Efficient acid/alkali recovery enabled by only one negatively charged microporous polymer membrane

This article presents a negatively charged microporous polymer membrane, a sulfonated polyxanthene membrane, which has intrinsic micropore channels for H+/OH− permeation, and we find that highly selective H+ and OH− transport can be acquired with the same membrane. This membrane exhibits a high H+/Fe2+ selectivity of 617 (6.3 times that of the commercial CIMS membrane) in acid recovery and a very high OH−/WO42 − selectivity of 649 (the highest value ever reported) in alkali recovery while maintaining comparable H+/OH− transport rate. The results highlight the importance of hydrophilic micropores as ion-selective channels in constructing high-performing ion exchange membranes for resource recovery.

Source: AIChE Journal - February 16, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Wenyi Wu, Junying Yan, Hui Li, Peipei Zuo, Zhengjin Yang, Tongwen Xu Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research