research paper on zero liquid discharge

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• Published: 12 June 2023

Electrodialytic crystallization to enable zero liquid discharge

• Xudong Zhang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3055-5368 1   na1 ,
• Yiqun Yao   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0000-2242-8655 2   na1 ,
• Thomas Horseman 3   na1 ,
• Ruoyu Wang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2198-4873 1 ,
• Yiming Yin 2 ,
• Sizhuo Zhang 1 ,
• Tiezheng Tong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9289-3330 2 &
• Shihong Lin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9832-9127 1 , 3  

Nature Water volume  1 ,  pages 547–554 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Chemical engineering
• Civil engineering

The management of hypersaline brines (that is, wastewater of high salinity) is a technical challenge that has received increasing attention due to their growing volume, environmental impacts and increasingly stringent regulations. Here we present electrodialytic crystallization (EDC) as a new process to achieve brine crystallization without evaporation. In an EDC process, the brine stream recirculating between an electrodialysis cell and a crystallizer remains oversaturated via continuous electromigration of ions from the feed stream across the ion exchange membranes. We first used Na 2 SO 4 as the model salt to demonstrate the feasibility of EDC and to perform a systematic investigation of how crystallization kinetics and crystal size distribution depend on current density and crystallization mode. We then elucidated the criterion of crystallizability and showed how it depends on salt species, membrane properties and operating conditions. Lastly, we analysed the energy consumption of an EDC-reverse osmosis treatment train for achieving zero liquid discharge of a Na 2 SO 4 brine. Overall, this study provides a proof of concept for EDC as an electric-field driven and non-evaporative crystallization process, and lays the foundation for its future technical development and optimization.

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Acknowledgements

This material is based on the work supported by the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI), funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Advanced Manufacturing Office, under Funding Opportunity Announcement Number DE-FOA-0001905. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Energy or the US Government.

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These authors contributed equally: Xudong Zhang, Yiqun Yao, Thomas Horseman.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

Xudong Zhang, Ruoyu Wang, Sizhuo Zhang & Shihong Lin

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Yiqun Yao, Yiming Yin & Tiezheng Tong

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

Thomas Horseman & Shihong Lin

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S.L. and T.T. conceived the idea and designed the research. X.Z., Y. Yao. and T.H. carried out the experiment. R.W. performed the energy consumption analysis. All authors participated in the discussion and writing of the paper.

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Correspondence to Tiezheng Tong or Shihong Lin .

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Zhang, X., Yao, Y., Horseman, T. et al. Electrodialytic crystallization to enable zero liquid discharge. Nat Water 1 , 547–554 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00095-4

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Received : 17 December 2022

Accepted : 12 May 2023

Published : 12 June 2023

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00095-4

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Current status of zero liquid discharge technology for desulfurization wastewater.

Graphical Abstract

1. Introduction

2. conventional treatment technologies for desulfurization wastewater, 2.1. chemical precipitation, 2.2. activated carbon adsorption, 2.3. biological treatment, 3. zero liquid discharge technologies for desulfurization wastewater, 3.1. evaporation crystallization technology, 3.2. flue gas evaporation technology, 3.3. membrane distillation removal technology, 4. conclusions and outlook, author contributions, conflicts of interest.

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Xu, F.; Zhao, S.; Li, B.; Li, H.; Ling, Z.; Zhang, G.; Liu, M. Current Status of Zero Liquid Discharge Technology for Desulfurization Wastewater. Water 2024 , 16 , 900. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060900

Xu F, Zhao S, Li B, Li H, Ling Z, Zhang G, Liu M. Current Status of Zero Liquid Discharge Technology for Desulfurization Wastewater. Water . 2024; 16(6):900. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060900

Xu, Feng, Sanmei Zhao, Bin Li, Haihua Li, Zhongqian Ling, Guangxue Zhang, and Maosheng Liu. 2024. "Current Status of Zero Liquid Discharge Technology for Desulfurization Wastewater" Water 16, no. 6: 900. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060900

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