Rapid evaporation of water for desalination and dewatering using nanobubbles and micro-droplets is disclosed. Warm nanobubbles of air are injected into seawater or another water source to be treated, and the normal stasis of the nanobubbles is disrupted with ultrasonic energy. The nanobubbles implode and violently recombine into microbubbles. Energized by the effects of the nanobubble state change, these energetic, relatively high surface area microbubbles bubbles quickly rise to the surface of the water, creating an aerosol of micro-water droplets above the surface that is drawn into a dry, warm stream of air and rapidly evaporates, precipitating out salt crystals. The air is then cooled with a chiller, condensing the moisture in the air into fresh water.

A method and system for reducing ion concentration of a solution and converting gas. The system comprising a multi-chamber unitary dialysis cell comprising a gas chamber, a product chamber, and an acid chamber. Ion exchange barriers separate the chambers of the dialysis cell. A first anion exchange barrier is positioned between the product chamber and the acid chamber and a first cation exchange barrier is positioned between the product chamber and the gas chamber. Anions from the solution being treated associate with cations from the acid chamber to form an acid solution in the acid chamber, and cations from the solution being treated associate with anions from the fluid comprising gas to form salt, thereby reducing the ion concentration of the solution being treated and converting at least a portion of the gas into salt.

A device for enabling controlled movement of ions between a first ion-containing fluid and second ion-containing fluid comprises at least one cationic exchange membrane positioned between the first and second ion-containing fluids, and at least one anionic exchange membrane in parallel with the at least one cationic exchange membrane positioned between the first and second ion-containing fluids. The one or more of the at least one cationic exchange membrane and the at least one anionic exchange membrane is a membrane electrode assembly comprising an ion exchange membrane, and one or more permeable electrodes embedded within the ionic exchange membrane. The number of cationic exchange membranes and the number of anionic exchange membranes is the same, and the ions move through the membrane electrode assembly in response to a variable capacitive charge.

Provided are spacers, ion-exchange devices comprising spacers, and methods of preparing spacers for improved fluid distribution and sealing throughout an ion-exchange device. These spacers can include an internal cavity surrounded by a perimeter of the spacer. The perimeter can have a first opening and a second opening within the perimeter, and the first opening and the second opening can be located on opposite sides of the internal cavity. The spacers can also have a first and second plurality of channels located within the perimeter, wherein each channel of the first and second plurality of channels extends from the internal cavity towards the first opening or the second opening.

A method of moderating concentration of at least highly fluorinated alkyl materials (e.g., molecules) from a contaminated aqueous feed liquid containing an original composition of between 5 parts/trillion and 3000 parts/billion of the at least highly fluorinated materials per liter of water into an aqueous electronic separator having multiple chambers including a feed chamber having a liquid exit port from which a mediated aqueous contaminated feed liquid exits and a liquid input port into which the contaminated aqueous feed liquid enters the feed chamber; an anodic electrode chamber filled with an aqueous anodic liquid; and a cathodic electrode chamber filled with an aqueous cathodic liquid; wherein the feed chamber is between and adjacent to the anodic electrode chamber and the cathodic electrode chamber and the feed chamber is separated from each of the anodic electrode chamber and the cathodic electrode chamber by at least one semipermeable membrane.

A water purification apparatus (300) capable of being cleaned at a point of care, and methods for cleaning the water purification apparatus (300) at the point of care. The water purification apparatus (300) and the methods provide an efficient use of a heater (302) for heat disinfection the water purification apparatus (300), e.g. by recirculating heated fluid to further heat the fluid. Several different cleaning programs are provided that may be utilized for cleaning different parts of the water purification apparatus (300).

In a method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery, a sulfuric acid solution is added to a lithium metal composite oxide so as to prepare a sulfated active material solution. A transition metal is extracted from the sulfated active material solution. A lithium precursor is recovered by adding a lithium extracting agent to the solution remaining after the transition metal has been extracted from the sulfated active material solution. In the method, the amount of impurities is reduced, and sulfuric acid and the neutralizing agent can be recycled so that a high-yield lithium precursor recovery is enabled.

A system includes an electrodialysis device with a salinate chamber through which a salinate stream flows. A desalinate chamber is separated from the salinate chamber by a central, ion-selective membrane. A desalinate stream flows through the desalinate chamber. An anolyte chamber and a catholyte chamber are on opposite outer sides of the salinate and desalinate chambers and separated therefrom by first and second ionic exchange membranes. A solvent exchange interface is in contact on a first side with the salinate stream and is in contact a media flow on a second side. The solvent exchange interface moves a solvent from the media flow to the salinate stream.

Disclosed herein are composite films comprising a plurality of nanostructured metal oxide crystals dispersed within a proton conducting polymer phase, wherein the plurality of nanostructured metal oxide crystals have an average particle size of from 1 nm to 20 nm, and wherein the composite film comprises from 20% to 90% by volume of the plurality of nanostructured metal oxide crystals relative to the composite film. The composite film can have a proton conductivity of 10.sup.−8 S/cm or more at a temperature of 100° C. or more.

A method for separation and enrichment of lithium includes the following steps: pretreatment: diluting and filtering salina aged brine to obtain pretreated brine; separation: separating the pretreated brine via a nanofiltration separation system to obtain nanofiltration permeate and nanofiltration concentrate; first concentration: carrying out first concentration on the nanofiltration permeate via a reverse osmosis system to obtain reverse osmosis concentrate and reverse osmosis permeate; second concentration: carrying out second concentration on the reverse osmosis concentrate via an electrodialysis system to obtain electrodialysis concentrate and electrodialysis permeate, and the electrodialysis concentrate is solution enriching lithium ions. The present application couples several different membrane separation technologies by utilizing the advantages of different membrane separation technologies, thereby achieving the purposes of improving the separation efficiency of magnesium and lithium and improving the enrichment efficiency of lithium.