Profiled Ion Exchange Membranes: A Comprehensible Review.

Area of Science:

• Membrane Science and Technology
• Electrochemical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Flat membranes are standard in separation processes like electrodialysis (ED) and reverse electrodialysis (RED).
• Profiled membranes, featuring designed topography, are emerging as a superior alternative to flat membranes.
• These membranes are also known as corrugated, micro-structured, patterned, or notched membranes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the advantages of profiled ion exchange membranes in ED and RED.
• To explore the factors influencing the performance of profiled membranes.
• To discuss the potential of advanced manufacturing techniques for creating novel profiled membrane geometries.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on profiled ion exchange membranes in ED and RED.
• Analysis of the impact of membrane profile geometry on hydrodynamic and ion transport.
• Discussion of manufacturing methods, including 3D printing, for profiled membranes.

Main Results:

• Profiled membranes significantly enhance ED and RED performance by mitigating the spacer shadow effect.
• Induced hydrodynamic changes in profiled membranes lead to improved ion transport rates.
• Performance benefits are contingent upon profile shape, flow rate, and salt concentration.

Conclusions:

• Profiled ion exchange membranes represent a promising advancement for ED and RED applications.
• Tailoring membrane topography offers substantial opportunities for performance optimization.
• Emerging manufacturing technologies like 3D printing facilitate the creation of complex, high-performance profiled membranes.