Mechanism of ball milled activated carbon in improving the desalination performance of flow- and fixed-electrode in capacitive deionization desalination

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1664-6

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (5) : 64 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1664-6

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Mechanism of ball milled activated carbon in improving the desalination performance of flow- and fixed-electrode in capacitive deionization desalination

Ge Shen^1,², Junjun Ma^1,²(

), Jianrui Niu^1,², Ruina Zhang^1,², Jing Zhang^1,², Xiaoju Wang^1,², Jie Liu^1,², Jiarong Gu^1,², Ruicheng Chen^1,², Xiqing Li^1,², Chun Liu^1,²(

)

¹. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, China
². Pollution Prevention Biotechnology Laboratory of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050018, China

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Abstract

● BACs were used in electrode material for both fixed and flowing electrodes.

● ASAR of FCDI and MCDI was improved by 134% and 17%, respectively.

● ENRS of FCDI and MCDI was improved by 21% and 53%.

● The mechanism of improving desalination performance was analyzed in detail.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a novel electrochemical water-treatment technology. The electrode material is an important factor in determining the ion separation efficiency. Activated carbon (AC) is extensively used as an electrode material; however, there are still many deficiencies in commercial AC. We adopted a simple processing method, ball milling, to produce ball milled AC (BAC) to improve the physical and electrochemical properties of the original AC and desalination efficiency. The BAC was characterized in detail and used for membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) and flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) electrode materials. After ball milling, the BAC obtained excellent pore structures and favorable surfaces for ion adsorption, which reduced electron transfer resistance and ion migration resistance in the electrodes. The optimal ball-milling time was 10 h. However, the improved effects of BAC as fixed electrodes and flow electrodes are different and the related mechanisms are discussed in detail. The average salt adsorption rates (ASAR) of FCDI and MCDI were improved by 134% and 17%, respectively, and the energy-normalized removal salt (ENRS) were enhanced by 21% and 53%, respectively. We believe that simple, low-cost, and environmentally friendly BAC has great potential for practical engineering applications of FCDI and MCDI.

Keywords Ball-milling Capacitive deionization Fixed electrode Flow electrode

Corresponding Author(s): Junjun Ma,Chun Liu

Issue Date: 15 December 2022

Cite this article:

Ge Shen,Junjun Ma,Jianrui Niu, et al. Mechanism of ball milled activated carbon in improving the desalination performance of flow- and fixed-electrode in capacitive deionization desalination[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(5): 64.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1664-6
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I5/64

Fig.1 Scanning electron microscope (SEM) top view images of (a) BAC-0; (b) BAC-5; (c) BAC-10; (d) BAC-15.

Fig.2 Particle size distribution of BACs.

Fig.3 Distribution of BACs in the flow electrode: (a) BAC-0; (b) BAC-5; (c) BAC-10; (d) BAC-15.

Tab.1 BET and pore characteristics of BACs

Fig.4 Dynamic contact angle analysis of BACs: (a) BAC-0; (b) BAC-5; (c) BAC-10; (d) BAC-15.

Fig.5 EIS of BACs electrode: (a) fixed electrode; (b) flow electrode.

Fig.6 Desalination performance of BACs: (a) in MCDI; (b) in FCDI

Fig.7 Improvement mechanism of BACs in desalination performance of fixed electrode: (a) BAC-0; (b) BAC-5; (c) BAC-10; (d) BAC-15.

Fig.8 BACs in flow electrode: (a) BAC-0; (b) BAC-5; (c) BAC-10; (d) BAC-15.

Fig.9 Continuous desalination experiment of BACs in MCDI and FCDI: (a) adsorption and desorption process of MCDI; (b) continuous adsorption experiments in FCDI.

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