Performance assessment of the stacked microbial desalination cells with internally parallel and series flow configurations

Publication date: August 2018Source: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Volume 6, Issue 4Author(s): Ali Ziaedini, Hamid Rashedi, Ebrahim Alaie, Majid ZeinaliAbstractPerformances of five phenol-powered stacked microbial desalination cells (sMDC) with internally parallel and series continuous flow configurations were assessed. The effects of inter-membrane distance (5 and 10 mm) and flow configuration on water desalination were investigated in order to improve the flexibility and footprint of the system. Different sMDC configurations were examined with influent NaCl concentrations of 1–3% at flow rates of 3.5, 7, and 15 μL min−1. The results of the series flow configurations showed that at NaCl concentration of 1%, reducing the inter-membrane distance (from 10 to 5 mm) of the desalination chamber next to the anode compartment resulted in improved desalination efficiency and specific desalination rate (SDR) while at 3% NaCl concentration, the highest desalination efficiency was achieved with 10 mm inter-membrane distance of both desalination chambers. The results of the parallel flow configurations showed that decreasing the inter-membrane distance leads to distinct effects on desalination efficiency based on the initial NaCl concentration. At NaCl concentration of 1% in contrast to the higher concentrations of 2–3%, an increase in desalination efficiency (36%) was achieved by decreasing the inter-membrane distance. Overall, in parallel flow configur...
Source: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research