Removal of organic acid salts from 1,3-propanediol fermentation broth by electrodialysis

ED method is employed to effectively remove the organic acid salts in actual PDO fermentation broth. The lower electrical potential is selected to avoid the serious membrane fouling so as to ensure a stable and durative desalination process. Under the selected operation conditions, about 90% of organic acids salts are removed from PDO fermentation broth successfully by ED process. To reduce the loss of PDO product due to the diffusion, the operation time should be considered carefully. And based on mass balance equation and irreversible thermodynamics approach, a mathematical model is developed to describe the desalination process of an aqueous solution containing neutral solute by ED method. While the influence of concentration polarization is reflected by decreasing the conductivity of membrane, the model is verified well to describe the ED processes under varied operation conditions. Through the model, ED process of actual PDO fermentation broth is simulated to get a suitable scope of initial concentration in concentrated compartment.