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In capacitive deionization (CDI), the functionalization or modification of carbon electrodes and the mitigation of positive electrode oxidation are effective methods to improve desalination capacity and stability for practical application. Here, the covalent bond attached three-dimensional (3D) graphene/carbon nanotubes hybrid (G-CNTs) with rich conductive channels was chosen as electrode material, and a periodically alternated (positive and negative) voltage operation (1.2/0/–1.2/0 V) was applied that aims to enhance the efficiency and stability of capacity deionization. The desalination capacity of the G-CNTs electrode increased gradually over the first few cycles in this operation, while the usage cycle of CDI could be pronouncedly extended almost six times, compared with the CDI of regular applied voltage operation (1.2/0 V). Through the characterization of electrode and CDI cell, this enhancement of the desalination performance is attributed to the synergistic benefits of alternating oxidation of negative and positive electrode, which can mitigate the oxidation of the positive electrode as well as achieve negative surface charge enhanced negative electrode. Therefore, a periodically alternated voltage operation is an economical and efficient method to control the oxidation of electrodes for enhancing the desalination performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) is a new desalination technology that delivers sustainable desalination performance. However, higher desalination rate and charge efficiency of FCDI are still desired for practical applications. In this study, voltages greater than 1.23 V – the minimum voltage for water electrolysis – were applied to enhance the driving force for ion migration and adsorption in an FCDI so as to achieve higher desalination rates. When the voltage was raised from 0.6 to 4.8 V, the desalination rate increased by nearly 7 times but the charge efficiency reduced from 92% to 69.5% due to the occurrence of Faradaic reactions such as water electrolysis. The other major factor that influenced the FCDI's charge efficiency was found to be concentration diffusion of ions between the FCDI's middle chamber and the two electrode chambers. To improve the charge efficiency, carbon black (CB) particles with an average diameter of 12 μm were added to the activated carbon flow electrodes at a mixing ratio of 1.5 wt%. With that, the FCDI's charge efficiency increased from 83.5% to 96.5% at 2.4 V. Electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS) analysis indicates that the addition of CB particles significantly reduced the FCDI's internal resistance, thereby leading to enhanced desalination performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous investigations on membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) cells focused on electrode and membrane materials; while little attention has been paid to the separator compartment. This study demonstrated that the MCDI's desalination rate can be enhanced by inserting activate carbon fibers (ACF) in the cell's separator compartment. For comparison, stainless steel fibers (SSF) and filter paper (FP) were also examined as the separator. The highest desalination rate [513.4 mg/(L·h)] was obtained when ACF was inserted, followed by SSF [374.1 mg/(L·h)] and FP [297.9 mg/(L·h)]. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model provided a good approximation ( R 2 > 0.99) to the measured adsorption data, and the model fitting results revealed that the MCDI with the ACF separator delivered not only the highest desalination rate but also the largest adsorption capacity. Electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS) analysis revealed that the ACF separator considerably reduced the MCDI's internal resistance and accordingly increased its desalination rate. Our findings highlight the need for revisiting and modifying the current designs of the MCDI's separator compartment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to power a capacitive deionization (CDI) process enables simultaneous removal of salinity and organic matter in wastewater. The desalination performance of an MFC-CDI system can be influenced by not only the capacity of individual components but also the arrangement and operation of the MFC-CDI circuit. Five typical circuits (consisting of serial- or parallel-connected MFCs or CDIs) and two ion-desorption modes (short-circuit and reverse-voltage desorption) were compared. Results showed that the MFC-CDI system could be reasonably modeled (R 2 > 0.967) by a first-order resistor–capacitor circuit. The optimal arrangement of the MFC-CDI circuit depended on the electrical characteristics of selected MFCs and CDIs as well as operating conditions. When the system was powered by two MFCs of a larger internal resistance (146 Ω), the highest salt removal after 60 min ( m 60 ; 7.5 mg) was achieved by paralleling the two MFCs; with MFCs of a smaller resistance (12 Ω) being used, the highest m 60 (16.5 mg) was obtained when the two MFCs were connected in series. Further analysis revealed that the MFC's internal resistance and open-circuit voltage, along with the CDI's internal resistance and capacitance, were the chief factors affecting the charge transfer and accordingly desalination on the CDI electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A capacitive deionization (CDI) cell was built with electrodes made of an inexpensive commercial activated carbon fiber (ACF), and then modified by incorporating ion-exchangers into the cell compartment. Three modified CDI designs were tested: MCDI – a CDI with electrodes covered by ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) of the same polarity, FCDI – a CDI with electrodes covered by ion-exchange felts (IEFs), and R-MCDI – an MCDI with cell chamber packed with ion-exchange resin (IER) granules. The cell was operated in the batch reactor mode with an initial salt concentration of 1000 mg/L NaCl, a typical level of domestic wastewater. The desalination tests involved investigations of two consecutive operation stages of CDIs: electrical adsorption (at an applied voltage of 1.2 V) and desorption [including short circuit (SC) desorption and discharge (DC) desorption]. The R-MCDI showed the highest electric adsorption as measured in the present study by desalination rate [670 ± 20 mg/(L h)] and salt removal efficiency (90 ± 1%) at 60 min, followed by the MCDI [440 ± 15 mg/(L h) and 60 ± 2%, respectively]. The superior desalination performance of the R-MCDI over other designs was also affirmed by its highest charge efficiency (110 ± 7%) and fastest desorption rates at both the SC [1960 ± 15 mg/(L·h)] and DC [3000 ± 20 mg/(L·h)] modes. The desalination rate and salt removal efficiency of the R-MCDI increased from ∼270 mg/(L h) and 83% to ∼650 mg/(L h) and 98% respectively when the applied voltage increased from 0.6 V to 1.4 V, while decreased slightly when lowering the salt water flow rate that fed into the cell. The packing of IER granules in the R-MCDI provided additional surface area for ions transfer; meanwhile, according to the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, it substantially lower down the R-MCDI''s ohmic resistance, resulting in improved desalination performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new design of membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) cell was constructed by packing the cell's flow chamber with granular activated carbon (GAC). The GAC packed-MCDI (GAC-MCDI) delivered higher (1.2–2.5 times) desalination rates than the regular MCDI at all test NaCl concentrations (∼100–1000 mg/L). The greatest performance enhancement by packed GAC was observed when treating saline water with an initial NaCl concentration of 100 mg/L. Several different GAC materials were tested and they all exhibited similar enhancement effects. Comparatively, packing the MCDI's flow chamber with glass beads (GB; non-conductive) and graphite granules (GG; conductive but with lower specific surface area than GAC) resulted in inferior desalination performance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed that the GAC-MCDI had considerably smaller internal resistance than the regular MCDI (∼19.2 ± 1.2 Ω versus ∼1222 ± 15 Ω at 100 mg/L NaCl). The packed GAC also decreased the ionic resistance across the flow chamber (∼1.49 ± 0.05 Ω versus ∼1130 ± 12 Ω at 100 mg/L NaCl). The electric double layer (EDL) formed on the GAC surface was considered to store salt ions during electrosorption, and facilitate the ion transport in the flow chamber because of the higher ion conductivity in the EDLs than in the bulk solution, thereby enhancing the MCDI's desalination rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new technology (CDI-MFC) that combined capacitive deionization (CDI) and microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed to treat low-concentration salt water with NaCl concentration of 60 mg/L. The water desalination rate was 35.6 mg/(L h), meanwhile the charge efficiency was 21.8%. Two desorption modes were investigated: discharging (DC) mode and short circuit (SC) mode. The desalination rate in the DC mode was 200.6 ± 3.1 mg/(L h), 47.8% higher than that in the SC mode [135.7 ± 15.3 mg/(L h)]. The average current in the DC mode was also much higher than that of the SC mode. The energy stored in the CDI cell has been reused to enhance the electron production of MFC by the discharging desorption mode (DC mode), which offers an approach to recover the electrostatic energy in the CDI cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A comprehensive review of electro-driven technologies for phosphorus enrichment was provided. • Enrichment rate and energy consumption were important indicators for phosphorus enrichment. • Phosphorus enrichment promoted p recovery efficiency and vivianite formation. • Prospect and directions of electro-driven technologies for phosphorus enrichment and recovery were presented. The recovery of phosphorus from wastewater is a critical step in addressing the scarcity of phosphorus resources. Electro-driven technologies for phosphorus enrichment have gathered significant attention due to their inherent advantages, such as mild operating conditions, absence of secondary pollution, and potential integration with other technologies. This study presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in the field of phosphorus enrichment, with a specific focus on capacitive deionization and electrodialysis technologies. It highlights the underlying principles and effectiveness of electro-driven techniques for phosphorus enrichment while systematically comparing energy consumption, enrichment rate, and concentration factor among different technologies. Furthermore, the study provides a thorough analysis of the capacity of various technologies to selectively enrich phosphorus and proposes several methods and strategies to enhance selectivity. These insights offer valuable guidance for advancing the future development of electrochemical techniques with enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in phosphorus enrichment from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Strong coupling was established between NiCo-DH and OAC by oxidation modification. • NiCo-DH@OAC exhibited excellent electrochemical performance for synergistic effects. • ASCs were demonstrated effective in solar panel integrated supercapacitors. NiCo double hydroxide (NiCo-DH) and oxidized activated carbon (OAC) were used to synthesize a three-dimensional (3D) NiCo-DH@OAC via hydrothermal method. OAC acts as the support for in-situ growth of NiCo-DH nanowires, and oxygen-containing groups on the surface of OAC are crucial for the uniform loading of NiCo-DH and keeping structural stability of the composites. Due to the synergistic effect between NiCo-DH and OAC, NiCo-DH@OAC presents an excellent specific capacitance (1990 F g−1 at 1 A g−1). The asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is assembled with NiCo-DH@OAC as the positive electrode and OAC as the negative electrode, and exhibits a superior energy density (46.5 Wh kg−1 at 800 W kg−1) and a cycling stability (90.7% after 10,000 cycles). Furthermore, ASC has been demonstrated effective in solar panel integrated supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen exists in municipal wastewater in the form of ammonia/ammonium which is a recoverable resource. Recovering nitrogen to improve nitrogen-use efficiency should be carefully considered to promote global environmental sustainability. However, ammonia/ammonium is always not well recovered but removed as one of the main pathways for nitrogen release into the environment, which is due to ineffective ammonia capture. In this study, a new method of ion-exchange resin ammonium recovery combined with membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI + IE process) pretreatment is proposed. Selective ion removal by MCDI is demonstrated and ammonium ratio to the total prior ion (K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ) in outflow of MCDI cell is respectively increased from ∼15% to over 30% and 45% after 3 and 5 MCDI cycles. The MCDI + IE process could deal with 2.48 and 3.89 times of inflow, respectively, compared with the single IE process after 3 and 5 MCDI charge–discharge cycles and recover more than 65% of ammonium in a resin regeneration cycle after 3 MCDI cycles. It ascribes to MCDI desalination eliminating the negative effects of divalent cations, such as Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ , on the IE absorb–desorb process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is not only one of the main contaminants in wastewater but also an essential nutrient for all living organisms. In this study, we demonstrate a highly efficient and selective process for extraction of P from wastewater in the form of solid vivianite using a strategically operated four-chamber flow electrode capacitive deionization (FC-FCDI). The separated diluate and concentrate chambers in FC-FCDI enables continuous production of dephosphorylated water and P-rich brine, realizing P removal rate (0.22 μmol/(cm2·min)) and enrichment efficiency (concentration factor of 17.2) much higher than previous studies. The spontaneously enriched competing ions in the concentrate mitigate their further migration due to concentration countering effect, realizing to date the highest selectivity for P over SO 4 2− (4.4) in CDI systems. Most importantly, the precipitated vivianite has high P content (12.4 %) and much smaller volume compared with the P-recovered solution in previous studies. The recovery of P in the solid state prevents the production of brine wastes, requires no water input for concentrate replenishment, and is conducive to transport, storage, and direct usage for various purposes. This work suggests a novel method for highly selective and efficient extraction of P from wastewater using tailor-designed and strategically-operated FC-FCDIs. [Display omitted] • Strategically operated FC-FCDI was utilized to recover P from wastewater. • The FC-FCDI system exhibited to date the highest selectivity for P over SO 4 2−. • The water recovery reached approximately 100 % in the FC-FCDI system. • The P was recovered in the form of solid vivianite with P content of 12.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

l Why FCDI can be part electrodialysis and part electrosorption? l Resistance to charge transport is essential towards the performance of FCDI. l Distinguish the electronic and ionic resistance within a flow-electrode. l Enhancing electronic conduction greatly contributes to improve FCDI performance. Flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI), as a novel electro-driven desalination technology, has attracted growing exploration towards brackish water treatment, hypersaline water treatment, and selective resource recovery in recent years. As a flow-electrode-based electrochemical technology, FCDI has similarities with several other electrochemical technologies such as electrochemical flow capacitors and semi-solid fuel cells, whose performance are closely coupled with the characteristics of the flow-electrodes. In this review, we sort out the potentially parallel mechanisms of electrosorption and electrodialysis in the FCDI desalination process, and make clear the importance of the flowable capacitive electrodes. We then adopt an equivalent circuit model to distinguish the resistances to ion transport and electron transport within the electrodes, and clarify the importance of electronic conductivity on the system performance based on a series of electrochemical tests. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of electrode selection and flow circulation patterns on system performance (energy consumption, salt removal rate), review the current treatment targets and system performance, and then provide an outlook on the research directions in the field to support further applications of FCDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed a titanium mesh-membrane assembly (MMA) as the current collector in flow-electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) device (designated as M-FCDI), and obtained a much reduced charge transport distance as compared to traditional FCDI with plate-shaped current collectors located far from the exchange membrane. The average salt removal rate of M-FCDI was greatly improved by 76% under 10 wt% carbon content than the control experiment with graphite plate as current collector, and the charge efficiency remained over 75% even under low carbon loading. This improvement was attributed to the reduced resistance as revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. Further investigation on FCDI's performance with different specifications of titanium meshes showed that the implementation of MMA could provide a larger effective electron transfer area, which would lead to better desalting performance. Image 1 • Titanium mesh-membrane assembly (MMA) as current collector in FCDI. • Largely reduced charge transport distance with MMA than graphite plate. • Much increased salt removal rate up to 75% attributing to smaller cell resistance. • Stable operation over 24 h of FCDI with MMA and with lower energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]