Selective removal of nitrate ion using a novel composite carbon electrode in capacitive deionization

We fabricated nitrate-selective composite carbon electrodes (NSCCEs) for use in capacitive deionization to remove nitrate ions selectively from a solution containing a mixture of anions. The NSCCE was fabricated by coating the surface of a carbon electrode with the anion exchange resin, BHP55, after grinding the resin into fine powder. BHP55 is known to be selective for nitrate ions. We performed desalination experiments on a solution containing 5.0 mM NaCl and 2.0 mM NaNO3 using the NSCCE system constructed with the fabricated electrode. The selective removal of nitrate in the NSCCE system was compared to a membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) system constructed with ion exchange membranes and carbon electrodes. The total quantity of chloride and nitrate ions adsorbed onto the unit area of the electrode in the MCDI system was 25 mmol/m2 at a cell potential of 1.0 V. The adsorption of nitrate ions was 8.3 mmol/m2, accounting for 33% of the total. In contrast, the total anion adsorption in the NSCCE system was 34 mmol/m2, 36% greater than the total anion adsorption of the MCDI system. The adsorption of nitrate ions was 19 mmol/m2, 2.3-times greater than the adsorption in the MCDI system. These results showed that the ions were initially adsorbed by an electrostatic force, and the ion exchange reactions then occurred between the resin powder in the coated layer and the solution containing mixed anions.

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► A novel nitrate-selective composite carbon electrode (NSCCE) was fabricated.
► Nitrate-selective anion-exchange resin powders was coated in the NSCCE.
► The total adsorption in the NSCCE was 35% greater than that of MCDI system.
► The amount of adsorbed nitrate ions was 2.3-times greater than that of MCDI system.
► Mole fraction of nitrate was 57% of the total in NSCCE-system, while being 33% in MCDI system.