The application of carbon aerogel electrodes to desalination {ampersand} waste treatment

An electrically-regenerated electrosorption process known as carbon aerogel capacitive deionization (CDI) has been developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for continuously removing ionic impurities from aqueous streams. A salt solution flows through an unobstructed channel formed by numerous pairs of parallel carbon aerogel electrodes. Each electrode has a very high Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area (2.0-5.4 x 1O{sup 6} ft{sup 2} lb{sup -1} or 400-1100) and very low electrical resistivity (< 40 m{omega} cm). Surface areas of 1.3 x 10{sup 7} ft{sup 2} lb{sup -1} (2600 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}) have been achieved activation. After polarization, anions and cations are removed from the electrolyte by the imposed electric field and electrosorbed onto the carbon aerogel. The solution is thus separated into two streams, concentrate and purified water. Based upon this analysis, it is concluded that carbon aerogel CDI may be an energy-efficient alternative to electrodialysis and reverse osmosis for the desalination of brackish water (< 5000 ppm), provided that cell geometries and aerogel properties are carefully tailored for such applications.