Fouling mitigation of anion exchange membrane by zeta potential control.

The feasibility of fouling mitigation of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) in the presence of humate was studied by adding three different types of water-soluble polymers, i.e., poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), during electrodialysis (ED) desalination. Measurement of zeta potential of the humate used in this study showed highly negative potential (about -30 mV), implying that the humate had a strong fouling potential on the AEMs in ED. Of the three water-soluble polymers, PEI showed a positive zeta potential (about +14 mV) and is able to form an interpolymer complex with the humate. PAA and PVA hardly formed interpolymer complexes with humate due to electrostatic repulsion. The PEI-humate mixture with a volume ratio of 1:20 (PEI:humate) showed zero zeta potential, and a complexed humate with zero surface charge was formed, resulting in no fouling effects on the AEMs. Accordingly, the desalting ED experiments with PEI showed improved ED performance. Further, black colloids formed in the mixture did not cause the cell resistance to increase.