Desalination with carbon aerogel electrodes. Revision 1

Electrically regenerated electrosorption process (carbon aerogel CDI) was developed by LLNL for continuously removing ionic impurities from aqueous streams. A salt solution flows in a channel formed by numerous pairs of parallel carbon aerogel electrodes. Each electrode has a very high BET surface area (2-5.4x10{sup 6}ft{sup 2}lb{sup -1} or 400-1100 m{sup 2}g{sup -1}) and very low electrical resistivity ({le}40 m{Omega}). Ions are removed from the electrolyte by the electric field and electrosorbed onto the carbon aerogel. It is concluded that carbon aerogel CDI may be an energy-efficient alternative to electrodialysis and reverse osmosis for desalination of brackish water ({le}5000 ppM). The intrinsic energy required by this process is about QV/2, where Q is the stored electrical charge and V is the voltage between the electrodes, plus losses. Estimated requirement for desalination of a 2000 ppM feed is -0.53-2.5 Wh/gal{sup -1} (0.5-2.4 kJ L{sup -1}), depending on voltage, flow rate, cell dimensions, aerogel density, recovery ratio, etc. This assumes that 50-70% of the stored electrical energy is reclaimed during regeneration (electrical discharge). Though the energy requirement for desalination of sea water is also low, this application will be much more difficult. Additional work will be required for desalination of streams that contain more than 5000 ppM total dissolved solids (2000 ppM will require electrochemical cells with extremely tight, demanding tolerances). At this present time, the process is best suited for streams with dilute impurities, as recently demonstrated during a field test at LLNL Treatment Facility C.