Development of the Microbial Electrolysis Desalination and Chemical-Production Cell for Desalination as Well as Acid and Alkali Productions

By combining the microbial electrolysis cell and the microbial desalination cell, the microbial electrolysis desalination cell (MEDC) becomes a novel device to desalinate salty water. However, several factors, such as sharp pH decrease and Cl^– accumulation in the anode chamber, limit the MEDC development. In this study, a microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) was developed with four chambers using a bipolar membrane. Results showed that the pH in the anode chamber of the MEDCC always remained near 7.0, which greatly enhanced the microbial activities in the cell. With applied voltages of 0.3–1.0 V, 62%–97% of Coulombic efficiencies were achieved from the MEDCC, which were 1.5–2.0 times of those from the MEDC. With 10 mL of 10 g/L NaCl in the desalination chamber, desalination rates of the MEDCC reached 46%–86% within 18 h. Another unique feature of the MEDCC was the simultaneous production of HCl and NaOH in the cell. With 1.0 V applied voltage, the pH values at 18 h in the acid-production chamber and cathode chamber were 0.68 and 12.9, respectively. With the MEDCC, the problem with large pH changes in the anode chamber was resolved, and products of the acid and alkali were obtained