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Tsehaye MT, Tufa RA, Berhane R, Deboli F, Gebru KA, Velizarov S. Modified Membranes for Redox Flow Batteries-A Review. Membranes (Basel) 2023; 13:777. [PMID: 37755199 PMCID: PMC10536688 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13090777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
In this review, the state of the art of modified membranes developed and applied for the improved performance of redox flow batteries (RFBs) is presented and critically discussed. The review begins with an introduction to the energy-storing chemical principles and the potential of using RFBs in the energy transition in industrial and transport-related sectors. Commonly used membrane modification techniques are briefly presented and compared next. The recent progress in applying modified membranes in different RFB chemistries is then critically discussed. The relationship between a given membrane modification strategy, corresponding ex situ properties and their impact on battery performance are outlined. It has been demonstrated that further dedicated studies are necessary in order to develop an optimal modification technique, since a modification generally reduces the crossover of redox-active species but, at the same time, leads to an increase in membrane electrical resistance. The feasibility of using alternative advanced modification methods, similar to those employed in water purification applications, needs yet to be evaluated. Additionally, the long-term stability and durability of the modified membranes during cycling in RFBs still must be investigated. The remaining challenges and potential solutions, as well as promising future perspectives, are finally highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misgina Tilahun Tsehaye
- Separation and Conversion Technology, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria (DIAm-UNICAL), Via P. Bucci CUBO 44/A, 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Roviel Berhane
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria (DIAm-UNICAL), Via P. Bucci CUBO 44/A, 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Francesco Deboli
- Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kibrom Alebel Gebru
- Lehrstuhl für Technische Chemie II, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Svetlozar Velizarov
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
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Chanda D, Tufa RA, Aili D, Basu S. Electroreduction of CO 2to ethanol by electrochemically deposited Cu-lignin complexes on Ni foam electrodes. Nanotechnology 2021; 33:055403. [PMID: 34654005 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac302b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A low cost, non-toxic and highly selective catalyst based on a Cu-lignin molecular complex is developed for CO2electroreduction to ethanol. Ni foam (NF), Cu-Ni foam (Cu-NF) and Cu-lignin-Ni foam (Cu-lignin-NF) were prepared by a facile and reproducible electrochemical deposition method. The electrochemical CO2reduction activity of Cu-lignin-NF was found to be higher than Cu-NF. A maximum faradaic efficiency of 23.2% with current density of 22.5 mA cm-2was obtained for Cu-lignin-NF at -0.80 V (versus RHE) in 0.1 M Na2SO4towards ethanol production. The enhancement of catalytic performance is attributed to the growth of the number of active sites and the change of oxidation states of Cu and NF due to the presence of lignin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debabrata Chanda
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 375, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - David Aili
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 375, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Suddhasatwa Basu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
- CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar 751013, India
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Blommaert M, Aili D, Tufa RA, Li Q, Smith WA, Vermaas DA. Insights and Challenges for Applying Bipolar Membranes in Advanced Electrochemical Energy Systems. ACS Energy Lett 2021; 6:2539-2548. [PMID: 34277948 PMCID: PMC8276271 DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.1c00618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Bipolar membranes (BPMs) are gaining interest in energy conversion technologies. These membranes are composed of cation- and anion-exchange layers, with an interfacial layer in between. This gives the freedom to operate in different conditions (pH, concentration, composition) at both sides. Such membranes are used in two operational modes, forward and reverse bias. BPMs have been implemented in various electrochemical applications, like water and CO2 electrolyzers, fuel cells, and flow batteries, while BPMs are historically designed for acid/base production. Therefore, current commercial BPMs are not optimized, as the conditions change per application. Although the ideal BPM has highly conductive layers, high water dissociation kinetics, long lifetime, and low ion crossover, each application has its own priorities to be competitive in its field. We describe the challenges and requirements for future BPMs, and identify existing developments that can be leveraged to develop BPMs toward the scale of practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marijn
A. Blommaert
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - David Aili
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Qingfeng Li
- Department
of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical
University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Wilson A. Smith
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - David A. Vermaas
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Delft University
of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
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Avci AH, Messana DA, Santoro S, Tufa RA, Curcio E, Di Profio G, Fontananova E. Energy Harvesting from Brines by Reverse Electrodialysis Using Nafion Membranes. Membranes (Basel) 2020; 10:E168. [PMID: 32731421 PMCID: PMC7463554 DOI: 10.3390/membranes10080168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Ion exchange membranes (IEMs) have consolidated applications in energy conversion and storage systems, like fuel cells and battery separators. Moreover, in the perspective to address the global need for non-carbon-based and renewable energies, salinity-gradient power (SGP) harvesting by reverse electrodialysis (RED) is attracting significant interest in recent years. In particular, brine solutions produced in desalination plants can be used as concentrated streams in a SGP-RED stack, providing a smart solution to the problem of brine disposal. Although Nafion is probably the most prominent commercial cation exchange membrane for electrochemical applications, no study has investigated yet its potential in RED. In this work, Nafion 117 and Nafion 115 membranes were tested for NaCl and NaCl + MgCl2 solutions, in order to measure the gross power density extracted under high salinity gradient and to evaluate the effect of Mg2+ (the most abundant divalent cation in natural feeds) on the efficiency in energy conversion. Moreover, performance of commercial CMX (Neosepta) and Fuji-CEM 80050 (Fujifilm) cation exchange membranes, already widely applied for RED applications, were used as a benchmark for Nafion membranes. In addition, complementary characterization (i.e., electrochemical impedance and membrane potential test) was carried out on the membranes with the aim to evaluate the predominance of electrochemical properties in different aqueous solutions. In all tests, Nafion 117 exhibited superior performance when 0.5/4.0 M NaCl fed through 500 µm-thick compartments at a linear velocity 1.5 cm·s-1. However, the gross power density of 1.38 W·m-2 detected in the case of pure NaCl solutions decreased to 1.08 W·m-2 in the presence of magnesium chloride. In particular, the presence of magnesium resulted in a drastic effect on the electrochemical properties of Fuji-CEM-80050, while the impact on other membranes investigated was less severe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmet H. Avci
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy; (A.H.A.); (D.A.M.); (S.S.); (E.C.)
| | - Diego A. Messana
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy; (A.H.A.); (D.A.M.); (S.S.); (E.C.)
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR), at University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy;
| | - Sergio Santoro
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy; (A.H.A.); (D.A.M.); (S.S.); (E.C.)
| | - Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark;
| | - Efrem Curcio
- Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy; (A.H.A.); (D.A.M.); (S.S.); (E.C.)
- SELIGENDA Membrane Technologies SrL, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy
| | - Gianluca Di Profio
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR), at University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy;
- SELIGENDA Membrane Technologies SrL, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy
| | - Enrica Fontananova
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR), at University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy;
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Besha AT, Tsehaye MT, Aili D, Zhang W, Tufa RA. Design of Monovalent Ion Selective Membranes for Reducing the Impacts of Multivalent Ions in Reverse Electrodialysis. Membranes (Basel) 2019; 10:membranes10010007. [PMID: 31906203 PMCID: PMC7022468 DOI: 10.3390/membranes10010007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Reverse electrodialysis (RED) represents one of the most promising membrane-based technologies for clean and renewable energy production from mixing water solutions. However, the presence of multivalent ions in natural water drastically reduces system performance, in particular, the open-circuit voltage (OCV) and the output power. This effect is largely described by the “uphill transport” phenomenon, in which multivalent ions are transported against the concentration gradient. In this work, recent advances in the investigation of the impact of multivalent ions on power generation by RED are systematically reviewed along with possible strategies to overcome this challenge. In particular, the use of monovalent ion-selective membranes represents a promising alternative to reduce the negative impact of multivalent ions given the availability of low-cost materials and an easy route of membrane synthesis. A thorough assessment of the materials and methodologies used to prepare monovalent selective ion exchange membranes (both cation and anion exchange membranes) for applications in (reverse) electrodialysis is performed. Moreover, transport mechanisms under conditions of extreme salinity gradient are analyzed and compared for a better understanding of the design criteria. The ultimate goal of the present work is to propose a prospective research direction on the development of new membrane materials for effective implementation of RED under natural feed conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abreham Tesfaye Besha
- Department of Chemistry, College of Natural and Computational Science, Jigjiga University, P.O. Box 1020, Jigjiga, Ethiopia;
| | - Misgina Tilahun Tsehaye
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LEPMI, 38 000 Grenoble, France;
| | - David Aili
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark;
| | - Wenjuan Zhang
- School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin 300384, China;
| | - Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark;
- Correspondence:
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Tufa RA, Rugiero E, Chanda D, Hnàt J, van Baak W, Veerman J, Fontananova E, Di Profio G, Drioli E, Bouzek K, Curcio E. Salinity gradient power-reverse electrodialysis and alkaline polymer electrolyte water electrolysis for hydrogen production. J Memb Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2016.04.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Tufa RA, Pinacho DG, Pascual N, Granados M, Companyó R, Marco MP. Development and validation of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for fluoroquinolones in animal feeds. Food Control 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Tufa RA, Curcio E, van Baak W, Veerman J, Grasman S, Fontananova E, Di Profio G. Potential of brackish water and brine for energy generation by salinity gradient power-reverse electrodialysis (SGP-RE). RSC Adv 2014. [DOI: 10.1039/c4ra05968a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Salinity Gradient Power-Reverse Electrodialysis (SGP-RE), tested on brackish water/solar pond brine, resulted in maximum power density of 1.13 W m−2 cell pair, 63% less than that of pure NaCl solutions with comparable salinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramato Ashu Tufa
- Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering
- University of Calabria (DIATIC-UNICAL)
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Efrem Curcio
- Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering
- University of Calabria (DIATIC-UNICAL)
- 87036 Rende, Italy
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR)
- c/o University of Calabria
| | | | | | | | - Enrica Fontananova
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR)
- c/o University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Gianluca Di Profio
- Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council (ITM-CNR)
- c/o University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
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