Electrodialysis

Electrodialysis is an electromembrane process in which ions

are transported through ion permeable membranes from one
solution to another under the influence of a potential
gradient.
This separation is achieved in an electrodialysis cell, which
consists of an anion exchange membrane and a cation
exchange membrane placed between two electrodes.
Cation exchange membranes allow cations (positively
charged ions) to pass through them and block anions
(negatively charged ions).
Anion exchange membranes allow anions to go through
them and block cations.
Under the influence of an electric field, the anions move
towards the positively charged anode, and the cations move
towards the negatively charged cathode.
Most practical applications of electrodialysis make use of an
electrodialysis stack, which consists of alternate anion and
cation exchange membranes, forming multiple
electrodialysis cells.
PRINCIPLE

Electrodialysis is often used to concentrate a component

present in low concentration in the feed solution.
The set up consists of the feed or dilute stream, the
concentrate stream and the rinse stream. These streams are
allowed to flow through the electrodialysis stack. Under the
influence of an electric potential, the anions migrate toward
the anode. They pass through the anion exchange
membrane, but are blocked by the cation exchange
membrane, which is next in the sequence. Similarly, the
cations are attracted to the cathode, and are free to pass
through the cation exchange membrane, but are blocked by
the next anion exchange membrane. As can be seen in the
figure, this creates alternate chambers between each anion
and cation membrane; one that contains the cations and
anions, and the other which is free of ions.

The solution obtained which is free of ions is the diluate, and

the other which has a consistently increasing ion
concentration is the concentrate.
An electric current flows between the cathode and anode
because of the anion and cation migration. Charge balance is
maintained in the diluate and concentrate streams as only
an equal number of anion and cation charges are transferred
from the diluate to the concentrate stream.
The rinse solution is used to wash the electrode and current
across the stack. It helps to maintain electrically neutral
stack solutions.

APPLICATIONS
Electrodialysis has a wide range of applications in many
fields.

EXPERIMENT
The aim of the experiment was to determine the viability of
recovering tartaric acid from grape pulp. Grape juice
consists of sugars, organic acids, phenolic compounds,
nitrogeneous compounds, aroma compounds, minerals and
pectic substances. The ionisable components among theses
are the organic acids (mainly tartaric acid and some malic
acid) and minerals.
Considering the main components of grapes to be tartaric
acid, glucose and fructose, a feed solution of corresponding
quantities (21.42 g tartaric acid, 529 g glucose and 500 g

fructose in 5 litres of water) was prepared. It was observed

that glucose and fructose (non-ionisable components) did
not affect the results much, and so further trials were carried
out without them.
During each trial, the TDS, conductivity and pH of the diluate
and concentrate streams were measured every 4 minutes.
Tap water was used as the concentrate solution (containing
some dissolved salts to provide an initial driving force for
electrodialysis).
The rinse solution used was 100 g of sodium bisulphate
dissolved in 4 litres of water.
The experiment was done for different voltages; and
different flow rates of the diluate and concentrate streams.
An initial voltage of 30 V was used for the process.
Equal and constant flow rate of the diluate and concentrate
were maintained during each trial to avoid pressure drop
issues in the set-up. The initial runs flow rate was 83.33
ml/s.
The membranes used were AMI-7001 and CMI-7000 ion
exchange membranes.

L(+) pure tartaric acid was used in this experiment.

Tartaric acid (C4H6O6) is a weak acid with pKa1=2.98 and
pKa2=4.34. It ionizes completely to give C4H4O6- ion and
two protons at a suitable pH (pH>pKa2).

In the feed stream the low pH of tartaric acid does not allow
for dissociation. The dissolved salts in the diluate stream go
to concentrate stream, thus increasing the TDS content and
the conductivity of the concentrate stream. The
concentration of tartaric acid in the diluate increases,
thereby increasing the pH of the diluate. The TDS and the
conductivity of the diluate stream decreases.
For an appreciable pH of the diluate, tartaric acid dissociates
into its ions. Since the other dissolved salts in the grape juice
have been removed already, the concentrate stream will
now consist of dissociated tartaric acid (thus the TDS, pH
and conductivity of the concentrate will increase).

Current vs Time
12
10
8
Current (A)

Current

6
4
2
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

Time (min)

Diluate Conductivity vs Time

12
10
8
Diluate conductivity (mS)

6
4
2
0
0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (min)

Concentrate Conductivity vs Time

Diluate TDS vs Time

12
10
8
Diluate TDS (ppm)

6
4
2
0
0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time (min)

Concentrate TDS vs Time