Aging and Degradation of Ion-Exchange
Membranes
Le Han
Abstract
Recent years have seen the widespread use of
ion-exchange membranes (IEM) in chemical, environmental and energy source, and new functional membrane
materials have been continuously proposed. Nevertheless,
there are yet few studies on the mechanism of the aging and
degradation of IEM materials during long-term use, which
severely limits the further application of ion-exchange
membranes. This paper reviews the existing research on
the aging and degradation of ion-exchange membranes in
different cases and summarizes the following three major
mechanisms, solute adsorption/penetration/fouling, membrane burning under overlimiting current region, and
membrane degradation under different conditions. Finally,
prevention and control measures such as antioxidant
membrane and polarization inhibition are proposed.
Keywords
Ion-exchange membrane Á Membrane aging Á Membrane
degradation Á Fouling
1 Introduction
One major worldwide issue is water shortage, and
membrane-based technology is considered one promising
solution. The ion-exchange membrane (IEM), one typical
charged and dense polymer-based membrane, thanks to its
high permselectivity, low electrical resistance, good
mechanical, and form stability and high chemical stability,
can be used in various fields of water treatment such as
chemical industry, wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and food processing.
Among the application fields of IEM, the desalination of
seawater and the treatment of industrial solution are the most
popular ones (Sata 2004; Strathmann 2010; Tanaka 2015a;
Mulder 1998). There are also many IEM-based technologies
available for water issues, such as electrodialysis (ED),
bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED), electrodeionization (EDI). Taking ED as an example, many successful
industrial applications are available since nearly a half century
ago: antioxidants can be extracted from winery waste (Sarapulova et al. 2018); amino acids can be recovered from fermentation broth (Sata 2004); and edible salt can be produced
from seawater (Hirayama 1993). Indeed, since in 1992, people in Japan concentrated salt from seawater using ED technology, and the yield reached up to 1.4 million tons (Xu and
Huang 2008). It is also possible to use BMED to produce acid
and base from neutral salts (Raucq et al. 1993) and EDI to
produce pure water or achieve desalination (Sata 2004).
The IEM consists of three basic components, polymer
backbone, fixed group, and movable ions on the
group. According to the types of charge of the fixed group,
IEM can be mainly divided into cation-exchange membrane
(CEM) and anion-exchange membrane (AEM). These
membranes can selectively allow the passage of oppositely
charged ions (counter-ions) while obstructing similarly
charged ions (co-ions). In any case, the desired IEM should
have high selective permeability, high ion-exchange capacity, low swelling degree, and high mechanical strength, etc.
(Tanaka 2015a; Xu 2005; Hui et al. 2016).
Despite of long lifetime than other dense membranes,
IEM suffers aging and functional polymer degradation during the long-term use. The aging and degradation of the IEM
will result into many membrane problems, like membrane
damage, increased materials resistance, fouling, and so on,
greatly reducing the membrane lifetime and process efficiency. The clear definition for membrane ageing and
degradation are not given in IEM field yet. Often membrane
L. Han (&)
Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s
Eco-environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environment
and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044,
People’s Republic of China
e-mail: lehan@cqu.edu.cn
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_3
27
Membranes
Le Han
Abstract
Recent years have seen the widespread use of
ion-exchange membranes (IEM) in chemical, environmental and energy source, and new functional membrane
materials have been continuously proposed. Nevertheless,
there are yet few studies on the mechanism of the aging and
degradation of IEM materials during long-term use, which
severely limits the further application of ion-exchange
membranes. This paper reviews the existing research on
the aging and degradation of ion-exchange membranes in
different cases and summarizes the following three major
mechanisms, solute adsorption/penetration/fouling, membrane burning under overlimiting current region, and
membrane degradation under different conditions. Finally,
prevention and control measures such as antioxidant
membrane and polarization inhibition are proposed.
Keywords
Ion-exchange membrane Á Membrane aging Á Membrane
degradation Á Fouling
1 Introduction
One major worldwide issue is water shortage, and
membrane-based technology is considered one promising
solution. The ion-exchange membrane (IEM), one typical
charged and dense polymer-based membrane, thanks to its
high permselectivity, low electrical resistance, good
mechanical, and form stability and high chemical stability,
can be used in various fields of water treatment such as
chemical industry, wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, and food processing.
Among the application fields of IEM, the desalination of
seawater and the treatment of industrial solution are the most
popular ones (Sata 2004; Strathmann 2010; Tanaka 2015a;
Mulder 1998). There are also many IEM-based technologies
available for water issues, such as electrodialysis (ED),
bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED), electrodeionization (EDI). Taking ED as an example, many successful
industrial applications are available since nearly a half century
ago: antioxidants can be extracted from winery waste (Sarapulova et al. 2018); amino acids can be recovered from fermentation broth (Sata 2004); and edible salt can be produced
from seawater (Hirayama 1993). Indeed, since in 1992, people in Japan concentrated salt from seawater using ED technology, and the yield reached up to 1.4 million tons (Xu and
Huang 2008). It is also possible to use BMED to produce acid
and base from neutral salts (Raucq et al. 1993) and EDI to
produce pure water or achieve desalination (Sata 2004).
The IEM consists of three basic components, polymer
backbone, fixed group, and movable ions on the
group. According to the types of charge of the fixed group,
IEM can be mainly divided into cation-exchange membrane
(CEM) and anion-exchange membrane (AEM). These
membranes can selectively allow the passage of oppositely
charged ions (counter-ions) while obstructing similarly
charged ions (co-ions). In any case, the desired IEM should
have high selective permeability, high ion-exchange capacity, low swelling degree, and high mechanical strength, etc.
(Tanaka 2015a; Xu 2005; Hui et al. 2016).
Despite of long lifetime than other dense membranes,
IEM suffers aging and functional polymer degradation during the long-term use. The aging and degradation of the IEM
will result into many membrane problems, like membrane
damage, increased materials resistance, fouling, and so on,
greatly reducing the membrane lifetime and process efficiency. The clear definition for membrane ageing and
degradation are not given in IEM field yet. Often membrane
L. Han (&)
Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s
Eco-environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environment
and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044,
People’s Republic of China
e-mail: lehan@cqu.edu.cn
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_3
27