A novel electrochemical ion exchange system and its application in water treatment

A novel electrochemical ion exchange system with porous cylinder electrodes is proposed for treatment of wastewater. This system can be used for desalination without the costly ion-exchange membrane and extra chemical reagents. Since the electrodes are completely uniform and no ion-exchange membrane was used in this system, it can be operated by switching anodes and cathodes flexibly for eliminating the scaling on the surface of electrodes. The strong base ion-exchange resin grains placed among the anode and cathode have played as supporting electrolyte, which is capable for the treatment of wastewater with low conductivity. The concentrated and neutralized anolyte containing chlorine is effective for disinfection and contaminants removal. Under the experimental conditions, the removal percentage of total dissolved salts was 83% and the removal percentage of chemical oxygen demand was 92% without consumption of extra chemical reagents.