behavior. Regression models for NaCl and KCl were significant at the 5% level and can be used for predictive purposes.

A unified thermodynamic fouling mechanism based on forward osmosis membrane unique properties: An asymmetric structure and reverse solute diffusion

Fouling mechanism of the forward osmosis membrane, which was peculiarly featured by the asymmetric membrane structure and reverse solute diffusion, was investigated at the molecular level and from the energy perspective. Two noteworthy fouling behaviors were observed in batch fouling tests conducted in AL-FS mode (active layer facing feed solution) and AL-DS mode (active layer facing draw solution) after filtering foulants with identical volume: 1) after filtering 100 mL of foulants, the flux decline rate in AL-DS mode was 1.78 times faster than that in AL-FS mode, but the flux decline behaviors of the two modes were similar in the subsequent filtration stages; 2) although the foulant layer weight of the same mode increased linearly in middle and late stages, the flux loss rate was distinctly different. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the attractive interaction energy between the foulants and the support layer was about 5 times higher than that between the foulants and the active layer, well interpreting the higher flux decline rate of AL-DS mode in initial stage. Meanwhile, a non-invasive microscope observed that the structure of the fouling layer remarkably changed from loose to dense in the middle stage, and stabilized in the late stage. Furthermore, quantum chemistry calculation proved that the reverse diffusion of NaCl brought alginate molecular chains closer, whereas the distance between them tended to be constant as the continuous increase of NaCl. Based on these findings, the thermodynamic fouling mechanism proposed by combining the structure change process of the fouling layer with Flory-Huggins lattice theory satisfactorily interpreted the noteworthy fouling behaviors caused by reverse NaCl diffusion in middle and late stages. The revealed fouling mechanism unifies the adhesion and filtration behaviors related to the unique properties of FO membrane, deepening understanding of membrane fouling in the dynamic and complex ternary system of the FO process.

Experiment study on sodium chloride diffusion in membrane electrode of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The sodium chloride poisoning of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has important influence on performance. The concentration diffusion of NaCl on a PEM fuel cell membrane electrode (MEA) was investigated. The MEA was soaked in five NaCl solutions with different concentrations (0mg/L, 50mg/L, 100 mg/L, 300 mg/L, 500 mg/L), and the surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscope, and the element content was quantitatively analyzed by energy dispersive spectrometer. The results show that with the increase of pollution concentration, the number and size of sodium chloride square crystal on the gas diffusion layer also show a positive correlation.; At the same time, the analysis of the determination results of the energy dispersive spectrometer shows that the closer to the proton exchange membrane region of the membrane electrode, the percentage of sodium atom content also presents a positive correlation.

Influence of ultrasound-assisted tumbling on NaCl transport and the quality of pork

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of ultrasound-assisted tumbling (UAT; 20 kHz, 100, 300, 500 and 700 W) with different treatment time (30, 60, 90 and 120 min) on the diffusion and distribution of NaCl as well as the change of pork texture properties during curing. Results showed that in comparison with the single tumbling (ST), the NaCl content and the NaCl diffusion coefficient were increased along with UAT treatment (P < 0.05). The scanning electron microscopy and the energy dispersive X-ray analysis showed that UAT treatment changed the microstructure of pork which may facilitate the NaCl dispersion homogeneously. In addition, the moderate UAT treatment of 300 W with 60 min could significantly improve the tumbling yield, water-holding capacity and textural properties of pork compared with the ST treatment (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, in comparison with the ST group, protein extraction was considerably increased after UAT (300 and 500 W) treated for 120 min (P < 0.05). Our study demonstrated that UAT treatment could effectively promote the penetration and distribution of NaCl and improve pork meat quality via facilitating the extraction of meat protein.

Evaluation of ultrasound and microbubbles effect on pork meat during brining process

In this study combined effect of ultrasound-induced acoustic cavitation and microbubbles during meat brining on pork loin (Longissimus dorsi) was evaluated. Cylindrical shape (diameter 15 mm, height 80 mm) pork loin samples were cut and immersed in 200 g L-1 NaCl brine and treated with the following brining methods for 180 min: static brining (SB), ultrasound assisted brining (US) and ultrasound combined with microbubbles in brine (USMB). Ultrasound was generated with 20 kHz frequency, 5,09 W/cm2 maximum intensity and 100 W maximum power. Microbubbles in brine were produced by a gas–liquid mixing pump. Effect of ultrasound and microbbubles on NaCl content and diffusion in pork loin, mass balance, water binding capacity (WBC), protein denaturation and meat tissue microstructure were evaluated. The US and USMB brinings enhanced the NaCl diffusion into meat compared to meat brined under static conditions. The constant diffusion coefficient (D) model precisely described the NaCl diffusion kinetics during brinings. The ultrasound and microbbubles resulted in microscopic pores on the surface of myofibers. Decreasing WBC was observed for all brining methods. Myosin was not detectable in any of the brining methods. Denaturation temperature of actin showed a decreasing tendency with increasing brining time independently the brining methods.

Effect of sodium chloride on the behaviour of the lactose in aqueous solution studied from diffusion experiments and molecular dynamics simulations

Ternary mutual diffusion coefficients (D11, D22, D12 and D21) measured by the Taylor dispersion method are reported for aqueous solutions of (NaCl + lactose) at 298.15 K and NaCl concentrations up to 1.00 mol dm−3. The coupled diffusion of NaCl (1) and lactose (2) is significant, as indicated by the large negative cross-diffusion coefficients. In this sense, from the values of these cross-diffusion coefficients a counter-transport of 0.4 mol of NaCl per mol of diffusing lactose is inferred, whereas only 0.02 mol of lactose could be counter-transported by one diffusing mole of NaCl. The main diffusion coefficient data are compared with the binary ones of both pure solutes in water and discussed on the basis of Onsager-Fuoss and Pikal models. From these data and by performing molecular dynamics simulations, it is possible to obtain a better understanding of the effect of sodium chloride on the transport of lactose in aqueous solutions, as well as to assume the importance of the Na+-lactose short-range interaction, competing with the coulomb long-range interaction between the sodium and chloride ions, especially at low concentration of NaCl.

Modeling the NaCl diffusion in beef during brining process.

An in-depth understanding of mass transfer during brining process is important for improving the quality and characteristics of meat products. In this study, a fitted equation of time and NaCl concentrations in the aqueous phase of beef was established to calculate the NaCl diffusion coefficient for simulation. A three-dimensional simulating model of mass transfer was developed to evaluate the NaCl diffusion in beef during brining process. And the validity of this simulating model was verified by comparing the NaCl concentrations evaluated by the numerical simulation simulated with the experimental measurements. The results indicated that the power function time variant equation can predict NaCl concentrations (R2 = 0.995) and accurately calculate the NaCl diffusion coefficient (8.46×10-10 m2 /s). The simulating model visually showed the NaCl diffusion in beef during brining process. Therefore, this research provided a new method for predicting the NaCl diffusion in realistic meat processing. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This research gives a new method for predicting the NaCl diffusion in meat product. The method accurately evaluated NaCl concentrations in beef at different brining time and clearly showed NaCl diffusion in beef during brining process, which could be helpful in reducing the cost and the complexity of detecting NaCl concentrations in meat during brining process.

Effect of ultrasonic‐assisted brining on mass transfer of beef

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ultrasonic intensity (7.5, 10.0, and 12.7 W/cm2) and treatment time (10, 20, and 30 min) on mass transfer of beef during brining process. Changes in the salt and moisture contents in brined beef showed that ultrasound treatment had a positive effect on the mass transfer during brining process. The high correlation between the weight changes of beef and treatment time indicated that the mass transfer kinetics model could be used to evaluate the weight changes of beef during ultrasonic‐assisted brining process. The increase of NaCl diffusion coefficients calculated by the Fick's second law suggested that ultrasound treatment could accelerate the NaCl diffusion into beef (p &lt; .05). The binarized images visualized the increments of NaCl solution in beef by ultrasonic‐assisted brining. These results provided a basis for the ultrasound application in rapid brining of meat products.Practical applicationsUltrasound as a novel and promising technology has some potential advantages in meat processing. This research showed that ultrasound treatment could contribute to the mass transfer during brining processing, and enhanced the NaCl diffusion into beef. The binarized images visualized the quantity of NaCl solution in beef treated with ultrasound. Therefore, ultrasound could be considered as an effective method to accelerate the brining process of meat products.

Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy based diffusion modelling in cheese matrix

In the cheese industry, mass transfer of small solutes like salt during brining and ripening is extremely important for the quality of final products. In general, effective diffusion coefficient values have been reported in the studies using destructive concentration profile methods. This study aims to monitor NaCl diffusion in cheese by using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a nondestructive method to fulfill the requirement of measuring mass transfer properties of solutes in microscopic size complex heterogeneous structures. To this end, spherical shaped white cheese samples were brined in 16% salt solution for 5–210 min and overnight, and Na emission lines were monitored by scanning the cross-section of each sample at 30 points on the radial axis. As was expected, increasing brining time decreased the concentration difference between the center and edge of the cheese samples. Experimental results were fitted to Fick's Diffusion Equation. It was observed that NaCl distribution became uniform and equal at different locations of the cheese sample after 13.8 h. All these results have demonstrated that LIBS can be utilized for optimization of the brining conditions of cheese. Although the use of LIBS in this study was limited to parameter optimization, it can also be applied for real time monitoring of food processes due to its rapid and continuous measurement mode.

Determining sodium diffusion through acoustic impedance measurements using 80 MHz Scanning Acoustic Microscopy: Agarose phantom verification

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of time-dependent acoustic impedance measurement by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) for analyzing the sodium diffusion. The purpose is motivated by the fact that sodium monitoring is challenging and still in the area of exploratory analysis despite its biological importance. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which sodium diffusion has been investigated by time-dependent acoustic impedance measurements provided by SAM. We first tested the idea in an agarose phantom as a proof-of-concept. Accordingly, we designed the agarose phantom which initially contains a well of sodium chloride (NaCl) solution moving radially into the phantom. By using NaCl diffusion in the phantom, we obtained two-dimensional (2D) acoustic impedance (Z) maps over time through SAM operating with 80 MHz ultrasonic transducer having a lateral resolution of 20 μm. A linear correlation between the changes in the concentration profile of the phantom and its acoustic impedance was introduced. Analysis of experimental data proved that spatially changing acoustic impedance could be ascribed to the diffusion process and produced a diffusion coefficient in the order of 10−5 cm2/s which matches well with the literature. Our results showed that SAM could monitor the time-dependent alterations in acoustic impedance resulting from the diffusion of sodium inside the agarose phantom. With this study, SAM shows a promise as a monitoring tool not only to obtain static images but also to perform dynamic investigations of sodium ions with the advantages of providing images in micrometer resolution with a scanning time no longer than 2 min for an image area of 4.8 mm × 4.8 mm.

Effect of Bedding Planes on the Permeability and Diffusivity Anisotropies of Berea Sandstone

Evaluating the anisotropy of transport parameters in rocks is important for various applications, such as reservoir engineering and rock mechanics. Owing to their anisotropic pore structures, the tortuosity, constrictivity, and pore size distribution of rocks are often anisotropic in nature, which in turn affect the permeability and diffusivity. However, it has still not been determined whether the permeability and diffusivity are anisotropic in the same manner. This study used experiments and numerical modeling to examine the effect of the pore structure on the permeability and diffusivity anisotropies of rocks. The experimental results showed a clear difference in the anisotropy ratios of the permeability (k⊥/k‖) and diffusivity (De⊥/De‖) for Berea sandstone, which is the de facto standard porous sandstone. The analysis results from micro-focus X-ray computed tomography and simulation with the lattice Boltzmann method supported the experimental difference in anisotropy ratios. In the analysis and simulation, the relation between the minimum cross-sectional porosity area and characteristic pressure gradient was estimated. The analysis results suggest that the minimum cross-sectional porosity areas that influence the permeability anisotropy are too large to physically induce anisotropic NaCl diffusion, and thus, the diffusivity of Berea sandstone is nearly isotropic.

Effect of surface profiling of a cation-exchange membrane on the phenylalanine and NaCl separation performances in diffusion dialysis

Abstract Diffusion dialysis (DD) is an environmentally appropriate method for separating components, which are unstable under the external influences (high temperature, high pressure, presence of electric field). The roadblock to the wider application of the DD method for separation and purification of amino acids is relatively low rate and selectivity of diffusion transport of these substances through ion-exchange membranes. In this paper, mechanisms of amino acid selective transport and possibilities to increase its flux across a cation-exchange membrane are considered. In particular, the effect of replacement of a flat membrane with a profiled one, prepared by the method of hot pressing, when using the same material is examined. Experimental and theoretical study is carried out using solutions of phenylalanine amino acid and NaCl when applying a commercial flat MK-40 cation-exchange membrane and its modification MK-40pr with profiled surface. It is found that the relatively high selective transport of phenylalanine is due to its facilitated diffusion, while the NaCl diffusion is reduced by the Donnan effect. The MK-40pr membrane allows a 8-fold increase in phenylalanine flux in comparison with the MK-40 membrane. This increase in partly due to the increased surface available for mass transfer (in 2.3 times), but also to better hydrodynamics reducing the diffusion layer thickness and to a higher fraction of conductive surface and higher pore radius. The latter is caused by water evaporation within the membrane pores in the course of its profiling.

Permselectivity and ion-conductivity of grafted cation-exchange membranes based on UV-oxidized polymethylpenten and sulfonated polystyrene

Abstract In the present study the properties of novel cation-exchange membranes based on UV-oxidized polymethylpentene (PMP) with grafted sulfonated polystyrene are described. A correlation between the composition of the grafted copolymer (grafting degree, cross-linking degree) and transport properties (Na+-conductivity, permselectivity, diffusion permeability) of resulted membranes are discussed. It is shown that with increasing of grafting degree (GD) and lowering of cross-linking degree (CD) the concentration of functional groups in the inner solution and permselectivity decrease, while ionic conductivity increases. The obtained membranes have the GD ranging from 29 to 120% and CD from 0 to 5%. The best membranes have ionic surface resistance of 0.3–0.6 Ω cm2 in 0.5 M NaCl, apparent cation transport numbers of 0.870–0.998 and NaCl diffusion permeability of 3.3 · 10−8–5.5 · 10−7 cm2 s−1, as well as satisfactory mechanical performance. A comparison of transport properties (conductivity and cation transport number) of the obtained membranes with a properties of number of available samples was made. It is noted that some of the obtained samples are at the level of the best perfluorinated homogeneous membranes in terms of the ratio of conductivity and cation transport numbers. High ionic conductivity and permselectivity make the prepared membranes promising candidates for possible applications in electrodialysis, dialysis, reverse electrodialysis, Red-Ox flow batteries and other membrane processes.