Electro-Osmotic Dewatering under Electro-Osmotic Pulse Technology

Direct current (DC) electric fields have been used for electro-osmotic dewatering. Under DC conditions, however, the electrical contact resistance between the electrode and the dewatering material increases considerably during the process of dewatering. Such a circumstance hinders the continuation of effective electro-osmotic dewatering. To reduce this hindrance, an applied pulse electric field with periodic reversals of the electrode polarity should improve electro-osmotic dewatering. In this study, electro-osmotic dewatering under pulse conditions was experimentally investigated for electrode polarity reversals. During the dewatering process, the pulse electric field was able to reduce the hindrance caused by the DC, resulting in an increased final dewatered amount relative to that under a DC electric field. For a constant applied voltage, the reversed polarity condition, under which the electric current passing through the material was almost unchanged with time, yielded the maximum final dewatered amount. This technique can be used to enhance drainage from a water storage facility during a period of extreme drought and the seawater desalination plants using reverse osmosis in drought stricken coastal regions.