• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.336-347
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• 2022

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is one of the promising eco-friendly renewable energy technologies which can generate electricity from the concentration difference between seawater and freshwater by using ion-exchange membranes as a diaphragm. The ion-exchange membrane is a key component that determines the performance of RED, and must satisfy requirements such as low electrical resistance, high permselectivity, excellent durability, and low manufacturing cost. In this study, pore-filled anion-exchange membranes were fabricated using porous polymer substrates having various thicknesses and porosity, and the effects of ion-exchange polymer composition and membrane thickness on the power generation performance of RED were investigated. When the electrical resistance of the ion-exchange membrane is sufficiently low, it can be confirmed that the RED power generation performance is mainly influenced by the apparent permselectivity of the membrane. In addition, it was confirmed that the apparent permselectivity of the membranes can be improved through IEC, crosslinking degree, membrane thickness, surface modification, etc., and the optimum condition must be found in consideration of the trade-off relationship with electrical resistance.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2023

Salinity gradient energy can be generated from a mixture of water streams with different salt concentrations by using reverse electrodialysis (RED). In this study, we evaluated the effect of stack size and number of cell pairs on the energy efficiency and specific energy of the RED process. Additionally, we studied the prementioned parameters to maximize the power density of RED. The performance of the RED stack which used a patterned ion exchange membrane, was evaluated as a function of stack size and feed flow rate. Moreover, it was noted that an increase in stack size increased the ion movement through the ion exchange membrane. Furthermore, an increase in feed flow rate led to a reduction in the concentration variation, resulting in an increase in OCV and power density. The energy efficiency and specific energy for 100 cells in the 10 × 10 cm² stack were the highest at 12% and 0.05 kWh/m³, respectively, while the power density from 0.33 cm/s to 5 × 5 cm² stack was the highest at 0.53 W/m². The study showed that the RED performance can be improved by altering the size of the stack and the number of cell pairs, thereby positively affecting energy efficiency and specific energy.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2024

A photo-crosslinked anion exchange membrane (AEM) based on quaternary-aminated polyacrylates was developed for reverse electrodialysis (RED). Although reverse electrodialysis is a clean and renewable energy generation system, the low power output and high membrane cost are serious obstacles to its commercialization. Cross-linked AEMs without any polymer supporters were fabricated through photo-crosslinking between polymer-typed acrylates with anion conducting groups, in particular, polymer-typed acrylates were synthesized based on engineering plastic with outstanding mechanical and chemical property. The fabricated membranes showed outstanding physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties. The area resistance of the fabricated membranes (CQAPPOA-20, CQAPPOA-35, and CQAPPOA-50) were ~50% lower than that of AMV (2.6 Ω cm²). Moreover, the transport number of CQAPPOA-35 wase comparable to that of AMV, despite the thin thickness (40 ㎛) of the fabricated membranes. The RED stack with the CQAPPOA-35 membrane provided an excellent maximum power density of 2.327 W m^-2 at a flow rate of 100 mL min^-1, which is 15% higher than that (2.026 W m^-2) of the RED stack with the AMV membrane. Considering easy fabrication process by UV photo-crosslinking and outstanding RED stack properties, the CQAPPOA-35 membrane is a promising candidate for REDs.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.58-69
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• 2024

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is an electro-membrane process employing ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) that can harvest electric energy from the concentration difference between seawater and river water. Multivalent ions contained in seawater and river water bind strongly to the fixed charge groups of the IEM, causing high resistance and reducing open-circuit voltage and power density through uphill transport. In this study, a pore-filled anion-exchange membrane (PFAEM) with excellent monovalent ion selectivity and electrochemical properties was fabricated and characterized for RED application. The monovalent ion selectivity of the prepared membrane was 3.65, which was superior to a commercial membrane (ASE, Astom Corp.) with a selectivity of 1.27 under the same conditions. Additionally, the prepared membrane showed excellent electrochemical properties, including low electrical resistance compared to ASE. As a result of evaluating RED performance under seawater of 0.459 M NaCl/0.0510 M Na₂SO₄ and river water of 0.0153 M NaCl/0.0017 M Na₂SO₄, the maximum power density of 1.80 W/m² was obtained by applying the prepared membrane, which is a 40.6% improved output performance compared to the ASE membrane.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.621-626
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• 2010

Anion exchange membranes can be used for reverse electrodialysis for electric energy generation, and capacitive deionization for water purification, as well as electrodialysis for desalination. In this study, anion exchange membranes of poly((vinylbenzyl) trimethylammonium chloride-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/poly(vinyl alcohol) were prepared through the polymerization of (vinylbenzyl)trimethylammonium chloride and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate in aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions, esterification with glutaric acid, and cross-linking reaction with glutaraldehyde. We investigated electrochemical properties for the anion exchange membranes prepared according to experimental conditions. Ion exchange capacity and electrical resistance for the membranes were changed with a variation in the monomer ratio in polymerization. Water uptake and conductivity for the membranes decreased with an increase in the content of glutaric acid in esterification. The change in the time of crosslinking reaction with the formed film and glutaraldehyde affected electrochemical properties such as water uptake, conductivity, or transport number for the membranes. Chronopotentiometry and limiting current density for the anion exchange membranes prepared were measured.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.432-448
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• 2016

In the last decade, various types of energy harvesting and conversion systems based on ion exchange membranes (IEMs) have been developed for eco-friendly power generation and energy-grid systems. In these membrane-based energy systems, high ion selectivity and conductivity properties of IEMs are critical parameters to improve efficiency of the systems such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells, anion exchange membrane fuel cells, redox flow batteries, water electrodialysis for hydrogen production, and reverse electrodialysis. This article suggests variable approaches to overcome trade-off limitation of polymeric membrane ion transport properties by reviewing various types of composite ion-exchange membranes including novel inorganic-organic nanocomposite membrane, surface modified membranes, cross-linked and pore-filled membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.109-120
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• 2017

The reverse electrodialysis (RED) is an energy generation system to convert chemical potential of saline water directly into electric energy via the combination of current derived from a redox couple electrolyte and ionic potential obtained when cation ($Na^+$) and anion ($Cl^-$) pass through cation exchange membrane (CEM) and anion exchange membrane (AEM) into fresh water, respectively. Ion exchange membrane, a key element of RED system, should satisfy requirements such as 1) low swelling behavior, 2) a certain level of ion exchange capacity, 3) high ion conductivity, and 4) high perm-selectivity to achieve high power density. In this paper, research trends and prospects of ionomer materials and ion exchange membranes are dealt with.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.79-96
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• 2020

Secondary energy conversion systems have been briskly developed owing to environmental issue and problems of fossil fuel. They are basically operated based on electro-chemical systems. In addition, ion exchange membranes are one of the significant factors to determine performance in their systems. Therefore, the ion exchange membranes in suitable conditions must be developed to improve the performance for the electro-chemical systems. These ion exchange membranes can be classified into various types such as cation exchange membrane, anion exchange membrane and bipolar membrane. Their membranes have distinct characteristics according to the chemical, physical and morphological structure. In this review, the types of ion exchange membranes and their fabrication processes are described with main characteristics. Moreover, applications of ion exchange membranes in newly developed energy conversion systems such as reverse electrodialysis, redox flow battery and water electrolysis process are described including their roles and requirements.