Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026
07:55
Ion-Exchange Membranes for the Fabrication of Reverse Electrodialysis Device
Published on: July 20, 2021
Direct impure water electrolysis at industrial scale
Jichao Zhang1, Jianrui Feng2, Daojin Zhou3
1SINOPEC (Dalian) Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals Co., Ltd, Dalian, Liaoning 116045, China. wanghongtao.fshy@sinopec.com.
Chemical Society Reviews
|June 26, 2026
Summary
Direct impure water electrolysis (DIWE) offers sustainable green hydrogen production using non-freshwater sources. This review details impurity impacts and proposes industrial pathways for DIWE scalability.
Area of Science:
- Green Chemistry
- Electrochemical Engineering
- Sustainable Energy
Background:
- Direct impure water electrolysis (DIWE) is crucial for green hydrogen production in water-scarce regions.
- Industrialization faces challenges, primarily performance degradation due to impurities in source water.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review impurities in seawater and wastewater for DIWE.
- To assess impurity impacts and propose optimization strategies.
- To outline an industrial pathway for DIWE implementation.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of impurities in direct impure water electrolysis.
- Analysis of impurity effects on performance degradation.
- Development of an industrialization roadmap based on impurity interactions.
Main Results:
- Identified key impurities in seawater and wastewater affecting DIWE performance.
- Highlighted synergistic optimization strategies for impurity management.
- Proposed a viable industrial pathway for DIWE integration.
Conclusions:
- DIWE is a promising technology for sustainable hydrogen production.
- Understanding and managing impurity interplay is critical for industrial scale-up.
- Further research should focus on technical and economic viability for integration.
Related Concept Videos
03:00Electrolysis
In a galvanic cell, the electrical work is done by a redox system on its surroundings as electrons produced by the spontaneous redox reactions are transferred through an external circuit. Alternatively, an external circuit does work on a redox system by imposing a voltage sufficient to drive an otherwise nonspontaneous reaction in a process known as electrolysis. For instance, recharging a battery involves the use of an external power source to drive the spontaneous (discharge) cell reaction in...
01:17Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Precipitation and coprecipitation methods can be used to separate a mixture of ions in a solution. In qualitative inorganic analysis, ions that form sparingly soluble precipitates with the same reagent are separated based on the differences in solubility products. For example, consider the separation of Cu(II) and Fe(II) ions by precipitation as insoluble sulfides. First, copper(II) sulfide is precipitated by the addition of acidic H2S, where the dissociation of H2S is suppressed. Adding H2S...
01:29Downstream Processing
Downstream processing begins once fermentation is complete and involves a series of steps to recover and purify products such as acids, vitamins, antibiotics, or proteins.Cell HarvestingFor example, for intracellular protein-based products, the first step is harvesting the cells. This is typically achieved using centrifugation or filtration to separate the cells from the liquid phase.Cell Disruption for Intracellular ProductsIf the target product is intracellular, the harvested cells must be...
01:15Dialysis
Dialysis is a diffusion-based purification process that separates analyte molecules from a complex matrix. This is accomplished by allowing molecules in the solution to pass through a semipermeable membrane into a liquid on the other side. The membrane is usually made of cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate, and the second liquid must be miscible with the solution. Ions (e.g., chloride or sodium) or organic molecules (e.g., glucose) can pass through the membrane pores, which generally have...
01:24Electrochemical Systems
Electrochemical systems provide a fascinating insight into the dynamic interplay of charged species within various phases. One notable example is the interaction between a membrane permeable to K⁺ ions but not to Cl⁻ ions, separating an aqueous KCl solution from pure water. As K⁺ ions diffuse through the membrane, they generate net charges on each phase, leading to a potential difference between them.Similarly, when a piece of Zn is immersed in an aqueous ZnSO₄ solution, the Zn metal, composed...
01:16Solubility Equilibria: Ionic Product of Water
Pure water is a weak electrolyte; only a small amount ionizes into hydrogen and hydroxide ions. At any given temperature, the concentration of undissociated water is almost constant, so the ionic product of water is the product of the hydrogen and hydroxide ion concentrations, denoted as Kw. The square root of Kw gives the individual ion concentrations.
The ionic product of water varies with temperature, and its value is 1.0 x 10−14 at standard experimental conditions. Per Le Chatelier's...
The ionic product of water varies with temperature, and its value is 1.0 x 10−14 at standard experimental conditions. Per Le Chatelier's...