Anion Exchange Membranes for use in Industrial Electrolysis Systems for Salt-Splitting

Salt splitting is a technology in which an electrochemical cell containing 2 membranes to transport positive and negative ions, is used to produce sulfuric acid and caustic soda from sodium sulfate, a compound found commonly from industrial brine streams. Salt splitting electrolysis is a sustainable solution for the expanding markets of acid and caustic recovery and treatment of neutralization waste products, which would otherwise be disposed. One of the major challenges of this technology is to produce a relatively concentrated sulfuric acid product with high efficiency and low power consumption, due to leakage through the anion exchange membrane. Therefore, developing an anion exchange membrane with the capability of effectively blocking protons is key to the success of this technology.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Dreisinger

Student:

Zizheng (Jackie) Zhou

Partner:

Ionomr Innovations Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of British Columbia